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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Using the present perfect in AmEng.
Can anyone tell me why the following statement does not hold for AE speakers?
"As McCawley (1971) noted long ago, the present perfect conveys
a sense of current possibility. If the Monet exhibit is still running, one utters (5a)
rather than (5b), for example.
(5) a. Have you been to the Monet exhibit?
b. Did you go to the Monet exhibit?
Once the exhibit has closed for good, however, (5a) is no longer felicitous."
When did AE speakers begin to use the past simple, instead of the present perfect, for events that are still happening?
"As McCawley (1971) noted long ago, the present perfect conveys
a sense of current possibility. If the Monet exhibit is still running, one utters (5a)
rather than (5b), for example.
(5) a. Have you been to the Monet exhibit?
b. Did you go to the Monet exhibit?
Once the exhibit has closed for good, however, (5a) is no longer felicitous."
When did AE speakers begin to use the past simple, instead of the present perfect, for events that are still happening?
Top answer
As far as I know, the statement does hold for AE speakers. " --- Understanding Grammar , by Paul Roberts
- As far as I know, the statement does hold for AE speakers.
- " --- Understanding Grammar , by Paul Roberts
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4 Answers
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As far as I know, the statement does hold for AE speakers.
"The present perfect tense usually places the action indefinitely in a past time period stretching up to the present moment." ---Understanding Grammar, by Paul Roberts
"The present perfect tense usually places the action indefinitely in a past time period stretching up to the present moment." ---Understanding Grammar, by Paul Roberts
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RvwAs far as I know, the statement does hold for AE speakers.I see. Then why do AE speakers also use the past simple in such situations?
"The present perfect tense usually places the action indefinitely in a past time period stretching up to the present moment." ---Understanding Grammar, by Paul Roberts
Did you see t
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Hello,
I am an American, and the perfect tenses are simply not taught enough in American schools. So, we don't use them as much, and when we do it's usually logical but incorrect when grammatically checked (unless we HAVE taken the time to learn the differences).
In your example we are talking about a time period that has not finished, but the speaker wants to know if th
I am an American, and the perfect tenses are simply not taught enough in American schools. So, we don't use them as much, and when we do it's usually logical but incorrect when grammatically checked (unless we HAVE taken the time to learn the differences).
In your example we are talking about a time period that has not finished, but the speaker wants to know if th
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<To use have would often come off as, "Did you go to the Monet exhibit YET?". Now, they have achieved the same thing that have does. We are now including future days. Yet also implies an expectation.>
So "yet" is used incorrectly in AE?
So "yet" is used incorrectly in AE?
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