Tense?

Question

Archbishop Mario has been elected as new Pope. He soon after assumed the name Francis 1. Why does a newspaper use present perfect tense in first sentence and past simple in second sentence. It does not sound OK to me. I need your help.

Thanks a lot.

Canadian45 · Accepted Answer

Archbishop Mario has been elected ~~as new~~ Pope. He soon after assumed the name Francis 1.
Why does a newspaper use present perfect tense in first sentence and past simple in second sentence.
It does not sound OK to me.

It sounds ok to me.
Native speakers don't think about what they should say or write before they do it. They just say what instinctively comes to mind within the rules of correct grammar, and they don't worry about using different tenses.

You could use past tense in the first sentence, but you cannot use present perfect in the second sentence with "soon after".
One might say that the present perfect in the first sentence indicates a recent event, but so would 'Archbishop Mario was just elected Pope.'

MSoni · Answer

Thank you very much for noticing and answering my question. Now I can understand better.However a new thing is coming to my mind. In my sentence you made a correction; ~~as new~~ Pope. I can feel the corrected version is better, or rather much better.But I often hear Mr. X has been elected as new chief minister of the province. So, what is the difference?

Thanks.
MSoni

Mister Micawber · Answer

MSoniut I often hear Mr. X has been elected as new chief minister of the province. So, what is the difference?

There is no difference in meaning. Omitting 'as' is better style and more careful grammar.

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