[Grammar] Most great leaders in history have been charismatic.

[kadioguy]

charismatic

If all kinds of people are attracted to you, you are charismatic. Most great leaders in history have been charismatic, like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/charismatic
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I don't know why the blue part is used in the present perfect.

a. Most great leaders in history have been charismatic ....

b. Most great leaders in history are charismatic ....

c. Most great leaders in history were charismatic ....

What different effects do (a), (b), and (c) have?

PS - I created (b) and (c) for comparison.

 

[GoesStation]

It's in the present perfect. This connects the assertion with the present.

The present simple in B doesn't work because "in history" sets the time frame in the past. The past simple in C is less appropriate because it suggests there won't be any more great leaders.

 

[kadioguy]

Thank you for the reply, GoesStation.

The past simple in C is less appropriate because it suggests there won't be any more great leaders.

Can (C) mean that the great leaders in history were charismatic at their times but the charisma no longer exists now (because of their deaths or something)? [Compare it to (A)]

 

[GoesStation]

Thank you for the reply, GoesStation.



Can (C) mean that the great leaders in history were charismatic at their times but the charisma no longer exists now (because of their deaths or something)? [Compare it to (A)]

You'd use the past simple to make that statement, but you'd need a few more words to convey the meaning.

 

[jutfrank]

The past simple in C is less appropriate because it suggests there won't be any more great leaders.

I don't like to quibble, but I think you meant to say that it suggests there won't be any more charismatic great leaders.

Anyway, I don't think I'd go so far as to say that there is such a suggestion. I'd say the present perfect serves just to place the time frame ending at the moment of speaking. So far, most have been charismatic. We don't have any idea about future ones.

 

[kadioguy]

Thank you for the help, jutfrank.

I'd say the present perfect serves just to place the time frame ending at the moment of speaking. So far, most have been charismatic. We don't have any idea about future ones.

Is the whole blue part a noun phrase? In other words, "the ending" -> "the time frame ending".

I am asking this because I am not sure whether the "ending" is a noun or a V-ing. :-?

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(Update)

Maybe this? the time frame('s) ending

 

[tedmc]

"Ending" is a participle modifying "time frame".

The present perfect tense is appropriate to refer to things from the past to the present moment as part of a continuum.

 

[jutfrank]

I'd say the present perfect serves just to place the time frame ending at the moment of speaking.

When does the present perfect place the time frame? Ending at the moment of speaking.

The whole sentence uses the pattern place + something + somewhere . It's unusual for a 'somewhere' phrase to be an -ing phrase, which makes the sentence a bit clumsy.

I did actually give this some consideration when editing my post, and then decided that I could get away with it, for brevity's sake. Apparently, I was wrong.

 

[kadioguy]

I'd say the present perfect serves just to place the time frame ending at the moment of speaking.

When does the present perfect place the time frame? Ending at the moment of speaking.

The whole sentence uses the pattern place + something + somewhere . It's unusual for a 'somewhere' phrase to be an -ing phrase, which makes the sentence a bit clumsy.

I did actually give this some consideration when editing my post, and then decided that I could get away with it, for brevity's sake. Apparently, I was wrong.

Thank you for the explanation.

How about this one?

... the present perfect serves just to place the ending of time frame at the moment of speaking.

 

[kadioguy]

Thank you for the explanation.

How about this one?

... the present perfect serves just to place the ending of time frame at the moment of speaking.

Could you tell me whether the "time frame" needs "the" before it and why?

 

[GoesStation]

Could you tell me whether the "time frame" needs "the" before it and why?

You're speaking of a specific time frame, so you need the definite article.

 

[kadioguy]

You're speaking of a specific time frame, so you need the definite article.

I got it:

... the present perfect serves just to place the ending of the time frame at the moment of speaking.