[joshg696]

Hi I have a list of questions which I have need answered for my GrammarAdvisor test. I have sat the test twice already, both time getting 67%, which is just under the pass mark. I cant find the answers anywhere, so i was hoping some of you guys might know better. Here are some below:

Use the following dialog to answer questions 67 & 68.

Zach: I’ll be there in 20 minutes. I’m stopping at the store to pick up some batteries. Do you need anything?
Mike: Will you buy some coffee for me? I’ll pay you back when you get here.

67. Which of the following statements about Zach’s dialogue is true?
All three sentences use future form and meaning.
All three sentences use present form and meaning.
Two sentences use future form, but one has future meaning.
One sentence uses future form, but two have future meaning.
68. Which statement about Mike’s dialogue is true?
Two meanings of will are shown in his statements.
One meaning of will is shown.
One statement is a plan and one a prediction.
Both statements are predictions.

Imagine a student has asked you why a particular tense was chosen for each of the following statements. Select the best answer.
Hint: Each answer is used once.
69. Zach has known Mike for about a year.
Use the present perfect when the exact time of a past repeated
action isn’t important.
Use the past perfect to show the sequence of two past actions.
Use the future perfect to show the sequence of two future actions.
With stative verbs, use the present perfect for actions that began in
the past and continue until this time.
70. They’ve played music together at a local club several times.
Use the present perfect when the exact time of a past repeated
action isn’t important.
Use the past perfect to show the sequence of two past actions.
Use the future perfect to show the sequence of two future actions.
With stative verbs, use the present perfect for actions that began in
the past and continue until now.
71. Mike had played at the club as a solo act before they played there together.
Use the present perfect when the exact time of a past repeated
action isn’t important.
Use the past perfect to show the sequence of two past actions.
Use the future perfect to show the sequence of two future actions.
With stative verbs, use the present perfect for actions that began in
the past and continue until now.
72. They will have made about $225 when they get their next check.
Use the present perfect when the exact time of a past repeated
action isn’t important.
Use the past perfect to show the sequence of two past actions.
Use the future perfect to show the sequence of two future actions.
With stative verbs, use the present perfect for actions that began in
the past and continue until now.

[susan53]

Too many questions to answer all at once - I'll split them up.

The answer to 67 depends whether they're looking for the "traditional" explanation which would probably be : One sentence uses future form (the first), but two have future meaning (the first and second)...
or the more accurate explanation that All three sentences use present form and meaning. which sees will as being a normal first form verb with the present meaning of prediction (ie I predict that...) or volition (I am willing to.../ I promise/ I agree to). This also provides the answer to 68 - One meaning of will is shown. ie volition. The sentences could be glossed as : Are you willing to buy some coffee for me? I promise to pay you back....

You'll find a full discussion of the meanings of will here

[susan53]

69. Zach has known Mike for about a year.
Use the present perfect when the exact time of a past repeated
action isn’t important.

Again this is the traditional (though inaccurate) answer.

All perfect verbs sequence events as happening before an implicit or explicit reference point. In the case of the present perfect, if the reference point is unstated, it is always the moment of speaking/writing - ie the "present" moment for the speaker/writer.

In other cases, the reference point will be stated explicitly- eg : When you've fried the onions, add the tomatoes. Here, the reference point is the moment of adding the tomatoes. The use of the present perfect tells us that "frying the onions" has to happen before that.

And if you look at all the other examples of perfect verbs, the same is always true. There is a reference point which may be present (70 - again, the moment of speaking), past (71 - the moment they played at the club together) or future (72 - the moment when he'll get his check) and the perfect verb sequences the event which it describes as happening at some time before the reference point.

[eslonlinejack]

Question 69 relates to an action that started in the past and continues in the present. The present perfect is used in this case as "know" is a non-continuous verb. For continuous verbs, for example "to wait", the present perfect continuous is used - "I have been waiting for ten minutes."

[susan53]

Sorry, but I diosagree. Perfect aspect never tells us anything about any time after the reference point. - so in 69 up to and including the present. But whether the event continues afterwards or not can only be established by the context, not by the verb itself. For example :

I've lived here for 40 years - This could be said in a context where the speaker's possessions were all packed up in a delivery van, she'd locked the front door and was out of the house for ever : I've lived here for 40 years. I'm really sad to think I'll never see the place again. Or could be followed by a statement indicating the continuation of the event : I've lived here for 40 years, and I doubt if I'll ever move again now.

Similarly, I've been waitng for thirty minutes! could be said when the person you're waiting for has just arrived (so the action of waiting has finished). : I've been waiting for 30 minutes! Why didn't you phone me? or when the action was going to continue : I've been waiting for 30 minutes and he still hasn't arrived. I'll give him 10 minutes more, and then i'm going.

But in all cases, it's the context which tells you whether or not the action will continue, not the verb form itself.

In the case of Zach has known Mike for about a year, the situation is slightly different. The idea of continuation is in the lexical item "know" rather than the context. Once you "know" something, it's generally presumed to be permanent. However, you could still think of a context where the event is not seen as continuing : Zach has known Mike for about a year, but since he got that bump on the head last week, he no longer recognises him.

So the verb form tells us that the event happened before, and possibly continues up to, the reference point (here the moment of speaking). But whether it continues afterwards or not depends entirely on other factors and is not inherent in the verb form at all.

[eslonlinejack]

But whether the event continues afterwards or not can only be established by the context, not by the verb itself.

I agree. When I referred to different types of verbs in my post, this was to explain that the verb tells you which one out of PP and PPC to use (continuous or non-continuous).

From the context you can work out whether it was something that continues in the present or has recently stopped. Question 69 (without the added information that you gave) obviously continues in the present.