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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2024 March 23

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March 23

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James is having an effect on the teacher since Monday.

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When I see a sentence like this one, I would wish to have it rephrased as either of the following:

  • James has been having an effect on the teacher since Monday.
  • James has had an effect on the teacher since Monday.
  • James had an effect on the teacher since Monday.
  • James had had an effect on the teacher since Monday.
  • James is having an effect on the teacher as of Monday.
  • James started having an effect on the teacher on Monday.

Would I be correct to assume that the "is having" sentence above (shown in italics) would demonstrate an erroneous usage of the word since, or is that just my presumption? - MrPersonHumanGuy (talk) 20:11, 23 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The sentence in the section title is not very natural in English, and is reminiscent of things that Continental European speakers sometimes say ("I am living in Paris since 1992" etc). I'm not sure that "James had an effect on the teacher since Monday" is much better, but the others are OK. The short explanation is that continuing action up to the present moment usually requires the perfective construction in English... AnonMoos (talk) 22:18, 23 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, it's poor English, so it's impossible to tell what the intention of the sentence actually is. That being the case, it's impossible to be certain about how to correctly rewrite it. HiLo48 (talk) 22:54, 23 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
(ec) I'd go with "James has been affecting the teacher since Monday" as what comes most naturally to an English speaker, assuming that is what is really meant. I think we may need more context. AndyTheGrump (talk) 22:59, 23 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm -- the notion of "affecting" a person falls oddly on my ear; I'm not sure it's the same as "having an effect" on the person. I think there's interference coming in from "affection" and sense 3 of "affect". That said, James has been having an effect on the teacher since Monday is still an odd sentence, but not in the same sense as the original sentence. The original sentence is unidiomatic, whereas the one I've put in gray is just something that I struggle to imagine a situation where I'd ever want to say it. --Trovatore (talk) 01:39, 29 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with "I have been living in Paris since 1992." being one of the best ways to rephrase it, and now that I've thought about it, "I lived in Paris since 1992." kinda sounds like an incomplete sentence. - MrPersonHumanGuy (talk) 02:31, 24 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Of course, the truly Continental way to misuse "since" would be "I live in Paris since four years" (the way some people with weak English skills would mistranslate the impeccable French sentence "J'habite à Paris depuis quatre ans"). AnonMoos (talk) 09:31, 24 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
As a non-native English speaker, I would also say that "I have been living in Paris since 1992" sounds most natural, but then, is there a difference in meaning between that and "I have lived in Paris since 1992"? — Kpalion(talk) 08:57, 28 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
As far as I'm concerned, "I have lived in Paris since 1992" would convey the same meaning while being just as natural-sounding (if not moreso) than "have been living in Paris". – MrPersonHumanGuy (talk) 21:46, 28 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Also more concise. Cullen328 (talk) 07:39, 30 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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