David is having his second driving lesson. Would we say:
This is the second time he has driven a car.
This is his second time driving a car.
This is the second time he is driving a car.
This is the second time he drives a car.
Which ones are correct?
The first and second are correct, Lycen.
I’ve seen the third one (present continuous) in many entries on a Google search. Are they are using it incorrectly?
I’ve just performed a google search for the third sentence and it doesn’t appear in your format at all.
Did you perform the search with:
“This is the second time he is”
including the “”?
I’ve found a lot of entries with “This is the second time he + present continuous”
Hi,
I believe three can be made sense of with changes. The first sentence suggests that he has only driven a car once before.
The second suggests that something is to follow as: when the car crashed into another one.
The third suggests something is missing as: without a licence.
The fourth suggests something needs to be added as: and doesn’t look where he’s going.
Alan
The third sentence is slightly odd to me, but it’s not ungrammatical.
This is the first time that I am not having trouble with finances.
Structurally, that is the same thing, and it’s totally unobjectionable.
This is the second time that you are ruining your career.
That is fine, especially if the career is still in the process of being ruined.
But when you start referring to multiple instances of something that can be considered to have taken place even while ongoing, the present perfect feels like a more natural choice. At least it does in writing anyway.
Once I start my car and move it, I have driven it. That marks the second time I have driven it even if I am not yet finished. I cannot say I have ruined my career, though, if I am not yet finished with the destruction. I think that is why that last sentence feels less awkward to me than your example.
I can imagine the fourth for a future event where a writer is deliberately creating a sense of nowness.
That’s a different thing, Lycen.
You asked about a complete sentence.
I don’t think “this is the second time he is” would be combined naturally with ‘driving a car’.
I believe…
‘This is the second time he has driven a car’ would be used.
I can think of at least one example of ‘This is the second time he is…’:
“This is the second time he is seen in shot in this video.”
I believe in most other cases I can think of, the past tense would be used in preference.
Really? I’ve just repeated the search with the parameters you mention and all the hits on the first page point to
“This is the second time he has…” not ‘is’.
I think you may have left out ‘is’ in “This is the second time he is” while you were doing the search. The “” is the operator which instructs the search engine to take the content within “” as a single entity to perform the search. It forces entries with “this is the second time he is” in the exact order and words to appear.
Would you say all present/present continuous/present perfect can go with “This is the second time”?
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forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1023940
forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1653899
I hope these help.
Hi, Lycen. As long as the act can be repeated and is not noncontinuous in nature, the simple answer is yes. That doesn’t mean the verb choice won’t be awkward, though.
This is the second time that the Jets play the Dolphins.
That sentence sounds fine to me, but many examples with the simple present feel awkward.
*This is the second time that he is liking her. - Noncontinous
Future? May I ask how so?
Alan’s suggestion for the fourth “This is the second time he drives a car and doesn’t look where he’s going” doesn’t imply any future at all.
Thanks. I have noticed that too.
I was referring to the structure more broadly, but I was not considering Alan’s rewrite at all. I was considering your sentence. See my sentence on the Jets and the Dolphins. I could easily hear a broadcast journalist, for instance, phrasing it that way to create a sense of nowness, which broadcast journalism is famous for. If the game is two weeks from now, it may still be phrased just that way.
Madonna plays at Madison Square Garden Saturday. This is the second time that the singer’s tour stops in New York.
After reading these forum threads, I’m wondering if this is impossible,
This is the last time I’ve…
And for the past, can I say:
That was the second time I’ve…
Lycen, those are not possible – unless by “last” you mean “latest,” or “most recent,” and not “final.” Your thought would then be grammatical but highly unnecessary. If you are in the midst of the act, which “this” indicates, we already know it’s the most recent time you did something.
This is the most recent (or last) time that I have addressed this grammatical question. - Rather obvious, isn’t it?
The “finally” use is best-expressed like this:
This is the last time that I speak to you.
This is the last time that I will speak to you.
This will be the last time that we speak.
This is the last time that we will have spoken.
The second part of your question cannot be justified. Those tenses don’t agree.
That/this is the second the time I have spoken to her.
Or
The was the second time I spoke to her.
The was the second time I had spoken to her.
Let’s say we have stipulated a certain number of times for a certain action and I’ve just done that final time for that action.
Can’t I say:
“This is the final/last time that I’ve…”
If I wanted to talk about the previous time (ie. the first time) I have spoken to her, would I say:
“That is the first time I have spoken to her”?
Thanks for the help!
No, it does not work. The others work because the present perfect has a use for action that has taken place so far. When you use “final,” “so far” is out the window. This is the second time that I have spoken to her (so far). That is what you are implying. *This is the final time that I have spoken to you (so far).
Yes, that is one option.