Those people we met in Paris were very nice

[milan2003_07]

Happy New Year!

In Oxford English Grammar by Michael Swan I've found the following sentence (actually, there're two sentences on this topic and I'll provide one). It illustrates the usage of the past simple tense:

"Those people we met in Paris were very nice".

Can we say "Those people we met in Paris are very nice".

The book recommends we use the past tense, but I think I've seen the present tense as well in other sources. Will it be a mistake to use "are"?

 

[5jj]

Unless you have kept in touch with them, you are far more likely to use 'were'.

 

[emsr2d2]

In Oxford English Grammar by Michael Swan, I've I found the following sentence (actually, there're are two sentences on this topic and I'll provide one). It illustrates the usage of the past simple tense:

"Those people we met in Paris were very nice".

Can we say "Those people we met in Paris are very nice"?
The book recommends we use the past tense, but I think I've seen the present tense as well in other sources. Will Would it be a mistake to use "are"?

Note my changes above. It's OK to use "there're" when speaking (or in reported speech) but we don't use it standard text.

 

[teechar]

If you've lost touch with them (as 5jj said above), or if they're dead, then you should use "were". Otherwise, "are" may be possible.

 

[milan2003_07]

In Oxford English Grammar by Michael Swan, I've I found the following sentence (actually, there're are two sentences on this topic and I'll provide one). It illustrates the usage of the past simple tense:

"Those people we met in Paris were very nice".

Can we say "Those people we met in Paris are very nice"?
The book recommends we use the past tense, but I think I've seen the present tense as well in other sources. Will Would it be a mistake to use "are"?

I intuitively agree with the past simple tense, but I can't understand why "I've found" is a mistake. When I was writing "I've found..." I was thinking about me posting this message here and referring to the event (reading the grammar book) that has direct relation to the present.

 

[Tarheel]

@milan2003_07 I'm a little confused. Didn't somebody comment on those sentences already?

 

[teechar]

The act of finding here, in itself, is not so significant to justify using the present perfect. However, in other contexts, it can work. For example,

1- Imagine a group of young scouts in a competition, looking for a hidden map somewhere in a forest. Someone might suddenly say:
"Look, Jimmy's found the map!". Here, the present perfect is used to express the important result/ramification of an event (that happened in the recent past).

2- Using the same context as in 1, imagine those scouts are looking for rare mushrooms in the forest. You might hear:
A- How many have you found?
B- I've found six so far.
Here, the present perfect is used for an unfinished action. It indicates that the search for mushrooms is ongoing. There is still the possibility of finding more.

 

[emsr2d2]

@milan2003_07 I'm a little confused. Didn't somebody comment on those sentences already?

Unfortunately, the OP keeps messing up the quote function. I've just fixed the post.

 

[milan2003_07]

The act of finding here, in itself, is not so significant to justify using the present perfect. However, in other contexts, it can work. For example,

1- Imagine a group of young scouts in a competition, looking for a hidden map somewhere in a forest. Someone might suddenly say:
"Look, Jimmy's found the map!". Here, the present perfect is used to express the important result/ramification of an event (that happened in the recent past).

2- Using the same context as in 1, imagine those scouts are looking for rare mushrooms in the forest. You might hear:
A- How many have you found?
B- I've found six so far.
Here, the present perfect is used for an unfinished action. It indicates that the search for mushrooms is ongoing. There is still the possibility of finding more.

I see how the present perfect is used with your example about mushrooms and people picking them. Your example regarding the map and Jimmy is also very good, thanks!

I suppose that the present can be used when we're talking about some past activity that is related to the present. You've written that it has to be 'recent path", but maybe it doesn't matter if it's recent past or not (e.g. "long past")?

Regarding my original sentence with "found / have found" I probably see that just an action of finding something isn't enough to justify the usage of the present perfect. Maybe if I had added more details related to the present, the usage of the present perfect would be more reasonable and less doubtful.

E.g.: "I've found the following sentence is the Oxford Grammar Book and I believe this sentence is a very good example of the usage of some grammar tenses in English". Then I provide the examples.

 

[teechar]

I see how the present perfect is used with your example about mushrooms and people picking them. Your example regarding the map and Jimmy is also very good. Thanks!

You're welcome.

I suppose that the present perfect can be used when we're talking about some past activity that is related to the present. You've written that it has to be 'recent past path", but maybe it doesn't matter if it's recent past or not (e.g. "long distant past")

It either needs to be an event from the recent past, or one that happened some time in the past but still has relevance to the present time. The point is to think of the present perfect as a tense that connects the past with the present. Yes, it can be from the distant past. For example:
The Russian Revolution has inspired millions of people all over the world. [ The event happened in the past and is over, but it still inspires people]

Regarding my original sentence with "found/have found" I probably see that just an action of finding something isn't enough to justify the usage of the present perfect.

Right.

Maybe if I had added more details related to the present, the usage of the present perfect would be more reasonable and less doubtful.

It's not so much about adding detail; it's about justifying the use of the present perfect.

E.g.: "I've found the following sentence is the Oxford Grammar Book and I believe this sentence is a very good example of the usage of some grammar tenses in English". Then I provide the examples.

Possibly, but to be honest, the past simple would work perfectly there too.