Re: Past actions with present verbs ?!?

David wrote:
In article <4467a33f$0$14790$4fafbaef@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Lynda <lynda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello ...

firstly, as usual, thank you sooo much for answering
so kindly to my previous message :-)

ok, another quest for you all ... this time, it's very simple ...

I need to know if it's correct, in english, to use verbs in this
way :


- In 1997, Luke, CREATES a new company named ... blah blah blah
- In 1995 that company, OBTAINS new partnerships ... blah blah blah
- In 1980 his sister Sarah, LEAVES the company .... blah blah blah
- In 1940, Miky STARTS to learn english.... blah blah blah

I think you got what I mean ... is it correct to use "PRESENT" verb,
with past dates ?

can I speak about past actions ( happened in precise dates ... in
precise years ... ), using the PRESENT VERBS ?

should I use past forms insteads ? like :

- In 1997, Luke, CREATED a new company named ... blah blah blah
- In 1995 that company, OBTAINED new partnerships ... blah blah blah
- In 1980 his sister Sarah, LEFT the company .... blah blah blah
- In 1940, Miky STARTED to learn english .... blah blah blah
____________________

thank you very much, again, and again, and again ;-)

Yes, it's perfectly all right to use the "historic present" (or
"historical present") tense in this way. It's commonly used to give
more emphasis or sense of dynamism than a simple past tense provides.

Yes but it is far less common than the past tense and can only really be
used if 'narrating a timeline' so that the speaker and listener are
situated in the present as each event happens. I'd avoid it personally
and certainly wouldn't recommend this to a learner as it will
complicater their life somewhat.


.

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