Conversation started Jul 25, 2015 at 4:23.
Damkerng T.
Damkerng T.
Jul 25, 2015 04:23
When reading dictionaries or grammar books, we have to be careful not to fall into our own misconclusions.
For example, here is an excerpt from Geoffrey Leech's Meaning and the English Verb:
> Today, this month, this year, this century, etc. refer to a period including the present moment: with them, the Present Perfect and Past Tense are virtually interchangeable. If there is a difference of meaning between I went to the dentist today and I have been to the dentist today, it is that the second focuses on the result aspect of the verb.
A literal mind (which perhaps includes most of the learners when reading a similar text) would read that as:
Today, this month, this year, this century, etc. can be used only with either the Present Perfect or Past Tense.
Interchangeably.
​
Oh, @snailboat! Remember our discussion about the use of the present perfect with "this morning" when the speaking time is in the afternoon?
Anonymous
Um, maybe! :-)
Damkerng T.
Damkerng T.
I just found this parapraph!
>
*This morning, tonight, this March, this Christmas*, etc. refer to a period which is part of a larger period including the present moment (as ‘this morning’, for instance, is part of ‘today’). With *this morning / afternoon / evening*, it is sometimes said that the Present Perfect indicates that the period referred to is not yet over – that, for example, it is possible to say *I have been to the dentist this morning* at 11 a.m., but not at 3 p.m. This distinction, if made, accords with the principle that the Present Perfect has to involve a period extending up to the present. But other sp…
Anonymous
Interesting!
Damkerng T.
Damkerng T.
Ah, found it! Our old discussion:
Jun 29 at 12:03, by Damkerng T.
> I saw / have seen him this morning – he came to borrow a hammer.
Jun 29 at 12:08, by Damkerng T.
https://books.google.com/books?id=ryasAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA42
 
Conversation ended Jul 25, 2015 at 4:37.