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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Thesedays/thismonth/recently/today/thisyear

Hi;

I hear a lot of weird noises these days. - Why is this one correct? Why can't I use it with the other words that I've written below?
I've been hearing a lot of weird noises these days/this month/this week/today/this year/
I'm hearing a lot of weird noises these days/this month/this week/today/this year/

Which one is the most natural among the three sentences above?
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I hear a lot of weird noises recently/lately. - Why can't we say this one?
I've been hearing a lot of weird noises recently/lately.
I'm hearing a lot of weird noises recently/lately.

Which one is the most natural among the two sentences above?

___________

I'm really hungry these days/this month/this week/today/this year/
I've been really these days/this month/this week/today/this year/
________

I'm really hungry lately/recently.
I've been really hungry lately/recently.
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Are all of the sentences above correct?

THANKS!
  

Top answer

At the root of your question is the concept of grammatical aspect in English. English verb forms do have aspect, and the adverbs that we chose for a given sentence must be compatible with the aspect of the verb. Like tense, aspect is a way that verbs represent time.

— AlpheccaStars

  • At the root of your question is the concept of grammatical aspect in English.
  • English verb forms do have aspect, and the adverbs that we chose for a given sentence must be compatible with the aspect of the verb.
  • Like tense, aspect is a way that verbs represent time.
  • English aspectual distinctions in the past tense include "I went, I used to go, I was going, I had gone"; in the present tense "I lose, I am losing, I have lost, I have been losing, I am going to lose"; and with the future modal "I will see, I will be seeing, I will have seen, I am going to see".
  • What distinguishes these aspects within each tense is not (necessarily) when the event occurs, but how the time in which it occurs is viewed: as complete, ongoing, consequential, planned, etc.
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4 Answers
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At the root of your question is the concept of grammatical aspect in English. English verb forms do have aspect, and the adverbs that we chose for a given sentence must be compatible with the aspect of the verb.

Like tense, aspect is a way that verbs represent time. However, rather than locating an event or state in time, the
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The last questions.

I've been hearing a lot of weird noises these days/this month/this week/today/this year/
I'm hearing a lot of weird noises these days/this month/this week/today/this year/

Which one native speakers prefer in situations like this? Are both common?

I've been hearing a lot of weird noises recently/lately.
I'm hearing a lot of weird noises recent
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Well, it's not exactly common to hear weird noises, but, of all the various permutation and combinations in your post, these make the most sense:

I'm hearing a lot of weird noises these days.
I've been hearing a lot of weird noises lately.

The present perfect or simple past would be best for the adverbs expressing past time periods.
I have heard a lot of weird noises this
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AlpheccaStarsI'm really hungry today.
I thought this one was incorrect? Isn't it? Which one would you rather say: I've been really hungry today. or I'm really hungry today? Would you choose the same for these days?

I've been hearing a lot of weird noises these days/this month/this week/today/this year/
I'm hearing a lot of weird noises these days/
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