The Cooper family from the US are in Costa Rica for two weeks.

[diamondcutter]

The Cooper family from the US are in Costa Rica for two weeks. Mike and Jane Cooper, their daughter Ann (15) and there's son Toby (16) are staying by the beach in the village of Punta Banco. But they aren't here just to swim and lie on the beach. They are here to work. Their job is to protect sea turtles.

(from a reading book by International Language Teaching Services Ltd.)

I don’t quite understand the first sentence. Does it mean they‘’ve just arrived in Costa Rica and are going to stay there for two weeks or anything else?

 

[teechar]

The Cooper family from the US are in Costa Rica for two weeks.

I don’t quite understand the first sentence. Does it mean they've just arrived in Costa Rica and are going to stay there for two weeks or [STRIKE]anything[/STRIKE] something else?

It means:
1- That family are in Costa Rica now.
2- The duration of their stay is two weeks.

The sentence does not tell us when they arrived in that country.

 

[Rover_KE]

Does it really say there's son Toby?

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks, Teechar and Rover.

Does it really say there's son Toby?

Sorry, that's a typo. It should be 'their'.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The Cooper family from the US is in Costa Rica for two weeks. Mike and Jane Cooper, their daughter Ann (15), and their son Toby (16) are staying by the beach in the village of Punta Banco. But they aren't here just to swim and lie on the beach. They are here to work. Their job is to protect sea turtles.

(from a reading book by International Language Teaching Services Ltd.)

I don’t quite understand the first sentence. Does it mean they‘’ve just arrived in Costa Rica and are going to stay there for two weeks or anything else?

It also means they're from the US.

 

[tzfujimino]

The Cooper family from the US are in Costa Rica for two weeks.

So, the present simple is fine in that sentence, I suppose.

I'd have corrected it to the present perfect if it had been written by any of my students.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd have corrected it to the present perfect if it had been written by any of my students.

That would have changed the meaning.

 

[tzfujimino]

Could you tell me the difference in meaning between them?

 

[teechar]

So, the present simple is fine in that sentence, I suppose.

Yes, it is. See above.

 

[tzfujimino]

They are there for two weeks. - They are there. We don't know when they arrived or when they will leave. We know only that the planned duration of their stay is two weeks.

Is it different from 'They are going to be/stay there for two weeks'?

 

[tzfujimino]

I'd like to ask you one more question.

If I understand it correctly, it's possible to say, for example, "I'm here for seven days, and I'm leaving the day after tomorrow."

I think it means "I've been here for six days."

Correct?

 

[tzfujimino]

If your planned stay is seven days and you are leaving the day after tomorrow, then you have been there for five days.

You're right.
Thank you. I think I understand the meaning.