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Until present time


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Until present time #1 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 19:15 pm   Until present time
 

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?
zeleny_topcoder@mail.ru
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Until present time #2 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 19:40 pm   Until present time
 

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".
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Until present time #3 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 19:52 pm   Until present time
 

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
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Until present time #4 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 19:53 pm   Until present time
 

(Sorry, Amy, the road was clear when I started to post! I'm afraid I dawdled.)
MrPedantic
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Until present time #5 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 20:02 pm   Until present time
 

Quote:
Yes, you need "the" in "till the present time".


Not if it were in note/telegraphed form.

Quote:
You would usually use a "the" before "ABC Corporation" too, unless ABC itself had specified otherwise.

Not if ABC is the American Broadcasting Company or the Australian Broadcasting Company. In that case, you wouldn't need the article or the "corporation".
Molly
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Until present time #6 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 20:08 pm   Until present time
 

Molly wrote:
Quote:
Yes, you need "the" in "till the present time".

Not if it were in note/telegraphed form.

True don't need article in telegraph.

Molly wrote:
Quote:
You would usually use a "the" before "ABC Corporation" too, unless ABC itself had specified otherwise.

Not if ABC is the American Broadcasting Company or the Australian Broadcasting Company.

Sorry?

MrP
MrPedantic
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Until present time #7 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 20:08 pm   Until present time
 

MrPedantic wrote:
(Sorry, Amy, the road was clear when I started to post! I'm afraid I dawdled.)
That's OK, MrP. I'm very fond of your dawdling. Laughing Anytime you might happen to dawdle, it's always worth the wait.
.
Yankee
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Until present time #8 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 20:53 pm   Until present time
 

Quote:
Sorry?

Who/what is "the ABC Corporation" for you?
Molly
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Until present time #9 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 20:59 pm   Until present time
 

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

MrP
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Until present time #10 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 22:27 pm   Until present time
 

I see. And what does the C stand for in that ABC Corporation?
Molly
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Until present time #11 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 22:40 pm   Until present time
 

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
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Until present time #12 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 23:05 pm   Until present time
 

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? =))
zeleny_topcoder@mail.ru
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Until present time #13 (permalink) Mon May 12, 2008 23:35 pm   Until present time
 

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
MrPedantic
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Until present time #14 (permalink) Tue May 13, 2008 7:42 am   Until present time
 

Quote:
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".

51,500 English pages for "tonight on BBC".
189,000 English pages for "watch BBC". (Some of which could be watch BBC + noun).
Molly
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Until present time #15 (permalink) Tue May 13, 2008 13:33 pm   Until present time
 

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

Thanks a lot,
Alex.
zeleny_topcoder@mail.ru
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