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Tenjing Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

what is the difference in meaning

The builders should have finished by the end of the week. Vs. The builders should finish by the end of the week. To me both mean the same; what do you think?
  

Top answer

In sentence 1, it is shortly after the end of the week, and what is being built is still not finished, or is just about to be completed (it was expected that what is being built would be finished at the end of the week). In sentence 2, it is some time before the end of the week, and what is being built is still being worked on - and it is expected that at the end of the week, what is being built will be complete.

— Anonymous

  • In sentence 1, it is shortly after the end of the week, and what is being built is still not finished, or is just about to be completed (it was expected that what is being built would be finished at the end of the week).
  • In sentence 2, it is some time before the end of the week, and what is being built is still being worked on - and it is expected that at the end of the week, what is being built will be complete.
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4 Answers
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In sentence 1, it is shortly after the end of the week, and what is being built is still not finished, or is just about to be completed (it was expected that what is being built would be finished at the end of the week).

In sentence 2, it is some time before the end of the week, and what is being built is still being worked on - and it is expected that at the end of the week, what is bein
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I am not still clear. Please help me, Teachers.
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AnonymousIn sentence 1, it is shortly after the end of the week, and what is being built is still not finished, or is just about to be completed (it was expected that what is being built would be finished at the end of the week).
That is one possible meaning. Another is that it is said before the end of the week. The speaker is saying that there is a reasonabl
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The following comments are based on current US usage (the poster, fivejedjon, is British - British usage can be quite different from American usage). If we consider Friday the end of the week, since construction workers usually work from Mon. to Fri. only, then the following applies.

The first sentence might be said in either of the following situations:

It is Saturday, and I am
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