since+present perfect/past simple

[egerol1]

Hello dear members,

I've come across some sentences in which there is since+a present perfect or past simple tense
What I didn't understand is when do we use past simple or present perfect simple after since
Note:I'm not talking about the "since" which expresses the reason

Example
1)It seems like forever since the four of us have been out to eat

Many adventurers have traveled this way since the recent troubles began.

I'm sure you too have encountered these sentences.Can you please explain this to me?

 

[5jj]

As a general, rather crude, rule. we use "since + past time" - present perfect:

I have lived in Prague since 1998.

The past time can be indicated by a past-tense verb:

I have lived in Prague since I arrived here in 1998.
Many adventurers have traveled this way since the recent troubles began.

Now, on to your #1: It seems like forever since the four of us have been out to eat

We can look at the actual situation in two ways:

a. The four of us have not been out to eat for a very long time/since 2001/since forever. -Present Perfect.
b. We last went out to eat many years ago. - Past simple.

The speaker of your #1 has conflated these two idea in his/her mind, and produced the utterance with the present perfect. One would have expected:

It seems like (it has been) forever since (the past occasion on which) we went out to eat.

So, according to the crude rule I started with, your #1 is 'incorrect'. However, in real life, such conflation is not uncommon. I do not think anybody would consider it strange.

 

[nyota]

Now, on to your #1: It seems like forever since the four of us have been out to eat

We can look at the actual situation in two ways:

a. The four of us have not been out to eat for a very long time/since 2001/since forever. -Present Perfect.
b. We last went out to eat many years ago. - Past simple.

The speaker of your #1 has conflated these two idea in his/her mind, and produced the utterance with the present perfect. One would have expected:

It seems like (it has been) forever since (the past occasion on which) we went out to eat.

This is nice, I was wondering about #1 myself. Thanks! I'll just add an example where you can use "since + Present Perfect" - Present Perfect:

Since I've known her, she's always worn the same dress. -I got to know her at some point and I still know her now. Since then she's worn the same dress.

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When checking on "since - Longman" I've also come across this information:

Speakers of BrE usually say it is a long time/two weeks etc since..., and speakers of AmE it has been a long time/two weeks etc since..., but both uses are correct.
a) It's weeks (BrE) since I saw Grandma.
b) It's been weeks (AmE) since I saw Grandma.

I thought it interesting since I normally ascribe the preference towards Present Perfect to BrE. ;-)

 

[5jj]

This is nice, I was wondering about #1 myself. Thanks! I'll just add an example where you can use "since + Present Perfect" - Present Perfect:

Since I've known her, she's always worn the same dress. -I got to know her at some point and I still know her now. Since then she's worn the same dress.

A useful example:up:. Thanks.

 

[egerol1]

you're great tutors thank you!