It's been about an hour ago

[ostap77]

Do people use the present perfect for the past simple? Here's part of dialog from "Shameless".

"When was the last time you saw......?"

"It's been about an hour ago."

 

[charliedeut]

Do people use the present perfect for the past simple? Here's part of dialog from "Shameless".

"When was the last time you saw......?"

"It's been about an hour ago."

Hi ostap,

If you mean whether it is used in conversation, I would simply say "About an hour ago".

Greetings,

Charliedeut

 

[ostap77]

We usually use the past simle when saying things like "When was the last time you saw him ? It was two hours ago.". Is it correct and possible to use the present perfect in this context?

 

[bhaisahab]

We usually use the past simle when saying things like "When was the last time you saw him ? It was two hours ago.". Is it correct and possible to use the present perfect in this context?

It's possible to say "It must have been about two hours ago" in response to that question, if you are not sure exactly how long ago it was.

 

[Khosro]

"When was the last time you saw......?"

"It's been about an hour ago."

Don't you think that using "present perfect" here is for this reason that meeting the 3'rd person still has a footprint on the memory of the 2'nd person for any reason and he/she conveys such a feeling.

Or, more simply, it was not long ago.

What's your opinion?

though American English and British English are also different regarding the usage of "present perfect".

 

[bhaisahab]

Don't you think that using "present perfect" here is for this reason that meeting the 3'rd person still has a footprint on the memory of the 2'nd person for any reason and he/she conveys such a feeling.

Or, more simply, it was not long ago.

What's your opinion?

My opinion is that "It's been about an hour ago" is incorrect.
You could say, "It's been about an hour" or "It was an hour ago".

 

[Khosro]

What about:"It's been about 2 hours since I last saw him" ?

 

[balakrishnanijk]

An expression with 'ago' refers to a finished time, and is normally used with a past tense, not a present perfect:

She phoned me a short while ago.
He was cooking a few minutes ago.

 

[bhaisahab]

What about:"It's been about 2 hours since I last saw him" ?

That's fine.

 

[Khosro]

Yes. You are both right.

 

[ostap77]

My opinion is that "It's been about an hour ago" is incorrect.
You could say, "It's been about an hour" or "It was an hour ago".

It's part of a dialog from an American version of "Shameless". When I heard I was wandering,why did the speaker use the present perfect with a finished time in the past? Events in "Shameless" take place in the suburbs of Chicago. Is this a dialect?

I've watched it ten times now. You can clearly hear that when an officer walkes up to the parents of a missing child and askes them when they saw their son last "It's been about an hour ago".

 

[bhaisahab]

It's part of a dialog from an American version of "Shameless". When I heard I was wandering,why did the speaker use the present perfect with a finished time in the past? Events in "Shameless" take place in the suburbs of Chicago. Is this a dialect?

I've watched it ten times now. You can clearly hear that when an officer walkes up to the parents of a missing child and askes them when they saw their son last "It's been about an hour ago".

Perhaps one of the American members might know if it's something somebody from Chicago might say.

 

[ostap77]

Perhaps one of the American members might know if it's something somebody from Chicago might say.

Or it might have been because the speaker was uneducated?

 

[balakrishnanijk]

People usually think that the present perfect tense cannot be used with expressions of finished time. We can say I HAVE SEEN HIM or I SAW HIM YESTERDAY,but not I HAVE SEEN HIM YESTERDAY. In fact, such sentences are unusual but not impossible:

Police have arrested 9 bootleggers in raids throughout the city on Monday and Tuesday.

 

[5jj]

People usually think that the present perfect tense cannot be used with expressions of finished time. We can say I HAVE SEEN HIM or I SAW HIM YESTERDAY,but not I HAVE SEEN HIM YESTERDAY. In fact, such sentences are unusual but not impossible:

Police have arrested 9 bootleggers in raids throughout the city on Monday and Tuesday.

You will indeed see and hear such sentences, but I do not recommend tham as a model for learners, especially if they are working towards an examination.

Most people would write that sentence, with a past simple.

When I have occasionally said such things, I think it is because I have combined two thoughts: Police have arrested 9 bootleggers in raids throughout the city (. These raids took place place) on Monday and Tuesday.

 

[ostap77]

You will indeed see and hear such sentences, but I do not recommend tham as a model for learners, especially if they are working towards an examination.

Most people would write that sentence, with a past simple.

When I have occasionally said such things, I think it is because I have combined two thoughts: Poloce have arrested 9 bootleggers in raids throughout the city (. These raids took place place) on Monday and Tuesday.

So when the parent of a missing child answered "It's been about an hour ago" he might have been thinking and combined his thougts like you did "My child has been kidnaped"+"It happened about an hour ago"?