English

for

Busy

Engineers

Issue 3, February 2012: SPECIAL EDITION

I have declared this issue a special edition as I would like to dedicate it to a single (if somewhat broad) topic. I understand that what follows may be confusing, as the area I will focus on is very different in English and Polish. For this reason, I will provide multiple examples; it is my hope that you can analyse these examples and form your own understanding of the grammar involved. The issue relates specifically to perfect tenses. (Yes, I know, I can hear you groaning already!) When I first arrived in Poland, I was very surprised to hear people saying I am after this was the first time I had heard this structure. A few examples to introduce the idea:

As I now understand, in Polish present and future are often formed by describing a relation to an event in the past or future after something, before something, etc. Of course, these phrases are possible in English too (and are used) but the bad news is that in English it is not possible to be after (or before) anything. In English these phrases describe times or periods, not states. It is usually reasonably clear from the context what the speaker wants to express, but simply translating such phrases word-forword makes the end result strange and unnatural. Applying tenses you already know and understand reasonably well (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect) to these situations can make things much clearer and will make your language sound less translated.

After work I am always a bit tired (Time/period, OK) I am a bit tired because I am after work (State, not OK) She felt fit and healthy after her cycling holiday (Time/period, OK) She felt fit and health because she was after her cycling holiday (State, not OK) So how are such things said in English? How can we describe states (being before or after something)? Using perfect tenses! (Present perfect, past perfect and future perfect)
Present perfect examples: I am after studies I have finished my studies OR I have graduated The sample is before testing The sample has not (/yet) been tested (/yet) The DOC is after ageing The DOC has been aged Not now; I am just after the gym Not now; I have just been to the gym Past perfect examples: She was just after the shower when the phone rang She had just finished showering when the phone rang I couldnt drive there because I was after two beers I couldnt drive there because I had drunk two beers DOC sample 0358 was after ageing when we tested it DOC sample 0358 had been aged when we tested it I didnt want to go swimming with my brother because I was just after the gym I didnt want to go swimming with my brother because I had just been to the gym Future perfect examples: th th The 13 of August is not a good day to meet, because I will be just after holidays The 13 of August is not a good day to meet, because I will have just finished my holiday In two days, the engine will be after 500 hours of testing In two days, the engine will have had/completed 500 hours of testing DOC sample 0358 is still before ageing. Next Monday it will be after ageing, and you can test it DOC sample 0358 hasnt been aged (yet). Next Monday it will have been aged, and you can test it 4:30 is not a good time to ask him to help you, because he will be (just) after coming back from work 4:30 is not a good time to ask him to help you, because he will have (just) come back from work Remember that the following usages are correct: Turn right after the petrol station Before calling him, check your email After mixing cement for a whole day, I was exhausted Few people are awake after 2:00 AM Before the 1980s, very few offices had computers Id like to retire before Im 60 Three additional examples (complete them yourself): The device is after calibration The device has (just) been This version of the file is after modification(s) This version of the file has been When he called, I was before breakfast When he called, I [had OR eaten] breakfast (yet) The filter is before cleaning .

Summary: To be + before/after something (State, not OK) Before/after something + any verb, including to be (Time/period, OK) For states, use perfect tenses (have/has/had + 3rd form of the verb)