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Jandi Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
Tense
Hello, teachers!
Would you please tell me if these are all acceptable?
Doctor; What's wrong with you?
Patient; [I've had, I've been having] a cold for five days.
or
Patient; [I've suffered, I've been suffering] from a cold for five days.
Thank you very much.
Peace!
Would you please tell me if these are all acceptable?
Doctor; What's wrong with you?
Patient; [I've had, I've been having] a cold for five days.
or
Patient; [I've suffered, I've been suffering] from a cold for five days.
Thank you very much.
Peace!
Top answer
Hi Jandi, We are talking about aspect, not tense-- the use of the present perfect vs. the present perfect continuous: 'Doctor: What's wrong with you? Patient: I've had a cold for five days.
- Hi Jandi, We are talking about aspect, not tense-- the use of the present perfect vs.
- the present perfect continuous: 'Doctor: What's wrong with you?
- Patient: I've had a cold for five days.
- ' The reasoning is this: in the first case, the verb 'have' in the sense of 'possess' only rarely appears in the continuous aspect.
- The cold is an overall condition.
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1 Answers
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Hi Jandi,
We are talking about aspect, not tense-- the use of the present perfect vs. the present perfect continuous:
'Doctor: What's wrong with you?
Patient: I've had a cold for five days.
or
Patient: I've been suffering from a cold for five days.'
The reasoning is this: in the first case, the verb 'have' in the sense of 'posse
We are talking about aspect, not tense-- the use of the present perfect vs. the present perfect continuous:
'Doctor: What's wrong with you?
Patient: I've had a cold for five days.
or
Patient: I've been suffering from a cold for five days.'
The reasoning is this: in the first case, the verb 'have' in the sense of 'posse
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