The grammar of the english verb phrase part 88 docx

602 12. Preterite vs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials [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 voluntarily agreed to maintain strict control over emigration to Britain. (LOB) [In the meantime, the peasant derives many benefits from the management of the economy] Ϫ 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 Ϫ 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 Ϫ see 12.10.) [“When did he disappear?”] Ϫ 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 awareness has 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 3Ϫ4 decades masses of Bangladeshis have migrated to the United States. (www) Within the past twenty-four hours brief battles were fought in the Vedeno district of Chechnya. (www) II. Temporal adverbials and the choice between past tense and present perfect 603 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 t 0 ), 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 who have 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 thousand have 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 t 0 but does not have an inclusive meaning (because the situation referred to is not bounded Ϫ see 12.4.1 above). Because there is reference to a period up to t 0 , 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 Board has 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 t 0 (but is over at t 0 ): In the last section it was 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 like today, 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 604 12. Preterite vs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials of temporal focus. This means that the present perfect is the rule to represent the situation time as leading up to t 0 (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 Ϫ [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 with now rather than with then.) I’ve been working hard this month. She’s met him twice this week. His financial situation has 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 Corp has 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.) I went 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 t 0 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 t 0 . 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.) II. Temporal adverbials and the choice between past tense and present perfect 605 Incidentally, these two examples make it clear that what determines the possibility or impossibility of using the past tense with adverbials like today and since yester- day is the linguistic status of the adverbial Ϫ multi-zone vs pre-present Ϫ 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 t 0 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 t 0 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: I had a copious breakfast today. (Even though today indicates an Adv-time including t 0 , 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’.) I had 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 adverb since or a prepositional phrase with since indicates a period up to t 0 , 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 t 0 , the head clause uses the present perfect, whereas the since-clause uses the present perfect if the situation referred to leads up to t 0 and 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}. 606 12. Preterite vs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials There are some exceptional cases in which a head clause in the present tense can collocate with a since-construction (especially in a conversational style). 12.11.1 The word since 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 t 0 , 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 ϭ ‘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 of since as an adverb and its use as a preposition. (a) As an adverb, since is mainly used in nonassertive clauses (i. e. clauses which are negative and / or interrogative in interpretation, but not neces- sarily in form). In assertive clauses (which are positive and not interroga- tive in meaning) we normally use either since 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 with since 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 t 0 -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] I have 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 II. Temporal adverbials and the choice between past tense and present perfect 607 (contrary to what the phrase long since might suggest) ‘I have decided where to buy my dress ϩ 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, a before-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 Iraq since after July 1990. (www) After being freed, he immigrated to America and has lived in the US since 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 by for 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-t 0 .) 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 (ϭ simultaneous with) the time at which’. The combination since when would mean ‘since the time at the time at which’ (ϭ ‘since the time simultaneous with the time at which’), which is redundant. There is no point in using since when if when does not add anything to the meaning of since on its own. 608 12. Preterite vs present perfect in clauses with temporal adverbials 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-t 0 .) 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 When since is used as a conjunction and the since-clause indicates a period-up-to-t 0 , 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 the since-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-t 0 . (In the latter case the W-reading triggered by the present perfect in the since-clause is normally a continuative interpretation rather than an up-to-now reading.) He has been worried since he received that threatening letter. (continuative reading of the head clause; the since-clause situation forms the beginning of the period-up- to-now) Since she was 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 we installed central heating. (indefinite reading of the head clause) Since they have 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 we have 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 like start, 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 we have 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) . 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 t 0 is irrelevant to the choice of tense.) As a further illustration,. the policies of his prede- cessor. (LOB) [I would like to mention that, after the period of expansion of the group,] your Board has in the last year concentrated mainly on the consolidation of. 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