I hand't written (haven't written)

[keannu]

I know present perfect is indicating the present state, not the past one, but in this example, does only "hadn't written" work as "until recently" is referring to a point of the past? "until recently" seemed quite similiar to the present point, so I chose "haven't written", but the answer is "hadn't written". I need a clear explanation.

ex)A: Is this the first book you've published?
B:No, but I hand't written (haven't written) an autobiographical work until recently.
a)I haven't written b)I had't written c)I won't be writing d)I'm not writing
answer - b

 

[Tdol]

Until recently is pointing to a point in the past, and the composition of the book was before this point, and I think the question helps frame the time.

 

[5jj]

'Recently' in Br E is a word that frequently refers to a past time-point so closely related, in the speaker's mind, to the present time-point that it is almost part of the broader present time period. This is why we speakers of Br E frequently use the present perfect with this word.

However, as Tdol pointed out, "Until recently is pointing to a point in the past", in your sentence at least.

There are no 'rules' about this - it's very much a matter of what is going on in the speaker's mind at the instant of speaking.

This is the sort of thing I do not like to see as short test items for learners. A native speaker can imagine the wider sort of context in which the utterance would be made, for example: "No, - it is not the first book I have published - I have published three novels - but when this one was published last month, I had not written an autobiographical work in the period up to last month".) I think it is asking too much of even quite advanced learners to imagine a context like this from just twenty words.

 

[Tdol]

I agree that's it's a tough question- you can hear an examiner chuckling in the background. ;-)