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Grammarboard _ English as a Second Language _ stopped
Posted by: navi Nov 12 2009, 03:11 PM
1-1-I have stopped working today.
2-I have stopped working for today.
3-I stopped working today.
Which of the above correspond to which of the below:
a-I stopped working defintively or for a long period of time (I stopped working today and will start work after I have been completely cured of this disease.)
b-I have stopped working for today and I will start working again tomorrow
c.The sentence is ambiguous
Posted by: wonderwhy Nov 12 2009, 05:31 PM
2-I have stopped working for today.
3-I stopped working today.
Which of the above correspond to which of the below:
a-I stopped working defintively or for a long period of time (I stopped working today and will start work after I have been completely cured of this disease.)
b-I have stopped working for today and I will start working again tomorrow
c.The sentence is ambiguous
As stand alone sentences, none would be clear as to meaning, Navi.
Posted by: Sparky Nov 13 2009, 09:16 AM
I have stopped working for today clearly means "I am not going to work anymore today, but I will be back to work tomorrow (or Monday)."
I stopped working today means "I stopped working," but, because this situation is out of the ordinary, it indicates that you stopped working for a reason (You went on strike? You got mad and quit your job? You retired?) Without more context, we'd assume that you stopped permanently.
Usually, it's better to give more information:
I retired today.
I quit my job today.
I went on sick leave today.
The sentence I have stopped working today is unusual. We might say "I have retired" or we might say "I retired last February." We would not say "I have retired last February." When we specify a time we use simple past tense.
Posted by: wonderwhy Nov 13 2009, 08:52 PM
Sparky's right.
The sentence I have stopped working today is unusual. We might say "I have retired" or we might say "I retired last February." We would not say "I have retired last February." When we specify a time we use simple past tense.
It is unusual but not because the present perfect is matched with 'today'. It's unusual because we don't use that collocation to express this idea. It's unusual because it's not natural.
"As of today, I have stopped working" would be a strong possibility; "As of today, I have stopped eating meat".
There is a rumor that when we include a past time adjunct, [not just "When we specify a time] we don't use the present perfect. Normally, that is the case and it is a strong one. However, there are situations where the present perfect of importance overrides this and the present perfect is used with a past time adjunct.
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