I have always wanted... as soon as [past simple/present simple]

MickeyQ

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1. Since I was a child, I have always wanted to live abroad as soon as I finished university and had the money to move.
2. Since I was a child, I have always wanted to live abroad as soon as I finish university and have the money to move.

Hello, teachers!
I'd like to know in what situation should I use the first one and in what situation the second one.

Does the first one imply that I've already finished the university and now I live abroad or am going to live abroad soon, while the second one implies that I have not finished the university yet, but I am still studying or I'm about to begin studying?

Thank you!
 
Last edited:
They're both unnatural. I definitely wouldn't use "Since I was a child" and "I have always wanted" together. Drop the opening phrase.

I've always wanted to move abroad after university, once I have enough money. (This could be said before or after finishing university.)
I want to move abroad after university, once I have enough money. (This is more likely to be said while you're at university.)

(Note: Please don't use the "Report" function to try to get people to answer your question.)
 
I have probably never said "I have always...." Why? It's never true. Maybe I would say, for example, "Since I was a young child I have wanted to be a pilot of an airplane."
 
I have probably never said "I have always...." Why? It's never true. Maybe I would say, for example, "Since I was a young child I have wanted to be a pilot of an airplane."
You might not have said it but it's a common enough phrase. It's rarely meant to be taken literally. Of course, one could say "For as long as I can remember, I have wanted ..." but it's much wordier and everyone knows what "I've always wanted ..." means.
 
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