It / this is the first time ...

[henryh]

Hi again,

I need some help with the sentences below.

I'm in the process of driving a car and I want to tell my friend sitting next to me that this happens with me for the first time. What do I say?

a.) This is the first time I've driven a car.
or
b.) This is the first time I'm driving a car.
or
c.) This is the first time I drive a car.


The book suggests I should use a.) to express something I mentioned, but my problem is that I'm still driving when I'm saying it.

So, why is it a.) then?

And what if I say: I'm driving a car for the first time. Is it any good?

Thanks a bunch.

[Hi_there_Carl]

Your book is correct "a.) This is the first time I've driven a car." is the best choice of the three examples given. You may also say; "I am driving a car for the first time." and that would also be correct.

Common tenses of "I drive"

Active (Simple Forms)
Simple Present - I drive
Simple Past - I drove
Present Perfect - I have driven
Past Perfect - I had driven
will-future - I will drive
Future Perfect - I will have driven
Conditional I - I would drive
Conditional II - I would have driven

Active (Progressive/Continuous Forms)
Simple Present - I am driving
Simple Past - I was driving
Present Perfect - I have been driving
Past Perfect - I had been driving
will-future - I will be driving
Future Perfect - I will have been driving
Conditional I - I would be driving
Conditional II - I would have been driving

Passive (Simple Forms)
Simple Present - I am driven
Simple Past - I was driven
Present Perfect - I have been driven
Past Perfect - I had been driven
will-future - I will be driven
Future Perfect - I will have been driven
Conditional I - I would be driven
Conditional II - I would have been driven

[peter123]

Hi there,

Is it a must to use 'This is the first time...' all the time. How about 'It is the first time...' like the one in the following example?

It is the first time I've driven Benz. OR

pete

[David L.]

a.) This is the first time I've driven a car.
The sentence implies that over the entire span of your life, this is the first time you have ever driven, but that you may well continue to drive in the future. You would be driving as you say it, since you are using the word, "This" = what I am doing right now.
Also: It's the first time I've driven a car. Most likely said as you drive, or soon after you have been driving, to the friend who was in the car with you, as a 'confession' - he didn't know you hadn't driven before; OR telling someone else about it straight afterward. However, the use of 'it's' suggests you are standing back, speaking as an observer of the situation. Better to use "this" and be safe!

b.) This is the first time I'm driving a car.
As it stands, this is very poor grammar...but
This is the first time I'm driving a car and nobody's honking their horn at me. Both events, (the driving and other drivers' reactions to your driving), are, and must be, happening together. I don't recommend you use this form. It is very difficult to 'get right', as the form in (a), with "have driven" is really preferable and most often used in speech.

c.) This is the first time I drive a car.
Poor grammar. The trouble here is that you have said, "the first time". This immediately relates the listener to the whole period of your life, not just this present moment. Look at the sentence this way: "This is the first time in my whole life..." so you need the 'have driven' construction.
You could say, This is the last time I drive a car that isn't an automatic - the 'driving' is happening right now, and the 'last time' is happening as you speak.

[jctgf]

a.) This is the first time I've driven a car.
The sentence implies that over the entire span of your life, this is the first time you have ever driven, but that you may well continue to drive in the future. You would be driving as you say it, since you are using the word, "This" = what I am doing right now.
Also: It's the first time I've driven a car. Most likely said as you drive, or soon after you have been driving, to the friend who was in the car with you, as a 'confession' - he didn't know you hadn't driven before; OR telling someone else about it straight afterward. However, the use of 'it's' suggests you are standing back, speaking as an observer of the situation. Better to use "this" and be safe!

b.) This is the first time I'm driving a car.
As it stands, this is very poor grammar...but
This is the first time I'm driving a car and nobody's honking their horn at me. Both events, (the driving and other drivers' reactions to your driving), are, and must be, happening together. I don't recommend you use this form. It is very difficult to 'get right', as the form in (a), with "have driven" is really preferable and most often used in speech.

c.) This is the first time I drive a car.
Poor grammar. The trouble here is that you have said, "the first time". This immediately relates the listener to the whole period of your life, not just this present moment. Look at the sentence this way: "This is the first time in my whole life..." so you need the 'have driven' construction.
You could say, This is the last time I drive a car that isn't an automatic - the 'driving' is happening right now, and the 'last time' is happening as you speak.

hi,

"This is the first time I'm driving a car." is not grammatically perfect but i wonder if it is acceptable in a colloquial talk.

i mean, if i were a native and spoke like that, would the natives whom i were talking to notice the grammar mistake?

thanks,

jc

[baqarah131]

I suppose you could say "This is the first time I'm driving a car" and no one would object or even notice. But it would be careless, unusual, not colloquial.

"This is the first time I've driven a car" is what a native speaker would normally say.

wishing you success
edward