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 Wed May 14, 2008 7:36 am The usage of future perfect tense |
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| Quote: | | A more commonly used construction would be "He will be here before you go." However, unlike the previous sentence (using the future perfect), this sentence means that he will be here at the time when you go. |
?? Not here:
What time does the milkman come? I need some milk for my flakes. I can't leave without having breakfast.
He'll be here before you go, don't worry.
And what about?
He'll be here before you have to go, don't worry. |
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Molly
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| Wed May 14, 2008 7:44 am The usage of future perfect tense |
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That sentence suggests that at some future point in time, you and the milkman will be present at the same place simultaneously. There is no reference to the milkman's future departure. Probably he will leave before you go, but that isn't clear. Maybe he will hang out and have breakfast with you. 
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Yankee
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| Wed May 14, 2008 8:05 am The usage of future perfect tense |
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| Yankee wrote: | That sentence suggests that at some future point in time, you and the milkman will be present at the same place simultaneously. There is no reference to the milkman's future departure.
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I agree, and that's why this comment doesn't hold water.
| Quote: | | "He will be here before you go." However, unlike the previous sentence (using the future perfect), this sentence means that he will be here at the time when you go. |
It means he will be there before you go. |
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Molly
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| Wed May 14, 2008 8:26 am The usage of future perfect tense |
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| Yankee wrote: | Hi Duc
Basically, your exercise book doesn't give you the context that is necessary to help you understand why one 'tense' or the other should be used. As you pointed out, those sentences are in certain sections of your book, and the only thing the author wants you to do is to produce the verb form that is the focus of that particular section.
1. It is theoretically possible to say "He will have been here before you go", however what that means is "He will have come and gone before you go". In other words, his "being here" will be finished at the time in the future when you go, and therefore he will no longer be here at that time.
A more commonly used construction would be "He will be here before you go." However, unlike the previous sentence (using the future perfect), this sentence means that he will be here at the time when you go.
2. Your second sentence works better with the future perfect: "The train will have left before we reach the station." In other words, the train will no longer be at the station at the time in the future when we arrive. The train's departure will already be complete/finished at that time in the future.
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So,what about''He will wash up before he goes to bed'' ? As to Molly,the speaker is looking to a time when he will be washing up, the first action is the main focus.Give me your idea.And I wonder whether it can be true with the past as in ''He washed up before he went to bed'' because I'm focusing on the time the action ''he washed up'' happened.
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duc
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| Wed May 14, 2008 15:25 pm The usage of future perfect tense |
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Hi Duc
The main difference between those two sentences is that one looks at the future and one looks at the past.
He will wash up (before he goes to bed). 'Before he goes to bed' basically tells you when in the future he will wash up. It is not a precise statement of time such as 'at 10 pm this evening', nevertheless that clause refers to a time ("when") in the future.
He washed up (before he went to bed). 'Before he went to bed' basically tells you when he washed up in the past. Just as in the future usage, it is not a precise statement of time such as 'at 10 pm yesterday'. Nevertheless that clause refers to an approximate past time.
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Yankee
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| Wed May 14, 2008 17:02 pm The usage of future perfect tense |
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| So the sentence ''He washed up before he went to bed'' is grammatically true,isn't it ? And does it sound good to you? |
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duc
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| Wed May 14, 2008 20:30 pm The usage of future perfect tense |
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Hi Duc
Yes, that sentence is perfectly grammatical. Although I personally don't use the phrase 'wash up' very often, the sentence still sounds fine to me.
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Yankee
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