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Latest post Wed, Nov 24 2004 11:29 PM by munchun2004. 3 replies.
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munchun2004  +  57296 Wed, 24 Nov 04 11:29 PM
Currently I heard the following statements from the NBA player who hit people during the game and from the reporter who analyzed the situation. Following are the statement.

(One day after the incident)
a) Artest: I just want to say that that is(was???) the third time I have(had???) been hit with something during the game.

(After hearing what the player says)
b) Reporter: That was(correct???) the ugliest NBA show I have(had???) ever seen.

I did ask this question here before and the answer I got was stick to the grammar rules. But now not once but twice I heard this type of statement "that was the... I have ever seen" from one show. The speaker first used the past tense "that was" and then later change to "I have ever seen". I just wonder if they are correct.

If I am to make a statement that one of the show happened in the past is still the ugliest show I have ever seen, can I write like following?
"From all the show I have seen all these years, the fifth of Novemeber 1998 show was(is???) the ugliest show I have(Tongue Tied [:S]had???) ever seen.

Could someone tell how should I say in the above situation and whether the reporter and the athlete's statements are correct?
munchun2004
Joined on Fri, Nov 5 2004
New Member 45
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CalifJim  +  57327 Thu, 25 Nov 04 03:36 AM
This topic certainly can give a person fits!

The typical pattern is that tenses are used together in one or the other of these two groups:

1. Present Point of View:
Present, Future of the Present ("will"), Present Perfect, Future Perfect of the Present ("will have")

2. Past Point of View:
Past, Future of the Past ("would") [or "Conditional"], Past Perfect, Future Perfect of the Past ("would have") [or "Conditional Perfect" or "Past Conditional"]

[Depending which authority you consult, the tense names may be different from what I have used above.]

In spite of the fact that there is a "typical pattern", there are numerous cases where the typical pattern is modified.

Your first example does not deviate from Present Point of View. It is completely in line with the "typical" cases:

I just want (present) to say that that is (present) the third time I have been hit (present perfect) with something during the game.

In your second example the past tense is "borrowed" into the present point of view, which is not at all uncommon. In the mind of the speaker, the "NBA show" is in the past, but the period of time during which he has not seen anything more ugly extends to the present. With "had" instead of "have", this is not the case.

That was (past) the ugliest NBA show I have ever seen (present perfect).

By the same logic, Artest's remark could have been (with "borrowing"):

I just want (present) to say that that was (past) the third time I have been hit (present perfect) with something during the game.

(More typical are: ... to say that this is ... or ... to say that that was, by the way.)

CJ
CalifJim
Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004
California
Veteran Member 22,393
"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche
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munchun2004, 4 yr 363 days ago
Thanks for your reply, CalifJim. I think I got it now.Big Smile [:D]Big Smile [:D]
CalifJim  +  57477 Thu, 25 Nov 04 08:40 PM
Well, just keep giving us examples that trouble you, and we'll do our best to explain them all!

Regards,
California Jim
CalifJim
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