Basic Clause Patternswho is living with bipolar disorder, and a friend facing the daily chal-
lenge of hepatitis C. You see where this is going....
With my list in hand, I’m working toward a new way of think-
ing about health and disease. Illness is the rule, not the exception.
That may sound depressing, but if I accept the idea—and how can I
not when I read all those names?—then I have to do more than wait
around for the next dreaded phone call....
Another thing I can do is be more useful to the people on my
list. Like most folks, I usually make it a point not to think about
a friend’s or relative’s health problems when I’m hanging out with
him. But talking can be a good thing. It may not be easy—for either
party—but there’s no doubt that sharing the burden of an illness can
be beneficial.Perfect aspect
The perfect aspect represents an earlier situation as being relevant in some way
at a later time, so it must be distinguished from the simple past tense. Situa-
tions that continue right up to the time of reference can be viewed in this way,
as can very recent situations:
(73) I have been a taxpayer since 1980.
(74) By 2005, I had been a taxpayer for 23 long years.
In (73) the time of reference is the time at which the sentence is uttered, so the
present perfect is used; in (74) the time of reference is 2005, which is before
“now,” so the past perfect is used. Both sentences imply that the condition of
being a taxpayer continued up to the reference time.
The situation need not be a state or condition. When the verb represents
an event, the sentence may represent repetition of that event. This usually
requires an appropriate adverbial phrase:
(75) We have visited Norway every July for 15 years.
The relevance of the situation represented by the sentence need not be as
clear as the continuation of the situation itself. We have visited Norway sug-
gests that we made at least one visit during the period leading up to the time
of utterance. The situation may also be interpreted as an event that resulted in
a state that continued to the time of reference. The bus has stopped implies that
the bus is now stopped, just as Mother has arrived implies that Mother is now here.