Thread: quikie translation for a noobie

Originally Posted by translations.nm.ru

Originally Posted by shadow1

Я родился в Нью-Йорке. Там я вырос и прожил много лет.
Моя первая работа была в Массачусетсе. Я проработал там почти 10 лет инженером-программистом.
10 лет тому назад, в 1997 году, мне предложили работу на титановом заводе в Лас-Вегасе.
Лас-Вегас красивый город, и здесь никогда не бывает холодно. Так я решил переехать сюда, и с тех пор я так и живу здесь.

Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot

Ramil,

Your questions suggest to me that you missed an important fact: we generally use Past Perfect only in relation to other events. That means it rarely comes up on its own. If it does, it is still meant to be in in relation to something else, but which is implied or already evident.

"I lived in Paris for two years" is perfectly correct, a statement of fact about a period that is separate from the present (therefore you could not live there now).

"I had lived in Paris" is only correct if it is meant to show that this even came before another event in the past. If there is no other event, then it sounds incomplete.

All of your first group of "I lived in Paris" examples are correct.

As for the others:

I have lived in Paris
... this year (but don't live there now) - correct?
Not exactly, partly because it sounds funny that you would consider such a short time to be "living" in a place. "Spent some time" sounds better." In any case, Past Simple should be used, not Present perfect.
... during the war (war is over) - incorrect? (had lived should be used?)
No, just Past Simple.
... for two years - incorrect? (have been living should be used?)
Either one is OK.
... after I moved there from Moscow (and still live there) - correct?
Only if you use "since" in place of "after".
... before I moved there from Moscow - incorrect (had lived?)This sentence is very confusing. Which came first? Where are you now?

I had lived in Paris ...
... before the war - correct? (I don't live there now) Simple Past sounds better there, because your point is not to show that one event came before another. It is a simple statement of fact.
... for two years - incorrect (have/had been living?)
Any Past Perfect tense is incorrect here unless it is meant to take place before another event.

I had been living in Paris ... - correct if only before smth for some stated period? That's right.

Thanks for the explanation. Obviously, I must have missed the lessons they taught us about the Past Perfect

As for

.. before I moved there from Moscow - incorrect (had lived?)This sentence is very confusing. Which came first? Where are you now?

You know, that sentence confuses even me.

Maybe "I had lived in Paris for a while before I decided to move there" will sound better? Or just "I lived" will do?

Originally Posted by chaika

ссылка

on a British site too!
ratio is 4:1 -- for : no-four

It is better with "for":

"lived there for many years" - 39,400 hits on Google but only 12,900 hits for "lived there many years"

Originally Posted by charlestonian

Originally Posted by chaika

ссылка

on a British site too!
ratio is 4:1 -- for : no-four

It is better with "for":

"lived there for many years" - 39,400 hits on Google but only 12,900 hits for "lived there many years"

charlestonian, even if several thousands out of milliions of apes that type up mindlessly gigabytes of ravings every day (keeping in mind also that for the most of them Engilsh is not a native language) happen to make the same mistake that does not automatically mean that they were correct.

Originally Posted by Ramil

Originally Posted by charlestonian

Originally Posted by chaika

ссылка

on a British site too!
ratio is 4:1 -- for : no-four

It is better with "for":

"lived there for many years" - 39,400 hits on Google but only 12,900 hits for "lived there many years"

charlestonian, even if several thousands out of millions of apes that type up mindlessly gigabytes of ravings every day (keeping in mind also that for the most of them Engilsh is not a native language) happen to make the same mistake that does not automatically mean that they were correct.

Yes it does!

Originally Posted by charlestonian

millions

You had to do this, didn't you?

Originally Posted by charlestonian

Yes it does!

I disagree.

Originally Posted by Ramil

Originally Posted by charlestonian

millions

You had to do this, didn't you?

Originally Posted by charlestonian

Yes it does!

I disagree.

If you have 3 times more hits on Google for one version vs another, it should tell you that it is a better version than another one, right?

Originally Posted by charlestonian

Originally Posted by Ramil

Originally Posted by charlestonian

millions

You had to do this, didn't you?

Originally Posted by charlestonian

Yes it does!

I disagree.

If you have 3 times more hits on Google for one version vs another, it should tell you that it is a better version than another one, right?

Not necessarily. Majority sometimes (quite often actually) can be wrong. (I mean not in this particular case but generally). And your blind belief that majority is always right might play some mean trick to you some day.

Maybe "I had lived in Paris for a while before I decided to move there" will sound better? Or just "I lived" will do?

That's a better example, but "had been living" sounds best there. IMO, because you are emphasizing the fact that your decision was based on experience, and Past Perfect Continuous is probably what most native speakers would choose to show that it was not a snap decision. Plus, "living" is rarely an activity that is considered "Perfect" (completed), so it doesn't sound good with the Perfect tenses while a person is alive.

Compare that to:
"I had got to know Paris quite well before I left."
That's an action that could be "Perfect" before another event.

I hope that helps.

Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot

I hope that helps.

It did, ty. I should have considered your point about slight inconsistency of the meaning of the verb 'to live' with the Past Perfect tense myself

Originally Posted by Ramil

Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot

I hope that helps.

It did, ty.

yw.

Originally Posted by kamka

funny. I've been studying English for what, more than 10 years now? And no one has ever explained the whole Past Perfect thing as clear as you just have, TATY. Huge thank you.

Присоединяюсь TATY, спасибо за отличное объяснение!

I agree! TATY is well worth "putting up with"!