Is or Has

Hello All,

I have a problem deciding when to use (is/has) in a sentence. Can anyone suggest me based on the sentence below?

1. I have been using this product for two weeks now and i noticed my skin texture ( is/ has) visibly improved compared to last time.

Thanks alot.

Thanks alot Clive,

I have a question here. Why 'last time' is not a good choice in that sentence. Don't we say things like, "You seemed to put on some weight compared to last time." or "The business is not doing so well compared to last time."

I would say these kind of phrases are very common and often heard in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong or even Taiwan in which english is second language in the countries. I wonder if its grammatical wrong or its just don't sound natural to a native speaker?

Joeviee wrote:

Thanks alot Clive, I have a question here. Why 'last time' is not a good choice in that sentence. Don't we say things like, "You seemed to put on some weight compared to last time." or "The business is not doing so well compared to last time." I would say these kind of phrases are very common and often heard in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong or even Taiwan in which english is second language in the countries. I wonder if its grammatical wrong or its just don't sound natural to a native speaker?

Joe,

I agree with Clive. “compared to last time” is not an appropriate phrase, perhaps, it’s not even necessary in the context of your sentence.  The reason is, the time is already established (2 weeks) and by adding "compared to the last time", it made it more confusing. When is "last time?"

This is a good example to illustrate the importance of context.  Sometimes, less can be more.  It’s unusual for a sentence to accept both passive and active voice in the same context and still makes sense.  But in this case, it works.

I have been using this skin product for two weeks now and I’ve noticed my skin texture ( is/ has) visibly improved.

Hi,

Yes, you're right in thinking that these phrases wouldn't usually sound natural to a native speaker. On the other hand, if two Asian people are having a conversation in English like this, and they understand each other, that's not a bad thing, is it?

Ok I'll try to illustrate base on this sentence. "Jim, you seemed to put on weight compared to last time."

> last time here could mean the last time I saw Jim (a time which is understood between me & Jim), I guess this would be OK if they both understood that.

> It could also mean when I couldn't remember the exact time when I saw Jim he was still thin, it could be couple of weeks ago, months or even years ago I think you'd more naturally just say something like 'You seem to have put on weight'.

>It could also use as a contraction of "............compared to last time when you were in high school". still sounds odd

Generally, 'last time' is quite commonly used in Asian countires to refer to a date when the speaker not sure about the exact date. Not very natural to a Western speaker. The past tense already places it in the past, as would present perfect.

e.g: I saw the movie last time. (I saw the movie some times back but I don't remember the exact date)

      I remember lending you a novel last time.(= as above)

      I saw this picture last time when I was in Paris. (= as above) the last time I was in Paris.Here, you are able to be specific.

Best wishes again, Clive