Hi everyone! What's the difference between the following sentences:
1. Jill is the most beautiful girl John has ever met.
2. Jill was the most beautiful girl John has ever met.
I think both sentences mean that John hasn't met anybody like Jill up till now.
But I wonder if sentence 2 means Jill is dead?
How about these ones:
3. It is the most boring film I have ever seen.
4. It was the most boring film I have ever seen.
Thanks for your help!
1. Jill is still part of the life of the speaker and/or John.
2. Jill is no longer part of the lives of the speaker or of John. Since she left, John has not met a more beautiful girl.
In #3, below, Jill is no longer part of John's life. It is possible that he has met a more beautiful girl since Jill left.
3. Jill was the most beautiful girl John had ever met.
Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.
The present perfect in the first part sounds really weird.
I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.
That was my first reaction.
I have come back to it twenty minutes later with the thought that it might be possible:
A: John has had a lot of girlfriends.
B: Yes, and some of them have been pretty attractive. Do you remember Jill?
C: Oh, yes! Jill has been the most beautiful girl John has ever met.
I think that it is possible for someone to say this, though I think 'Jill was...' is far more likely. I don't recommend it.
Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.