Weather

Question

It seems like I can use 'weather' with in any way?

Or is only #1 correct because of last couple of days?

1. The weather hasn't been bad for the last couple of days.

2. This weather is not bad for the last couple of days.

3. This weather was not bad for the last couple of days.

For #4 and #5, only 4 is correct?

4. I haven't seen her for the last couple of days.

5. I didn't seen her for the last couple of days.

Thanks.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

"the last couple of days" means "a couple of days ending now".
When you have a period of time ending in the present, present perfect tense is the one to use.

Only 1 and 4 are correct.

By the way, "didn't seen" is wrong for a different reason. After the auxiliary "do" we don't use the past pariticple ("seen"), but the base form ("see").

CJ

Wwwdotcom · Answer

This comment is not a correction. I am just interested in how people view "ending in the present".

I often use "now" when talking about something which has already started and will continue into the future.
CalifJim has used "a period of time" which is like a period of a period (the actual duration of the action).

"I have not finished reading this book, I am only on page 10 now." The period of time that has ended is the amount of time it has taken to get to page 10, and I still have pages 11-100 to finish.

So, where is the "present"? Does the present only talk about the first period or does it account for the actual duration?

Here is another example to better pinpoint my question:

A: Bob was supposed to meet us here at 10:00am, and it's already 10:15am. Have you seen him?
B: No I haven't, we might as well go NOW or else we will miss the game. Come on.
A: Ok, let me just ask Cathy if she has seen him.

A: Cathy, have you seen Bob?
C: No, I haven't (but she will tell Bob to go to the game when she does see him).
A: Ok. If you see him, tell him that we already left.
C: Will do. Enjoy the game.

Between A and B, the actual time pretty much ends at 10:15.
Between A and C, the actual time is longer.

CalifJim · Answer

By "present" or "now" I mean "utterance time" or "at the time I am saying this".
Help! I'm on fire!
"present" can also refer to a period of time more or less centered on the present and including the present moment within it.
I'm writing a book about green butterflies.

To be more precise I should have said that "the last couple of days" refers to a period of time which began in the past and ends at the moment of utterance.

As for Bob not showing up on time, "Have you seen him?" asks about a period of time which includes all of past time * and ends at the moment of utterance. Did the seeing occur at any point of time in that period?

"We might as well go now" is equivalent to "We might as well go at this very moment I am saying this or as soon after as is pragmatically possible".

With "No, I haven't seen him" we are saying that the seeing did not occur at any point of time in the period that includes all of past time * and ends at the moment of utterance.

* The use of "all of past time" above is relative to the place designated as the meeting place. It obviously doesn't include ever seeing the person anywhere before, for that way, we might not even recognize him when he shows up!

I have no idea if these observations are the sort of thing you were asking about, but I thought I might make them anyway!

CJ

Wwwdotcom · Answer

CalifJim,

So, you are using "present" to mean "right now" as opposed to "so far".

CalifJim · Answer

Yes, when I use "now" somewhat 'metalinguistically' to describe how tenses work, I mean "right now" I suppose, insofar as "right now" indicates 'utterance time'.

CJ

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