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can I use present perfect in this case

English Language Learners Asked on November 25, 2021

I received it this morning .It has been a long time coming but the long wait has been worthwhile!

I wrote this in the beginning of the afternoon, so can I use present perfect for these two verbs or shall I stay with past simple .

(the wait was very long and it has just ended) present perfect can be used for something that has just ended.

One Answer

There are three ways you can construct this sentence, depending on how the three events of the sentence are related to each other. The three events are:

  1. receipt of the package
  2. the duration of time waiting for the package
  3. the moment when the speaker decides the wait was/is worthwhile

If event 2 is complete before event 1, you use the past perfect "it had been a long time coming." You might use the simple past to construe event 3 if the speaker decides the wait is worthwhile before the time when he speaks: "the long wait was worthwhile."

If event 2 is completing when the speaker speaks, you will use the present perfect "has been a long time coming" and the simple present "the wait is worthwhile."

If all three events occur at the same time, use the simple past throughout the sentence. So, depending on how the events relate, you could have:

  • I received it this morning. It had been a long time coming but the long wait was worthwhile.
  • I received it this morning. It has been a long time coming but the long wait is worthwhile.
  • I received it this morning. It was a long time coming but the long wait was worthwhile.

Answered by Margolis on November 25, 2021

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