been known vs is known

[ostap77]

If I said that somebody has been known to be a great public speaker, I would be refering to him being a great speaker in the past up to the moment of speaking, whereas someone is known to be a great speaker would mean at the moment of speaking?

 

[emsr2d2]

In this case, if you said "John Smith has been known to be a great public speaker" I would think that you meant that he had occasionally spoken very well in public but that he had also given some terrible speeches.

- Do you eat spinach?
- I have been known to. (I've done it but I don't do it on a regular basis.)

- Is your boss generous with pay rises?
- He has been known to be, although he has never given me a particularly good rise.

- Is your dog very aggressive?
- He has been known to be, but normally he is very sweet.

If someone has historically always been a great public speaker, there is no reason to believe that that is any different today, so I would say "John Smith is known to be a great public speaker".

 

[ostap77]

What about "English has been known to be a universal language."? What difference would it make if I changed it to "English is known to be......"?

 

[emsr2d2]

What about "English has been known to be a universal language."? What difference would it make if I changed it to "English is known to be......"?

I wouldn't recommend using either of them.

English is said to be a universal language.
English is considered [to be] a universal language.

 

[ostap77]

OK. "English has been regarded to....." and "....is regarded to........."?

 

[bhaisahab]

OK. "English has been regarded to....." and "....is regarded to........."?

Neither of them. emsr2d2 has given you two good alternatives.

 

[emsr2d2]

OK. "English has been regarded to....." and "....is regarded to........."?

No. If you are going to use "regarded", I would follow it with "as".

English is regarded as a universal language.

 

[ostap77]

Sorry. I was going to ask you if there would be the same difference in meaning between "English has been considered........" and ".......is considered....." as between"has been known and "is known"?