The milk is sour

[Rachel Adams]

I am confused by this sentence from "A Practical English Grammar Exercises" by A. J. Thomson and A. V. Martinet.

"The milk is sour. A: Do you keep milk a long time?

B: Are you keeping milk a long time?

C. Have you been keeping milk a long time?

D: Have you kept milk a long time?

The exercise asks to use either present simple or continuous, but are present perfect and present perfect continuous also correct depending on what I want to express?

 

[5jj]

I am confused by this sentence from "A Practical English Grammar Exercises"

I am not surprised.

Only the first is just about possible, but even that question is not a natural follow-on.

 

[Rover_KE]

This is better:

"The milk is sour" (AE spoiled, I think):

E: Have you kept it too long or not refrigerated it properly?

 

[GoesStation]

This is better:

"The milk is sour" (AE spoiled, I think):

E: Have you kept it too long or not refrigerated it properly?

"Spoiled" is possible, but "sour" works fine.

 

[Rachel Adams]

This is better:

"The milk is sour" (AE spoiled, I think):

E: Have you kept it too long or not refrigerated it properly?

Isn't present perfect continuous also an option?

 

[5jj]

It's not impossible.

 

[emsr2d2]

If you asked "Have you been keeping it too long?", that would suggest that you're asking about a habitual action. It's like saying "Are you in the habit of keeping your milk too long?"

As 5jj said, it's not a natural comeback to the statement. In BrE (everyday conversation), you'd hear something like:

A: Yuk! The milk's gone off.
B: How long have you had it?

 

[Rachel Adams]

If you asked "Have you been keeping it too long?", that would suggest that you're asking about a habitual action. It's like saying "Are you in the habit of keeping your milk too long?"

As 5jj said, it's not a natural comeback to the statement. In BrE (everyday conversation), you'd hear something like:

A: Yuk! The milk's gone off.
B: How long have you had it?

Thanks. I didn't know that present perfect continuous can express a habitual action.
Is there a section in a book or an article where I can read more about it?

 

[Tdol]

You can say, at least in BrE, that the milk is off. That is not one of Thomson and Martinet more illustrative questions- it's rubbish to be honest.

 

[Rachel Adams]

If you asked "Have you been keeping it too long?", that would suggest that you're asking about a habitual action. It's like saying "Are you in the habit of keeping your milk too long?"

As 5jj said, it's not a natural comeback to the statement. In BrE (everyday conversation), you'd hear something like:

A: Yuk! The milk's gone off.
B: How long have you had it?

In your example, "The milk's gone off" is it the short form of "has" or "is"?

 

[GoesStation]

In your example, "The milk's gone off" is it the short form of "has" or "is"?

It's the contracted form of The milk has gone off.

 

[Tdol]

If it were is, it would be the milk's off.

 

[Rachel Adams]

If it were is, it would be the milk's off.

In other situations when people say "She's gone" is it the contraction of "she has gone" and "she is gone"?

 

[Tarheel]

In other situations when people say "She's gone" is it the contraction of "she has gone" or "she is gone"?

Most likely it's the contracted form of "She is gone" although the other one is possible.

 

[emsr2d2]

For me, it's "She has gone".

 

[teechar]

In other situations when people say "She's gone", is it the contraction of "she has gone" [STRIKE]and[/STRIKE] or "she is gone"?

Either is possible, depending on the context.
Remember that "gone" can be an adjective (meaning dead or no longer in existence).
For example,
This rare dialect will probably be gone in fifty years.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Either is possible, depending on the context.
Remember that "gone" can be an adjective (meaning dead or no longer in existence).
For example,
This rare dialect will probably be gone in fifty years.

Does "gone" mean "dead" or no longer n existence when it's used with "Be" or it doesn't matter? For example, "This dialect is/has gone. "The people who have/are gone".

 

[teechar]

or it doesn't matter?

What do you mean by that?

 

[Rachel Adams]

What do you mean by that?

I mean is "She has gone" and "She is gone", understood as both "she has left" and "she is dead" depending on context, or does only "is gone" mean that the person is dead? And in the same way "The dialect has gone" and "The dialect is gone" can either be used to say that it's no longer present?

 

[emsr2d2]

I think there's a BrE/AmE difference with this one. In my region of the UK at least, we don't use "She is gone" to mean "She has gone" (in the context of leaving rather than dying).