"We are in quarantine"

[Rachel Adams]

Is my second sentence correct?

"We have been in Paris for five days. Now we are in quarantine for 10 days."

 

[Yankee]

Yes.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd use either "in quarantine" or the continuous verb.

Now we're quarantining for ten days.

 

[teechar]

Now we're quarantining for ten days.

But that's different. It implies a voluntary act.

 

[Rachel Adams]

I'd use either "in quarantine" or the continuous verb.

Now we're quarantining for ten days.

I thought it should be "we have been in quarantine" to mean that I am already in quarantine as I am in France and continue my stay there.
Is it an exception where the simple present is not wrong instead of the present perfect? For example, "I have been here for ten days" is correct but "I am here for ten days" is not.

 

[teechar]

Rachel, how does the five days relate to the ten days? Clarify the scenario.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Rachel, how does the five days relate to the ten days? Clarify the scenario.

"I mean I arrived five days ago and will have to spend the next ten days in quarantine."

 

[teechar]

That works. Use it!

 

[Rachel Adams]

That works. Use it!

But since I am already in quarantine and will have to stay there for the next ten days I thought it would be wrong to use the simple present and it should be "I have been in quarantine for ten days" but if I say that the meaning would be different. It means I have already been there for ten days. That's why it doesn't work and I should use the sentence from my previous post. Post #8. Do I understand correctly?

 

[Tarheel]

"I mean I arrived five days ago and will have to spend the next ten days in quarantine."

Does that mean you've been in quarantine for five days and you have ten days to go?

 

[emsr2d2]

I think we need to sort out the terminology here (I assume we're talking about Covid).

If you're in quarantine, it's because you've tested positive for Covid, someone in your property has tested positive, or you've been contacted by track and trace to tell you you've been in close contact with someone who tested positive. It's also called self-isolation. If that's what you mean, and this all started five days after you arrived in Paris, then you're on the right track. I'd be inclined to make it clearer though:

Five days after I arrived in Paris, I was told I had to quarantine/self-isolate for ten days (after I tested positive/my wife tested positive/I had been in contact with someone who tested positive).

If you're talking about something everyone is having to do, then you need to talk about lockdown:

I arrived in Paris five days ago, and the city has just been put into lockdown for ten days. How frustrating!

 

[Rachel Adams]

I think we need to sort out the terminology here (I assume we're talking about Covid).

If you're in quarantine, it's because you've tested positive for Covid, someone in your property has tested positive, or you've been contacted by track and trace to tell you you've been in close contact with someone who tested positive. It's also called self-isolation. If that's what you mean, and this all started five days after you arrived in Paris, then you're on the right track. I'd be inclined to make it clearer though:

Five days after I arrived in Paris, I was told I had to quarantine/self-isolate for ten days (after I tested positive/my wife tested positive/I had been in contact with someone who tested positive).

If you're talking about something everyone is having to do, then you need to talk about lockdown:

I arrived in Paris five days ago, and the city has just been put into lockdown for ten days. How frustrating!

I was talking about my friend who arrived in London a few days ago. I wasn't describing lockdown. We were talking about grammar. In one of her messages she said: "We have been in London for three days now we are in quarantine for ten days." We weren't sure if present simple was correct. Shorty after the arrival they were told they had to quarantine. They haven't tested positive. When she messaged me she had already been quarantining. That's why we thought she should have said "We have been in quarantine for ten days" but at the same time it can be understood as 10 days have already passed and they are still there but it doesn't work because it's not true. Then isn't the present simple the best option?

 

[GoesStation]

I was talking about my friend who arrived in London a few days ago …. In one of her messages she said: "We have been in London for three days now we are in quarantine for ten days." We weren't sure if present simple was correct …. When she messaged me she had already been quarantining. That's why we thought she should have said "We have been in quarantine for ten days" ….

The present simple was the correct choice because she was in quarantine at the time she made the statement and expected to remain so. She could have said "We've been in quarantine for three days and are in quarantine for ten more," though the repetition is a little awkward.

 

[Rachel Adams]

My head is spinning.

Stay simple:

We have been in quarantine for ten days. - the quarantine began ten days ago. We don't know from that sentence when the quarantine will end.

We are in quarantine for ten days. - The total quarantine period is ten days. That period has started for us (we don't know when from that sentence) ***It started two days before she messaged me.***We also don't know when it will end, except that it will be ten days after it started.

It will end in three days. I added my answer in your quote. Sorry, but I couldn't type in bold.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Not according to this Ngram.

I always say (and usually hear) in quarantine. Maybe that's just the US.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Is my second sentence correct?

"We have been in Paris for five days. Now we are in quarantine for ten days."

I can't think of a reason not to spell out ten. You spelled out five.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It will end in three days. I added my answer in your quote. Sorry, but I couldn't type in bold.

Sorry, but that's impossible. If you got to Paris only five days ago and are in a ten-day quarantine now, it can't end in just three days.