Until present time

[zeleny_topcoder@mail.ru]

Dear native speakers,

I am asking for you help with the following sentence:

Peter has been working at ABC corporation until present time.

Can it be understood as "Peter has been working at ABC corporation until recently. However, now he does not."? If there is even a slight possibility to understand it like this, how can I paraphrase it in a non-ambiguous way?

Many thanks,
Alex.

P.S. Meanwhile, do I need "the" in "until (the) present time", considering that this sentence is an extract from a formal document?

[Yankee]

Hi Zeleny

Basically, I wouldn't bother to use the present perfect continuous in this case because you are not using it to say 'for how long/since when'. Use the simple present if all you want to convey is that he currently works there. For example:
"Peter (currently) works at ABC Corporation."
"Peter is (currently) employed by (the) ABC Corporation."

If you said "Peter has been working at ABC Corporation for 10 years", I would understand that to mean that he currently works at ABC Corporation and that so far the length of his employment there is 10 years.

By the way, I would not ever use the expression "until present time".

[MrPedantic]

Hello Z.,

Yes, you need "the" in "till the present time". You would usually use a "the" before "ABC Corporation" too, unless ABC itself had specified otherwise.

To turn to your sentence:

1. Peter has been working at (the) ABC Corporation until the present time.

For me, this does imply "Peter still works at the ABC Corporation"; but it also might be taken to mean that Peter might not be working there much longer.

For an unambiguous sentence, you could simply say:

2. Peter works at the ABC Corporation.

To suggest that Peter has recently worked at ABC, but does so no longer, you could say:

3. Peter worked at the ABC Corp. until recently.

Best wishes,

MrP

[MrPedantic]

(Sorry, Amy, the road was clear when I started to post! I'm afraid I dawdled.)

[Molly]

[MrPedantic]

[Yankee]

[Molly]

[MrPedantic]

That curiously sinister building just next door to DEF, Inc.

MrP

[Molly]

I see. And what does the C stand for in that ABC Corporation?

[MrPedantic]

I've never dared to go in and find out, old chap.

But given that it's next door (on the other side) to "XYZ Ltd", I strongly suspect that its provenance may be purely pedagogical.

MrP

[zeleny_topcoder@mail.ru]

Amy, Molly and MrP, thanks for your assistance! You are very helpful!
Regarding the ABC Corporation, in my case this was just an example like DEF or XYZ.

However, is it really important what C stands for? Does it anyhow affect the usage of the definite article before the company's abbreviation? =))

[MrPedantic]

Hello Z.,

Yes, it can affect the use of "the". As a rule of thumb, if the full name would require a definite article (e.g. if the last word is an ordinary noun), you would include "the". If the abbreviations stand for names, however, you wouldn't. Thus:

1. The British Broadcasting Corporation = "the BBC", e.g. "the BBC is a strange organisation".

2. Rooney, Giggs and Tevez Ltd = "RGT", e.g. "RGT is the country's leading retailer of men's underwear".

Unfortunately there are exceptions in category 1; thus "CBS" never takes "the". (Perhaps because everyone has forgotten what it originally stood for.)

All the best,

MrP

[Molly]

[zeleny_topcoder@mail.ru]

I see. Lots of exceptions as usual:)))

Thanks a lot,
Alex.