What are the possibilities to interprete verb-ing in this setting?

[rogergx]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if this sentence "The man cleaning the kitchen is Jenny's husband" has all the following possible meansings? Which is the least possible one, why? or All are possible?

1. the man who is cleaning the kitchen...
2. the man who has been cleaning the kitchen...
3. the man who will clean the kitchen...
4. the man who has cleaned the kitchen...

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if this the sentence "The man cleaning the kitchen is Jenny's husband" has all the following possible meansings meanings? Which is the least possible? one, Why? or Are all of them are possible?

1. The man who is cleaning the kitchen...
2. The man who has been cleaning the kitchen...
3. The man who will clean the kitchen...
4. The man who has cleaned the kitchen...

As a standalone sentence, it means only #1. Without further context, "The man cleaning the kitchen" is a truncated version of "The man who is cleaning the kitchen". If the surrounding context were referring to a different time from the present, it's possible for it to mean "The man who was cleaning the kitchen". However, that wasn't one of your choices.