*tense

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Anonymous  #144758  Wed, 05 Oct 05 11:33 AM

hello, I want to ask a question about tense, concerned to the below situation.

ex. a week ago I was in New York, and 3 days ago I went to California. Today (now I am at California) I talk to some one.

(a) "after I came here, I have been busy upto now."

(b) "after I come here, I have been busy upto now."

which is correct ?

I read from a grammar book that we have to use the same tense in the main and sub clause, so now I'm confused.

thanks

  
nona the brit  #144770  Wed, 05 Oct 05 12:02 PM

a) because you came here (3 days ago - past) and you have been busy (from 3 days ago continually to this moment) up till now.

It doesn't sound entirely natural though.  Most people would say 'I've been busy since I got here'

  
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Anonymous  #144803  Wed, 05 Oct 05 02:02 PM

I read from a grammar book called Advand Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings.

In the chaptor of Adverbial clauses of time, it says "to talk about the present or past, use the same tense you would use in a main clause" that's why I was confused at which tense I should use in the sub clause. This is an example from the book : When she heard the results she was overjoyed.

(a) Since I got here, I have been busy upto now <- past in sub clause, present in main clause

(b) Since I get here, I have been busy upto now <- present in sub clause, present in main clause

I think the book suggest choosing (b)

or could the book means something else ?

thanks

  
nona the brit  #144863  Wed, 05 Oct 05 04:26 PM
No b is not correct but I need to send a grammarian your way to explain it to you properly!
  
Tarata  #144867  Wed, 05 Oct 05 04:41 PM

Looking forward to your explanation. This problem really annoys me.

Thank you Smile [:)]

  
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CalifJim  #144869  Wed, 05 Oct 05 04:57 PM
What you want is "I've been busy since the moment I arrived", "I've been busy since I arrived", or "I've been busy since I got here."

We do not have to use the same tense in the main clause and the subordinate clause.  Certainly not in the general case.  In the specific case of "I have been X since Y", the event described at Y is almost always going to be in the simple past.  I recommend memorizing this pattern because it comes up in hundreds of ways all the time.

I've been tired since I began taking English lessons.
I've been happy since I fell in love.
I've been sick since I took those pills.
We've been constantly cold since the furnace broke.
He's been very tan since he started lying in the sun every day.
They've been very friendly toward us since they learned that we were rich.

This is one of those structures for which it makes no sense to have both clauses in the same tense.  The present perfect shows a situation continuing into the present; the "since" clause has to show where (in the past) the beginning of the situation occurred.
CJ


  
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