[Grammar] Please correct my grammar with reasons!

[Andrew Cole]

"I have taught English for ten years at a university."

For some reason this sentence sounds wrong and I can't pin point why.

I think the correct sentence should be...
"I have been teaching for ten years at a university"
or...
"I taught English for ten years at a university."

Is the first sentence OK? If not, what reasons would you give?

Thanks for your help...

Andrew

 

[2006]

Welcome to the forums!

"I have taught English for ten years at a university." It is better to say 'I have taught English at a university for ten years.' That sentence means that you are still doing it.

For some reason this sentence sounds wrong and I can't pinpoint why.

...
I think the correct sentence should be 'I have been teaching for ten years at a university.'Yes, if you are still teaching there.
or...
"I taught English for ten years at a university." That sentence means that you did that in the past but not doing it now.

Is the first sentence OK? If not, what reasons would you give?

Thanks for your help...

Andrew

...

 

[MikeNewYork]

There is nothing at all wrong with "I have taught English for ten years at a university".

 

[Matthew Wai]

'I have taught English at a university for ten years.' That sentence means that you are still doing it.

If the speaker has just quitted the teaching job, can s/he use that sentence?

 

[emsr2d2]

The past tense of "quit" is "quit".

No, if you are no longer an English teacher at that university, you would say "I taught English at ... for ten years".

 

[Matthew Wai]

The past tense of "quit" is "quit".

"past tense and past participle quit also quitted"──quoted from http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/quit

Not a teacher.

 

[emsr2d2]

I've never heard it in BrE.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I have never heard "quitted" in AmE. It is listed in dictionaries, but I would not encourage you to use it.

 

[Raymott]

No, if you are no longer an English teacher at that university, you would say "I taught English at ... for ten years".

Since Matthew has started a new thread to question this, I think it's fair to say that the context would come into it.
"I have taught English for ten years at a university" can be used if one is still there, just finished, or did so a few decades ago. The reason for imparting this information will determine the tense used.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I've never heard it in BrE.

Ironically my Oxford dictionary says it is "BrE".

Not a teacher.

 

[emsr2d2]

I can assure you there are a lot of BrE words I've never heard of. With this particular example, that might be because we use "quit" far less regularly than our American friends. In many cases where it's "quit" in AmE, it's "give up" in BrE.