Forum newsfeeds
Forum Newsfeeds


Sites for Teachers

Sites for Teachers




Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Ask a Teacher

Notices

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 30-Dec-2007, 18:00
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Country: korea
Posts: 125
Current Location: korea
First Language: korean
Member Type: Student or Learner
Thanks: 1
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
wowenglish1 is on a distinguished road
Default wait

I would like to know the difference between sentences(1 and 2, 3 and 4).

1. How long have you waited?
2. How long have you been waiting?

3. I'm sorry to keep you waiting.
4. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting.
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 31-Dec-2007, 01:12
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Country: Canada
Posts: 408
Current Location: Canada
First Language: English
Member Type: English Teacher
Thanks: 0
Thanked 15 Times in 15 Posts
Buddhaheart is on a distinguished road
Default Re: wait

While Q.1. is in PPT (present perfect tense), Q.2 is in PPCT (present perfect continuous or progressive). Q.1. and Q.2. represent the typical use of the 2 tenses.

Let’s say you’re waiting in a Doctors office for a long time. You were impatient. Your wait was over and the nurse just told you the Doctor was ready to see you. She showed concern and asked you, “How long have you waited?” You may answer, “I have waited for 40 minutes.” The wait started some 40 minutes ago and just came to an end. The PPT in direct speech is appropriate in this situation. Let’s say 30 minutes ago you’re still waiting, some other patient just came in and sat next to you and asked you, ”How long have you been waiting?” “I have been waiting for 30 minutes,” you answered. 30 minutes ago, your ‘struggle’ wasn’t over. The wait was still going on for another 10 minutes. The PPCT in direct speech is therefore appropriate in this situation.

‘To have kept’ is the perfect form of the present infinitive ‘to keep’ in 3. and 4. Both do the work of an adverb modifying the adjective ‘sorry’.

The nurse might have come to you after 20 minutes into your struggle and said, “I'm sorry to keep you waiting. It won’t be long now.” While the Doctor was ready to see you, she could’ve said, ‘I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. The Doctor is ready to see you now.’
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
wait for x wait on Unregistered Ask a Teacher 9 14-Jul-2008 10:51
wait for chum Ask a Teacher 1 14-Oct-2006 04:48
wait navi t Ask a Teacher 10 13-Dec-2004 10:28
wait navi tasan Ask a Teacher 6 05-Dec-2004 21:27
wait vs wait for whl626 Ask a Teacher 7 10-Feb-2004 14:39


New To Site? Need Help?

All times are GMT. The time now is 04:59.


vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0
Copyright © 2002 - 2008 UsingEnglish.com