I have visited Kyoto twice.

[tzfujimino]

Hello.:-D

I have a question as to the usage of the present perfect.
If I understand it correctly, it is not used with specific time expressions.

Please look at the sentence below.

I have visited Kyoto twice.

I understand it's grammatically correct.
However, I'm not sure about the one below:

I have visited Kyoto twice - in 1985 and 1986.

Is it acceptable or should it be "I visited Kyoto twice in 1985 and 1986."?

Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

The original is fine.

"I visited Kyoto twice in 1985 and 1986" would suggest to me that the speaker had been to Kyoto four times - twice in 1985 and twice in 1986.

 

[tzfujimino]

Thank you, ems.:-D

Do you mean "I have visited Kyoto twice - in 1985 and 1986" when you say 'the original'?

Thank you again.

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes.

 

[5jj]

The dash between I have visited Kyoto twice and in 1985 and 1986 is sufficient to separate the two thoughts. What you cannot write is I have visited Kyoto twice in 1985 and 1986.

 

[5jj]

As a follow-up to my post #5, I would note that you may hear people say such things as I have visited Kyoto twice in 1985 and 1986. When we are speaking informally, we do not consciously plan what we are going to say. We start an utterance, and then the words just come out. Once having started with I have visited Kyoto twice, the speaker may suddenly think of the two occasions and go on to mention them. There will not necessarily even be a pause, the spoken equivalent of a written dash. It is very unlikely that a native-speaking listener, even a grammarian, would be aware of anything wrong.

 

[Matthew Wai]

"I visited Kyoto twice in 1985 and 1986" would suggest to me that the speaker had been to Kyoto four times - twice in 1985 and twice in 1986.

Will this suggestion be eliminated if "totally" is added before "twice"?

 

[bigC]

I am not a teacher

In order to avoid confusion.

Can I write "I have visited Kyoto in 1985 and 1986 once each year"

Since time is mentioned, do you think it is more grammatical to write "I visited Kyoto in 1985 and 1986 once each year".

 

[emsr2d2]

Will this suggestion be eliminated if "totally" is added before "twice"?

No. "totally" has no place anywhere in that sentence. Perhaps you meant "in total". If that's the case, it could be added after "twice".

I have visited Kyoto twice in total - in 1985 and 1986.

"In total" does not work in the sentence that starts "I visited".

 

[5jj]

Will this suggestion be eliminated if "totally" is added before "twice"?

No.

You could say:

I visited Kyoto twice in total, in 1985 and 1986.
I visited Kyoto twice altogether, in 1985 and 1986.

You could just say: I visited Kyoto in 1985 and 1986. The normal assumption will be that you visited on one occasion in each year,

 

[emsr2d2]

I am not a teacher

In order to avoid confusion.

Can I write "I have visited Kyoto in 1985 and 1986 once each year"

Since time is mentioned, do you think it is more grammatical to write "I visited Kyoto in 1985 and 1986 once each year".

"I [have] visited Kyoto in 1985 and 1986 once each year" is not grammatical.

I visited Kyoto once in 1985 and once in 1986.

 

[Tdol]

Most of the time, it's not that important to be accurate and people will default to the most obvious interpretation, so things like twice in total and breaking things down to be crystal clear that there was only one trip in each of the two years would be natural only when it's that important to get things right. In most conversations, it would be enough for people to learn that you've been there more than once.