sodium
March 2015
I disagree, In this context, <i>"Ça fait quelques temps qu'on ne s'est pas parlé?"</i> mean : <i>"It's been a while since we've talked"</i>
or <i>"It has been some time since we've talked?" </i>
or I missed something?
SanneT March 2015 The confusion for English speakers arises out of the "ne ....pas" in the original sentence. I hope I am right in saying that @letudiantechantal wants to know whether it would, alternatively, be possible to say "Ça fait quelques temps qu'on s'est parlé?", ie without the "ne...pas" construction. Jorgis gave her a full explanation for another sentence expressing the same sense. @letudiantechantal: I have learnt over time that it is best to trust the natives to use their language correctly. This doesn't mean they are perfect, but on the whole natives know best :) letudiantechantal March 2015 SanneT, that was the confusion for me, exactly. I'm very rusty, also new to Lingq, and have probably jumped back into the pool beyond my depth. It's not my intention to start trying to correct natives' French! Dear friend kindly check this sentence below: Dear Tom, nick The word "it's" most commonly refers to "it is", but it can also refer to "it has", such as the case we are looking at here. The phrase, "It's a long time" can be valid, but doesn't make much sense in this case. For instance, "How long does it take to drive to the middle of the city during rush hour?" "It's a long time." (In that case, "it's" refers to present tense.) That makes sense. However, to say "It has a long time since we met" definitely feels like it is missing a key component. And "It is a long time since we met" would be even more wrong, because the "long time" refers to a time in the past. (Even if we still haven't met yet, and it is still being a long time, the phrase typically refers to the time that has already passed, so it is past tense.) Closing your account will prevent you from accessing your past revisions, and you will no longer be eligible for a FREE daily revision. There is no cost to keep your TextRanch account, and we store all of your past revisions in a secure and private manner. JustKate said: Each other is fine - the problem is with we don't talk. The present tense "don't" here indicates that the two of you never talk to each other, including right up until the present moment, but obviously that can't be correct since you're having a conversation and therefore talking to each other right now. Click to expand...
Its been a very long time since we last spoke and being in contact with each other.Well I hope you are doing fine with your family and your work. This letter comes with a thankful heart of your generosity.I wish you all the best in everything that you don and may God be with you and your family always.Say Hi to Kathy for me.
You could fix this any of a number of ways, including
"It's been a long time since we've talked to each other."
"It's been a long time since we've talked." "To each other" would be assumed. In fact, you could just say "It's been a long time" and end it right there - the assumption would be "since we've seen each other and/or since we've talked."
Or, more simply, "We haven't talked in a long time."
Kathleen
What do you think about: "It's been a long time since we last saw each other?"
Is it correct to use the simple past tense instead of the presente perfect?
Thomas Tompion said:
It is in this case, because since with the present perfect indicates a period of time starting at a moment in the past and leading up to the present.
The simple past indicates the start of the period - the moment when we last saw each other.Click to expand...
According to your remarks above (since + have done: a period of time; since +did: the start of the period), then could you please let me know the difference, if any, between the following two sentences:
a. It's been a long time since we've talked to each other.
b. It's been a long time since we talked to each other. (Can I say this?)
Both sentences can express "We haven't talked in a long time", right?
This other query has come to mind:
A. We haven't talked in a long time.
B. We haven't talked for a long time.
C. We haven't been talking for a long time.
Do the three sentences mean the same? (I doubt it)