For the time being/for now/for the present

[ademoglu]

Hi,

- For the time being, they have studied for the exam.
- For the present, they have studied for the exam.
- For now, they have studied for the exam.

I would like to ask whether We can use the present oerfect with for the time being, for the present and for now or not.

Thanks.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'For the time being, they are studying for the exam.'
'They have stopped studying for the time being.'

Not a teacher.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Ademoglu, all of your examples are incorrect.

 

[ademoglu]

Is it impossible to use the present perfect with those?

 

[MikeNewYork]

In my opinion, yes.

 

[Tarheel]

- [STRIKE]For the time being,[/STRIKE] they have studied for the exam.
- [STRIKE]For the present,[/STRIKE] they have studied for the exam.
- [STRIKE]For now,[/STRIKE] they have studied for the exam.

All of those are good if you do as I did and cross out the initial phrases. Unfortunately, past perfect does not work with those phrases.

I would like to ask whether We can use the present perfect with for the time being, for the present and for now or not.

Well, you didn't use present perfect in your examples, but you could certainly say:

For the time being, they are studying for the exam.

or

For the present, they are studying for the exam.

or

For now, they are studying for the exam.​

 

[Tarheel]

'For the time being, they are studying for the exam.':tick:
'They have stopped studying for the time being.':tick:

Not a teacher.

:up:

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, you didn't use present perfect in your examples, ...

The OP used the present perfect tense ("they have studied") in all three examples.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'For the time being, they have studied English.'

Not a teacher.

 

[emsr2d2]

'For the time being, they have studied English.'

Not a teacher.

No, Matthew Wai. That's incorrect.

 

[Tarheel]

The OP used the present perfect tense ("they have studied") in all three examples.

I forget more grammar terminology every day.
:-(

 

[Matthew Wai]

'For the time being, they have studied English. They will study others later.'
Is it OK?
Not a teacher.

 

[emsr2d2]

No. I think we are witnessing a general misunderstanding of the phrase "For the time being" in this thread.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'Given his limited options, Rao has settled for Barman for the time being.'
'Now it seems that commonsense has prevailed, at least for the time being.'
── quoted from http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/for-the-time-being
I don't understand why the above sentences are correct but mine is incorrect.
Not a teacher.

 

[Tarheel]

'For the time being, they have studied English. They will study others later.'
Is it OK?
Not a teacher.

Try:

For the time being, they have finished studying English. They will do something else for the time being.
​

 

[Matthew Wai]

For the time being, they have finished studying English.

In the examples quoted from the Collins dictionary in my post#14 above, both 'has settled' and 'has prevailed' are finished actions but there is no need to say 'has finished'. Why is it necessary to say 'have finished' when it comes to 'study'?

Not a teacher.

 

[Raymott]

No. I think we are witnessing a general misunderstanding of the phrase "For the time being" in this thread.

I agree. Can I suggest that it's because none of the teachers has explained it yet? You started well.

 

[emsr2d2]

OK. Challenge accepted!

"For the time being" can be replaced by "For now" or even "At the moment and probably for at least a short time in the future". None of those phrases are appropriate to use with a completed action.

Take the example given earlier about being a barman. The gentleman in question might have a law degree. He really wants to work as a lawyer but he can't find a job. He sees an advert for a barman, applies for it and is offered the job. He decides that, for now, he will work as a barman but he will continue to search for a job as a lawyer. So, for the time being, he is happy to work as a barman. The phrase makes it clear that he sees this as a temporary situation but an ongoing one.

Did that help anyone?

 

[Polyester]

What about this below?

For time being, I was a success business man in the past few months. Now, I wake up, this is not true.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'For the time being, I have decided to study English.'
'Have decided' is a completed action but 'study English' is not.

'For the time being, team A has gained an advantage.'
'Has gained' is a completed action but the advantage is still ongoing.

Am I right or wrong? Not a teacher.