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[kidkensei]

If there is a better forum for these questions please let me know.



Question 1

'Have you ever gone to Okinawa many times?'

I want to say here that you have one chance in a breath or utterance to indicate time and therefore even and many times are incompatable. Just like 'Have you ever gone to Okinawa alot?'

Apparently in Japanese this works. My explanation is however lacking given that you can say

'Last year I went to Okinawa many times.'

Question 2

'John has become sick for 3 days'
The sentence should be
'John has been sick for 3 days'

The student asked why you cant use the verb become like this. Apparently in Japanese there isnt a difference.

Question 3

My JTEs, insist that the verb 'gone' means 'go and NEVER come back'
My JTEs insist that the verb 'went' means 'you went and came back'

When I, the Ontarian is asked on the spot in the class room whether i have been to the USA I respond 'Yes, my family has GONE there many times {for holidays}.'

Has my knowledge of Eng grammar during my short stay in Japan really retrogressed to such an incomprehensible level?
Can anyone help me here?

[move]

I'd recommend picking up a copy of blue Azar or Michael Swan's Practical English Usage, and looking up Present Perfect tense.

In a nutshell, present perfect tense deals with an action that happened in the past (at an unspecified time) that relates to the present.

Example:
Have you ever gone to Disneyland?
I have gone to Disneyland many times/I have never gone to Disneyland.
I have worked at Famima for 3 months/I have worked at Famima since March.

I think the closest translation for the first example is Disneyland itta koto aru? (Have you ever gone to Disneyland).

For the second example, although it says you went to Disneyland many times, it doesn't specify when. If you give specific times, then you would use simple present tense. For example, I went to Disneyland in 2005 and 2007.

For the third example, present perfect tense can refer to an action that began in the past and continues until now. This is similar to present perfect continuous. Contrast - "I have worked at Famima for 3 months" AND "I have been working at Famima for 3 months."

For your question about become, become might be a bit abstract so I would use an easier example to illustrate the point like - I am asleep, then I wake up, then I am awake. Or I am not hungry, then I become hungry, then I am hungry. I usually do some nifty excessive English teacher gesture like snapping my fingers to illustrate that this action happens quickly so we would use simple present tense.

BTW, your JTEs are wrong to say gone means to never come back. Like "he has gone to the store" is perfectly fine. But best to not contradict them in class, it would just make em angry and confuse the students.

Hope this helps....

[Apsara]

If someone says to me "he has gone to the store" I assume he is still there.

In this case: "'Yes, my family has GONE there many times", I would say "yes, my family has been there many times". Maybe a regional thing?

[seklarwia]

With regards to "has gone", maybe your JTE expressed it badly or is a little confused. According Mr 'Grammar-Guru' Swan:

"We use the present perfect especially to say that a finished action or event is connected with the present in some way."

He has gone to the shop = He went and hasn't come back (he is still at the shop now). He may/may not come back in the future.

He went to the shop = refers to the finished past action. We know he went to the shop. He might have come back or he might have gone elsewhere after, but he isn't at the shop now.


"In general, the simple past is the 'normal' one for talking about the past; we use it if we do not have a special reason for using one of the other tenses."

The problem here is that many native speakers actually use the simple past when they should be using another tense.

If someone asks: Where has Tim gone? (they know that Tim left sometime in the past but want to know where he is now)
The correct answer is: He has gone to the shop. (Tim left in the past and that is where he is now)
But you'll likely hear: He went to the shop. (which isn't telling you where Tim is now; only where he was in the past)

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[gaijinalways]

"gone" is the past participle of go. It doesn't always mean 'went and never came back'. That's a rule that Japanese kids are often taught.