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hela
Joined: 02 May 2004 Posts: 420 Location: Tunisia
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Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2004 11:39 am Post subject: present perfect |
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Dear teachers,
Is the following stce referring to a present action taking place at the moment of speaking or is it referring to a past event?
“How long have they waited for the doctor ?”
“They’ve waited for him for two hours."
i.e. Are they still waiting or have they got back home?
Many thanks,
Hela |
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bud
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US
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Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2004 1:03 pm Post subject: |
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Most likely - They're still waiting. The waiting began two hours ago.
Note that it would more likely be phrased a little differently. This way makes it absolutely clear that we are talking about right now:
�How long have they been waiting for the doctor?�
�They�ve been waiting for him for two hours."
A possibility with the original is that the question is asking, in all their visits to the doctor (with future visits assumed), what is the most time they have ever spent waiting.
Hope that helps! |
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hela
Joined: 02 May 2004 Posts: 420 Location: Tunisia
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Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2004 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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Dear Bud,
Thank you very much for answering. Yes that helps.
Best regards,
Hela |
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bud
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US
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Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2004 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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My pleasure. Glad it helped. |
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LucentShade
Joined: 30 Dec 2003 Posts: 542 Location: Nebraska, USA
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Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 10:49 am Post subject: |
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One general rule that you can apply to the present perfect--it often refers to situations that started in the past but continue to have an effect on the present. |
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