The grammar of the english verb phrase part 88 docx

normally uses the present perfect in combination with in the past: Whilst the above arrangement together with correct condenser design has been largely used in the past, the tendency tod

[There is, however, another factor which weighed perhaps more heavily with the Government’s decision to introduce some form of control.] In the past the Govern-ments of both India and Pakistan voluntarilyagreed to maintain strict control over

emigration to Britain (LOB) [In the meantime, the peasant derives many benefits from the management of the economy]⫺ he is to a certain degree cushioned against the natural calamities which

made life so difficult in the past (LOB)

However, even if there is a sense of contrast between past and present, Br E normally uses the present perfect in combination with in the past:

Whilst the above arrangement together with correct condenser design has been

largely used in the past, the tendency today is undoubtedly towards the use of

ad-sorption of the impurities from one or more of the process streams (LOB)

12.9 Inclusive pre-present-zone adverbials

Inclusive pre-present-zone adverbials can in principle combine with either the past tense

or the present perfect; the choice of tense depends on the speaker’s temporal focus

12.9.1 ‘Inclusive’ adverbials (i e prepositional phrases with within or in ⫺

see 1.46.1) can in principle indicate either a past interval or the pre-present zone, and can therefore collocate with either the past tense or the present perfect The choice depends on the speaker’s ‘temporal focus’ (see 11.1):

I {have spoken / spoke} with Tim three times within the last few days (This kind

of example is not essentially different from I {have spoken / spoke} with Tim to-day ⫺ see 12.10.)

[“When did he disappear?”]⫺ He {disappeared / *has disappeared} within the last

month (In this context, the temporal focus is on some indefinite past time in the period leading up to now.)

Security awarenesshas increased significantly within the last year (www)

Two volcanologists by the names of Maurice and Katia Krafft died in a volcanic

explosion within the last five years (www) Within the last 3⫺4 decades masses of Bangladeshis have migrated to the United

States (www) Within the past twenty-four hours brief battleswere fought in the Vedeno district of

Chechnya (www)

12.9.2 Note that prepositional phrases with in the last may or may not be

used as inclusive adverbials If they are (and indicate a period leading up to

t0), they are used with the present perfect:

[Seven different Chinese agencies have been identified running operations inside

Africa itself.] All have been founded in the last 18 months [and three sprang into

life this year] (LOB)(in means ‘within’)

The number of German film directors whohave made first rate works in the last 25

years can be counted on the fingers of one hand (LOB)

[But there is a steady falling out of smaller manufacturers;] a thousandhave gone

out of business in the last ten years (LOB)

In the following examples, the adverbial with in the last indicates a period

leading up to t0but does not have an inclusive meaning (because the situation

referred to is not bounded⫺ see 12.4.1 above) Because there is reference to a

period up to t0, the present perfect is used:

It is only in the last few years that the Czechs have begun to publish the work of

their classic polyphonists (LOB)

In the last year or so road safety officials have acclaimed Chislehurst-Sidcup as an

area free of accidents during the Bank Holiday weekends (LOB)

Apart from the contention that American prestige has suffered abroad in the last

few years, the President-elect has refrained from attacking the policies of his

prede-cessor (LOB)

[I would like to mention that, after the period of expansion of the group,] your

Boardhas in the last year concentrated mainly on the consolidation of the group’s

activities (LOB)

Self-evidently, the past tense is used if the relevant period does not lead up to

t0(but is over at t0):

In the last section itwas pointed out that the reliability of rejection or acceptance is

a matter of choice (LOB)

12.10 Multi-zone time-specifying adverbials

Multi-zone temporal adverbials can in principle combine with either the past tense or the present perfect; the choice of tense depends on the speaker’s temporal focus

As noted in 12.2.2, multi-zone time-specifying adverbials liketoday, this week,

this month, this year, this century, etc are compatible with the present perfect

as well as the past tense The choice of tense depends on the speaker’s choice

of temporal focus This means that the present perfect is the rule to represent the situation time as leading up to t0(i e to express a continuative meaning

or an up-to-now reading) or to convey an indefinite reading (i e the situation time is the time of a bygone situation, but there is no actualization focus: the speaker is concerned with NOW rather than THEN; in most cases he focuses

on a present result of the bygone situation, or on some other kind of current relevance.) The following illustrate these uses of the present perfect:

[On the upside, though, the butterflies are magnificent.] We’ve seen two this week

that are new to us⫺ [a Golden Piper flitting around our garden like a little independ-ent veld fire, and a Dry-leaf Commodore on the leaf litter in Thuma Forest Reserve.] (www)(The use of are makes it clear that the speaker is concerned withnowrather than withthen.)

I’ve been working hard this month.

She’s met him twice this week.

His financial situationhas not been too bad this year.

And in fact you’ve met him this week [Did you talk about the subject of PR at

all?] (www) MCI Communications Corphas begun service this week on the PacRim East fibre

optic cable (BNC)

In the following examples the past tense is used to express ‘actualization focus’ (see 4.7.1), i e the speaker is concerned with THEN rather than NOW This means that the speaker is not concerned with the possible current relevance of the bygone situation

I met a former schoolfriend of mine this week.(The speaker focuses on the time of the meeting, which he considers as past, even though it belongs to a period leading

up to now.)

Iwent to the museum today, [but it was closed] (The speaker focuses on the past time of his going to the museum The fact that this past time forms part of an adverbially indicated period including t0 is irrelevant to the choice of tense.)

As a further illustration, compare the following:

I {have spoken / spoke} with Tim today (Today specifies a homogeneous multi-zone Adv-time which includes t0 The indefinite perfect expresses that the situation

of my speaking with Tim has actualized at some unspecified time in the course of today; the past tense implies that the speaker has a particular time in mind which

he is treating as a past time even though it forms part of today.)

I {have spoken / *spoke} with Tim since yesterday (Since yesterday refers to the same period as today: it does not include any interval forming part of yesterday However, unlike today, it is not a multi-zone time-specifying adverbial but a pre-present-zone time-specifying adverbial This is why, unlike today, it cannot collocate with the past tense.)

Incidentally, these two examples make it clear that what determines the possibility

or impossibility of using the past tense with adverbials liketoday and since

yester-day is the linguistic status of the adverbial ⫺ multi-zone vs pre-present ⫺ and not

its reference in the actual world (in which both adverbials refer to the same time)

The following pair of examples further illustrate the choice between the past

tense and the present perfect with multi-zone time-specifying adverbials:

Jim took the train to London this morning (This sentence implies either that the

morning is over at t0 or that this is not the case but the speaker is thinking of the

past time when Jim took the train.)

Jim’s taken the train to London this morning (This sentence implies that the

morn-ing is not yet over at t0 and that the speaker is not concerned with the past time when

Jim took the train but rather with the present result or relevance of that action.)

Consider also the following:

Ihad a copious breakfast today (Even though today indicates an Adv-time including

t0, the past tense is used if the speaker focuses on the time of breakfast This time

can be conceptualized as a past time because today is a homogeneous multi-zone

adverbial: any part of today, whether past, pre-present, present or future, can be

referred to as ‘today’.)

Ihad a frugal breakfast this morning (Two readings: (a) this morning indicates a

past period; (b) the morning is not yet over but the speaker expresses actualization

focus on the past time of the breakfast.)

I’ve already had breakfast this morning (It is still morning The speaker expresses

current relevance The message may be ‘I don’t need to have breakfast any more’,

‘I’m not feeling hungry’, etc.)

12.11 Since-adverbials

If the adverbsince or a prepositional phrase with since indicates a period up to t0, the clause in which it is used has to be in the present perfect: I haven’t seen him {since / since that night} If the since-adverbial is a since-clause indicating a period up to t0, the head clause uses the present perfect, whereas thesince-clause uses the present perfect if

the situation referred to leads up to t0and the past tense if the situation in question is

a bygone situation: I haven’t seen him since I {have been living here / came to live here} A possible exception is a cleft of the type It {is / has been} a long time since I

{went / have gone} to a restaurant The use of the present perfect in the since-clause

is then only possible if the situation in question could in principle have actualized several times in the pre-present period Thus, the present perfect is ungrammatical in

It {is / has been} a long time since my wife {died / *has died}.

There are some exceptional cases in which a head clause in the present tense can collocate with asince-construction (especially in a conversational style).

12.11.1 The wordsince can be used as an adverb, as a preposition and as a

conjunction In all three cases since refers to a period starting before and

con-tinuing up to some orientation time If the orientation time in question is t0, the adverbial is a pre-present-zone adverbial, so that the present perfect has to

be used

[I met him at the races, but] I haven’t seen him since.(adverb: since ⫽ ‘since then’)

I haven’t seen him since yesterday.(preposition)

I haven’t seen him since I met him at the races.(conjunction introducing an adverbial time clause)

12.11.2 For a good understanding, it is useful to add a few remarks on the use ofsince as an adverb and its use as a preposition.

(a) As an adverb, since is mainly used innonassertive clauses (i e clauses which are negative and / or interrogative in interpretation, but not neces-sarily in form) Inassertive clauses(which are positive and not interroga-tive in meaning) we normally use eithersince then or (if the interpretation

is continuative)ever since:

[He left three days ago, and] we haven’t seen him since

[She witnessed a terrible car accident three weeks ago.] I wonder if she’s driven since

He has travelled by train {since then /?since}

He [went to his study after dinner and] has been working {since then / ever since /?since}

Still, examples can be found withsince used as an adverb in an assertive present

perfect sentence receiving a continuative interpretation:

[It took me a year to get the divorce and] I have been happy since (www)

I have been feeling better since, but still not 100 % (www) Moreover, the phrase long since can only be found in assertive contexts,

be-cause the measure phrase long provokes a t0-factual reading (As noted in 14.6.13, measure phrases normally have this effect.)

[Fate has yet to determine in what category I shall win my Oscar, but] Ihave long since decided where I shall buy my dress (www)

This example is interpreted as meaning both ‘Since then I have decided where

to buy my dress’ and ‘I made that decision a long time ago’ It does not mean

(contrary to what the phrase long since might suggest) ‘I have decided where

to buy my dress ⫹ I made that decision long after the initial time of the

since-period’.

(b) When since is used as a preposition, it can be followed by a noun phrase,

a temporal adverb, abefore-phrase or a before-clause:

He has lived here since the war

He hasn’t been at home since yesterday

He has lived here since before the war

He has lived here since {before / *when} the war started.3

The combination of since with after is rather unusual, but not impossible:

The French ministry emphasized that France has not authorized the sale of

weap-ons, or even spare parts, to Iraqsince after July 1990 (www)

After being freed, he immigrated to America and has lived in the USsince after

the war (www)

Although Western films have been lensed in Vietnam since after the war, some

have been turned away after an initial OK (www)

(c) When since is followed by a noun phrase or adverb, the latter has to

indicate the starting-point of the Adv-time leading up to an orientation

time, not the Adv-time as a whole A prepositional phrase in which the

NP refers to the whole of an Adv-time leading up to an orientation time

has to be introduced byfor or (under certain conditions) by within or in.

He has lived here since the war.(implies that he started living here when the war

began, was going on or ended)

He has lived here {for / *since} 40 years

He has been ill {for / *since} some time

She hasn’t written to me since Christmas

I haven’t seen him {for years / *since years / in years / *within years}.(In years is

only possible in negative sentences Within can only be used with an NP specifying

a more definite time, e g within the last two months.)

I have seen him once {*for years / *since years / *in years / *within years}.(The

precise indication of the number of times that the situation has actualized is

incom-patible with an indefinite indication of an Adv-time-up-to-t0.)

3 The reason why the combination of since and a when-clause is excluded may be the

following.Since means ‘since the time that’ When means ‘at (⫽ simultaneous with) the

time at which’ The combinationsince when would mean ‘since the time at the time at

which’ (⫽ ‘since the time simultaneous with the time at which’), which is redundant

There is no point in usingsince when if when does not add anything to the meaning of

since on its own.

I have seen him once {*for / *since / in / within} the last four years.(The precise indication of the number of times that the situation has actualized is compatible with the definite indication of an Adv-time-up-to-t0.)

I haven’t seen him {for / *since / in / within} the past year

I have seen him twice {*for / *since / in / within} the past year

12.11.3 Whensince is used as a conjunction and the since-clause indicates a

period-up-to-t0, the use of the tenses is normally as follows As a rule, we use the present perfect in the head clause, where it may receive an indefinite read-ing, an up-to-now reading or a continuative interpretation In thesince-clause,

the past tense is used when the since-clause situation marks the beginning of

the period leading up to now, and the present perfect is used when the

since-clause situation lasts throughout the entire period-up-to-t0 (In the latter case the W-reading triggered by the present perfect in thesince-clause is normally a

continuative interpretation rather than an up-to-now reading.)

He has been worried since hereceived that threatening letter (continuative reading

of the head clause; the since-clause situation forms the beginning of the period-up-to-now)

Since shewas kidnapped, the girl has been having nightmares (id.)

We’ve only been to the zoo once since we’ve no longer had a car (constitution reading of the head clause; continuative reading of the since-clause)

We haven’t had problems with damp since weinstalled central heating (indefinite reading of the head clause)

Since theyhave had a garden, they have grown all their vegetables themselves (Both clauses receive a continuative reading.)

I haven’t spoken English since we moved to Madrid (indefinite reading of the head clause)

I haven’t spoken English since wehave been (living) in Madrid (indefinite reading

of the head clause; continuative reading of the since-clause)

We’ve been feeling better since we’ve been taking more exercise (Both clauses receive

a continuative reading.)

It is interesting to note that the present perfect can be used in since-clauses

involving verbs likestart, begin, become, which would seem to have an

incho-ative meaning and thus to refer to a situation that marks the beginning of the pre-present period only:

We’ve been feeling better since we {started / have started} taking more exercise.

We’ve found several similar cases since we {began / have begun} looking for them.

Since wehave begun using 1STEP we have had fewer injuries (www)

Since you have started your business, how many contracts have you completed and

over what length of time? (www)