Tenses

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Anonymous

#154415 Wed, 02 Nov 05 07:10 PM

which one is correct: "I know him for 5 years." or "I've known him for 5 years"? Or are both possible?

Anonymous

pieanne

#154416 Wed, 02 Nov 05 07:16 PM

It's "I've known him for 5 years" - you still know him -.

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...

Tallulah Tam

#154426 Wed, 02 Nov 05 07:49 PM

If I dare to make a contribution here........... Whisper [:-*]

It could be "I knew him for 5 years" depending on the tense.

"I've known him for 5 years" is present perfect. (still carried up to the present)

"I knew him for 5 years" is past tense. (something that happened in the past)

Tallulah Tam

Joined on Sun, Jul 17 2005

Alabama, USA (British)

Full Member (234)

If at first you don't succeed sky-diving is not for you.

Tenses, Present Perfect, Past Tenses

paco2004

#154458 Wed, 02 Nov 05 10:01 PM

When I say "I knew him", I'll use "five years ago" rather than "for five years". "I knew him five years ago". But I might be wrong as usual.

paco

paco2004

Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004

Senior Member (4,095)

In Japan today even dogs are learning how to bow-wow in English.

Anonymous

#154466 Wed, 02 Nov 05 10:26 PM

I want to to know about the difrence between present tense,past tense & future tense

Anonymous

Tenses, Present Tenses, Past Tenses

Tallulah Tam

#154494 Wed, 02 Nov 05 11:53 PM

Hello Paco, Nice to see you again Smile [:)]

"O knew him for five years." means OVER five years, (from year 1 to year 5)

"I knew him five years ago." Means I knew him THEN, at that time, five years ago.

"I have known him for five years." means the relationship has continued to the present time. Present perfect progressive.

Anon:- Know = Present

Knew = Past

Knowing = Present Participle

Known = Past Participle, as in "Girls I have known."

Future tense:- "By the time we get there I know the show will have started". (something is going to happen in the future)

Tallulah Tam

Tenses, Present Perfect, Perfect Progressive

paco2004

#154507 Thu, 03 Nov 05 12:29 AM

Tallulah Tam wrote:
"O knew him for five years." means OVER five years, (from year 1 to year 5)

Hello Tallulah

So am I correct if I say "I knew her for five years" in the case like below?

I got to love her in 1998 and our relationship continued until 2003. But it's over now.

paco

paco2004

Tallulah Tam

#154513 Thu, 03 Nov 05 12:44 AM

Yes, that is the meaning of "I knew her for five years"

But if you will excuse me, a better worded sentence would be:-

"I started to love her in 1998 and our relationship continued until 2003, but it's over now." Smile [:)]

"got to" is not good English. It is something the Americans may say, but it is not good English.

Tallulah Tam

paco2004

#154516 Thu, 03 Nov 05 12:49 AM

Hello TT

Yes, you are right. I agree "got to" is a bit too informal. I'm sorry for using such a bad phrase. By the way, I feel the messiness comes from the fact that "know someone" has two meanings. One is a dynamic event: "get acquainted with someone". The other is a stative event: "have a relationship with someone".

paco

paco2004

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