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cic
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Is it correct to say "he has lived in this flat since two months ago"?
blacknomi said:I heard a sentence today and I didn't think it correct.
"How long have you been studying English before?"
"Before" feels uncomfertable there. :?:
cic said:Is it correct to say "he has lived in this flat since two months ago"?
cic said:Is it correct to say "he has lived in this flat since two months ago"?
Marylin said:Well, this particular topic is really generating a lot of debate. And to be quite honest with you I haven't seen anything in grammar saying that since and ago can't be used in the same sentence. It sounds a bit awkward but I hear that use very often. In fact, I am almost used to hearing it all the time. Of course, we tell everyone that since ties with "two years" and ago will take on "two years ago".
X noticed that the same question can be easily changed to:
He has lived in this flat for two months.
Plain and simple.
But what if the person wants to give the sentence an exact point in time ( since 2 months and not two months and 3 days, two months and 3 weeks, etc) and at the same time we know it happend in the past (ago) then how else can we go about it? How else would you paraphrase a sentence like that without spreading yourself too thin? Can you do it all in one sentence? To me it's a quick shortcut between Past Simple and Present Perfect Tense.
Perhaps it's too much to cram into one sentence but grammatical or not, it's very common nowadays.
Well, this particular topic is really generating a lot of debate. And to be quite honest with you I haven't seen anything in grammar saying that since and ago can't be used in the same sentence.
Marylin said:We have to be practical and really consider what we say and what can say when telling ESL students what they can say and cannot say. [/color]
Well, of course. I wouldn't ask ESL students to comply with "my new rules". I haven't made any. It's just a plain observation on my part. Whether I like it or not, this new form of since and agois out there big time and has gained in popularity lately.
I don't know where it originates from but, regardless of its awkwardness, I can see some logic behind it.
That's an interesting point. It calls to mind a question: Does grammar account for everything that may or may not be said?
Isn't that what grammar is for?
Marylin said:We have to be practical and really consider what we say and what can say when telling ESL students what they can say and cannot say. [/color]
Well, of course. I wouldn't ask ESL students to comply with "my new rules". I haven't made any. It's just a plain observation on my part. Whether I like it or not, this new form of since and ago is out there big time and has gained in popularity lately. I don't know where it originates from but, regardless of its awkwardness, I can see some logic behind it.
It is correct. Mind you, it's a transformation.University of Cambridge PET sentence transformation:
He started living in this flat two months ago.
He has lived in this flat ........ two months ago.
The answer is SINCE.