He has already left when we arrived

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antía

#89985 Thu, 14 Apr 05 06:20 PM

Just a direct question: could this sentence have the meaning of habitual action?:

He has already left when we arrive. (=He is gone always when I arrive)

Thanks!

antía

Joined on Sun, Oct 31 2004

Vigo (Galiza, Spain)

New Member (20)

Direct Questions

pieanne

#89987 Thu, 14 Apr 05 06:26 PM

No, it's not possible like that...

"he has already left" refers to a present situation, that is "he IS no longer here". So, either it is:

A: "Hello, can I speak with John?"
B: "Sorry, he has already left"

or

"John had already left when we arrived", which refers to a past situation.

pieanne

Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005

South of France ...But I'm Belgian!

Veteran Member (7,512)

I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

antía

#89996 Thu, 14 Apr 05 06:42 PM

I meant "arrive", without the final -d... (He has already left when we arrive)

antía

pieanne

#90001 Thu, 14 Apr 05 06:47 PM

No, doesn't work with "arrive" either
You can say:
"he will have already left when we arrivE", and that's in the future, a kind of projection in the future.

pieanne

CalifJim

#90122 Fri, 15 Apr 05 01:41 AM

Just a direct answer: Yes, it could be used to express habitual action, but it's awkward and rarely used, and it borders on the unidiomatic without a little sprucing up, especially with "always".

(Unfortunately,) (it seems) he has always already left by the time we arrive.

Smile [:)]

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (17,716)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche