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 #17 (permalink) Thu Jul 20, 2006 21:18 pm About tenses: finish vs. have finished |
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| FangFang wrote: |
Hiii, Yankee:
I say that because i read some notes as follows(from an english grammar book)
"some adv ,like directly and immediately can be taken as a conjuction ____as soon as:
Immediately he arrived , he started telling us what to do."
But i think you are right , specially when you emphasize the meaning/nature of the verbs . :D |
Hi Cooligirly
I would never use directly or immediately as conjunctions. (American English)
I've checked various dictionaries and it seems this may be a British usage. For input as to how often these two words are actually used as conjunctions in Britain, we'll have to get Alan's input.
Regarding different verb tenses in one sentence, that is not really unusual:
Past perfect + simple past:
"They had already left when he arrived."
Present perfect continuous + simple past:
"I have been living in the same town since I was born."
Amy
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Yankee
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| #18 (permalink) Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:28 pm About tenses: finish vs. have finished |
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Hi, Yankee:
Are you sure it is Britain english? That won't be a big problem, right?
By the way, yesterday i talked it with my english friend ,i said:
" I wil return the book to you as soon as i finish it"
"Ok"
"I will return the book to you as soon as i've finished it"
"All right, oHHH, my god !you still keep my book?" :D
Of course, it is a joke. But both of them are ok. Now i am wondering where the differences between British english and American english ? :roll: :roll: :wink: |
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FangFang
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| #19 (permalink) Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:45 pm Directly |
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Hi FangFang,
Directly has now become respectable. In the Oxford Dictionary (1884-1926) it was considered colloquial as a conjunction. New Oxford (1998) registers it without a restriction. Webster's Third (1986) named it 'chiefly British' but Mirriam-Webster (2000) notes it without any regional restriction.
So
I came directly I heard the news is all right now both sides of the Atlantic.
Alan
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| #20 (permalink) Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:52 pm About tenses: finish vs. have finished |
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Hi FangFang(what a long name :D ),
| Quote: |
"I will return the book to you as soon as i've finished it"
"All right, oHHH, my god !you still keep my book?" |
You have no need to use Present Perfect as finish already has the meaning of completion :D |
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 Pamela
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| #21 (permalink) Fri Jul 21, 2006 13:10 pm Directly |
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| Alan wrote: |
Webster's Third (1986) named it 'chiefly British' but Mirriam-Webster (2000) notes it without any regional restriction.
So
I came directly I heard the news is all right now both sides of the Atlantic. |
Hi Alan
If that's true, it sounds to me as though Websters must have been either brainwashed or run out of ink for the "chiefly British" notation in 2000. Maybe the Y2K bug caused a malfunction. :lol:
I'm still not convinced it can or should be called "all right now both sides of the Atlantic". I would rather give that sort of "general OK" to something that's actually in general and/or regular use.
My opinion is that using directly and immediately as conjunctions would still be considered an error (or omission) by 99% of Americans (possibly even more :lol:).
Amy
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| #22 (permalink) Fri Jul 21, 2006 13:59 pm About tenses: finish vs. have finished |
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| Yankee wrote: |
I prefer:
A) I 'll return the book to you as soon as I finish it.
I think it depends a bit on the nature/meaning of the verb used. I think I'd be much more likely to go for the present perfect using, for example, the verb "read":
I'll return the book to you as soon as I've read it. |
| FangFang wrote: |
By the way, yesterday i talked it with my english friend ,i said:
" I wil return the book to you as soon as i finish it"
"Ok"
"I will return the book to you as soon as i've finished it"
"All right, oHHH, my god !you still keep my book?"
Of course, it is a joke. But both of them are ok. Now i am wondering where the differences between British english and American english ? |
Hi FangFang
As I understand your last post, you have a British friend and he/she says both finish and have finished are possible after as soon as.
Now, it seems to me I've also indicated that both are possible. (See above! 8)) I gave you my preference for your "book" sentence along with an example of when I thought I'd be more likely to entertain thoughts of present perfect usage. :lol:
Amy
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| #23 (permalink) Fri Jul 21, 2006 14:02 pm About tenses: finish vs. have finished |
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Hiiiii, Pamela
You can call me "Fang" not "fang" :D :D
Yankee, i am confused now and i will go to check more information about this "informal " expressions.
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| #24 (permalink) Mon Nov 02, 2009 17:04 pm About tenses: finish vs. have finished |
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Hi,
Reading the discussion above, I realized that I'm in real danger of getting my wits boiled (I hope they aren't boiled yet :) ).
So, please explain me in common words the difference in the meaning between the following phrases:
"He'll finish his dinner in 5 minutes" and "He'll have finished his dinner in 5 minutes"?
Are both of them correct? Thks.
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