After a while you get used to living alone.

[kadioguy]

a. After a while you get used to living alone.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-chinese-traditional/live

b. Eventually you'll get/become used to the smells of the laboratory.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/laboratory

I think that both (a) and (b) refer to the future, but why is (a) in the present simple while (b) in the future tense (will)?

My thoughts:

1. Sentence (a) means a fact or the truth, so the present simple is used. While sentence (b) means something will happen in the future, so the future tense is used.

2. That said, the tenses between them can be exchanged and still mean practically the same.

What do you think?

 

[emsr2d2]

You're right - a is presented as a statement of fact that applies to everyone. It's similar to saying "After a while, one gets used to living alone". It doesn't refer only to the future.
b does refer to the future and is directed solely at the reader/listener.

I don't consider them interchangeable.

 

[kadioguy]

You're right - a is presented as a statement of fact that applies to everyone. It's similar to saying "After a while, one gets used to living alone". It doesn't refer only to the future.
b does refer to the future and is directed solely at the reader/listener.

I don't consider them interchangeable.

But look at this:

The work is hard, but after a while, you get used to it.
https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/you

This sentence also looks like "directed solely at the reader/listener", and it is in the present simple. So I would say there's an indefinite boundary between "to everyone" (a statement of fact) and "solely to the reader/listener" (referring to the future), and that's why I thought the tenses could be roughly interchangeable.

 

[jutfrank]

The work is hard, but after a while, you get used to it.
https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/you

This sentence also looks like "directed solely at the reader/listener"

No, it's directed generally at everyone.

So I would say there's an indefinite boundary between "to everyone" (a statement of fact) and "solely to the reader/listener" (referring to the future), and that's why I thought the tenses could be roughly interchangeable.

Well, there is a boundary, between general and specific reference.

 

[kadioguy]

Well, there is a boundary, between general and specific reference.

How can we distinguish between them?

 

[jutfrank]

2. That said, the tenses between them can be exchanged and still mean practically the same.

What do you think?

This depends on what exactly you mean by 'mean practically the same'. If you mean they have the same pragmatic force, then yes, I'd say they do.

 

[jutfrank]

How can we distinguish between them?

One uses 'will' and the other doesn't.

 

[kadioguy]

This depends on what exactly you mean by 'mean practically the same'. If you mean they have the same pragmatic force, then yes, I'd say they do.

I mean that the meanings of (a) and (a'), and (b) and (b'), are practically the same thing.

a. After a while you get used to living alone.
a'. After a while you'll get used to living alone.

b. Eventually you get/become used to the smells of the laboratory.
b'. Eventually you'll get/become used to the smells of the laboratory.

What do you mean by "the same pragmatic force"?

 

[jutfrank]

You tell me first what you mean by 'practically the same thing'.

 

[kadioguy]

You tell me first what you mean by 'practically the same thing'.

I mean that the meanings of (a) and (a'), and (b) and (b'), are practically the same thing, that is, (a) and (a') mean practically the same, and so do (b) and (b').

That's why I think that the tenses can be interchangeable and still practically mean the same.

 

[jutfrank]

I'm asking what you mean by 'practically the same thing'. What does 'practically the same thing' mean in your mind?

 

[kadioguy]

I'm asking what you mean by 'practically the same thing'. What does 'practically the same thing' mean in your mind?

I mean that (a) and (a') express practically the same thing, and so do (b) and (b').

I think that although the tenses between (a) and (a') are different, the two sentences mean practically the same thing. The same goes for (b) and (b').

 

[jutfrank]

I'm asking you what you mean when you say 'practically the same thing'. What do you think 'practically' means? Why do you use the word 'practically'?

I'm just trying to make sure I understand your question.

 

[kadioguy]

I'm asking you what you mean when you say 'practically the same thing'. What do you think 'practically' means? Why do you use the word 'practically'?

I'm just trying to make sure I understand your question.

I used the word "practically" to mean that even though (a) and (a') are in different tenses, and it could be argued that the two sentences express subtly different meanings, to me they are practically the same thing. That is, to me they express practically/roughly the same meaning. The same goes for (b) and (b').

 

[jutfrank]

I think I understand. You're using 'practically' to mean 'roughly'.

When I say that two utterances have the same 'practical meaning', I basically mean that the effect on the listener is the same. That is, the listener will react in the same way, regardless of which utterance is uttered. Two sentences may have the same practical/pragmatic meaning but very different semantic meanings. Bear that in mind in future.

In this case, I'd say that the two sentences in each pair could well have the same practical meaning, yes, though they do mean different things.

 

[Skrej]

a. After a while you get used to living alone.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-chinese-traditional/live

b. Eventually you'll get/become used to the smells of the laboratory.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/laboratory

I think that both (a) and (b) refer to the future, but why is (a) in the present simple while (b) in the future tense (will)?

Sentence B could just as easily be put into the simple present, and A could have been expressed with future 'will', if that's what you're asking.

Whether you express the idea as a statement of fact (for everyone) or a future reference (aka some kind of prediction or promise to one specific individual) makes very little difference when the individual follows the pattern of the group at large.

It would be important if the comment to the individual somehow differed from the norm.

For example, maybe most people wouldn't get used to living alone, but YOU will. Then the semantic difference becomes important. Otherwise, if what's true for most people is also true for you, then it really doesn't matter which tense you use.

Throw a dart and pick one. A mouse could starve on the difference in this context.