Secondary tenses
Hi, teachers. Here come three sentences:
1?Every time I see them, they're drinking.
2?Every time I see them, they've drunk.
3?Every time I see them, they've been drinking.
I wonder what the differences between the above are.
Thank you very much.
Top answer
Every time I see them, they're drinking. They are drinking at the time that you see them (or very near that time; they don't have to be literally swallowing the drink as you watch, but could have half-drunk glasses in front of them, say). Every time I see them, they've drunk.
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norwolf1?Every time I see them, they're drinking.
They are drinking at the time that you see them (or very near that time; they don't have to be literally swallowing the drink as you watch, but could have half-drunk glasses in front of them, say).
norwolf2?Every time I see them, they've drunk.
Not natural. You can
01?Every time I see them, they're drinking. The continuous tense indicates that the drinking occurs before I see hem, when I see them, and after I see them.
2?Every time I see them, they've drunk. This is correct grammar, but it is not natural English. We prefer to use the continuous tense. Note that 'drunk' is also an adjective, meaning ''intoxica
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