EngLearner
Member
- Joined
- May 13, 2023
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Ukrainian
- Home Country
- Ukraine
- Current Location
- Ukraine
Someone on a language forum (here's a link to that discussion) says that fingers have three joints each and that all those joints are called knuckles. A and B, both native English speakers, reply to the thread to share their opinions on the matter:
A: "I've been using English for 70 years, and until now it's never occurred to me that some people use "knuckle" for the second & third finger joints - to me, knuckles are only the first joint, between the finger and the hand proper."
B: "I have been using English for a comparable length of time, and I supposed, without really thinking about it, that the fingers have three joints each, and the thumbs two, and that some folks call 'em all 'knuckles' and some restrict that to the first ones, where the digits join the hands."
A and B are expressing their opinions based on their life experiences up to now (A uses the present perfect tense in his response accordingly — "I've been using" and "it's never occurred"). Why does B start with the present perfect continuous "I have been using" and then suddenly switch to the simple past "I supposed"? Is there a chance someone would use the present perfect "I've supposed" for the bolded verb in this case? If the present perfect isn't appropriate, why was the simple past "I supposed" used?
A: "I've been using English for 70 years, and until now it's never occurred to me that some people use "knuckle" for the second & third finger joints - to me, knuckles are only the first joint, between the finger and the hand proper."
B: "I have been using English for a comparable length of time, and I supposed, without really thinking about it, that the fingers have three joints each, and the thumbs two, and that some folks call 'em all 'knuckles' and some restrict that to the first ones, where the digits join the hands."
A and B are expressing their opinions based on their life experiences up to now (A uses the present perfect tense in his response accordingly — "I've been using" and "it's never occurred"). Why does B start with the present perfect continuous "I have been using" and then suddenly switch to the simple past "I supposed"? Is there a chance someone would use the present perfect "I've supposed" for the bolded verb in this case? If the present perfect isn't appropriate, why was the simple past "I supposed" used?
