0

I had an English exam about two days ago, and one of the questions was

My uncle ____(live) in Alexandria for 20 years. Now, he lives in Cairo

what I answered is Has Lived. EDIT: The model answer is "Lived" is this grammatically correct, or just plain wrong Thank you

Modo Shokry
  • 1
  • 1
  • 2
    Does this answer your question? Question in present perfect, but answer in past simple. Why not a past simple question? – Lambie Jan 23 '24 at 15:53
  • 4
    My uncle has lived in Alexandria for 20 years is a correct sentence, but not appropriate here because it implies that he still lives there. – Kate Bunting Jan 23 '24 at 16:02
  • Connecting: He lived there in the past, and lives now in Cairo. – Yosef Baskin Jan 23 '24 at 16:18
  • No, I don't think that answers my question, i specified it a bit more, my question is if it is possible to use the present perfect with "For" while the even already finished ig he doesn't live there anymore – Modo Shokry Jan 23 '24 at 16:44
  • So, @KateBunting does that mean it is grammatically correct?, and if so should it be classified as a "Wrong Answer" that's what I am trying to achieve, if you have any proof it's grammaticly correct, please I would be grateful – Modo Shokry Jan 23 '24 at 16:47
  • He has lived there for X years (and still does). He lived there for X years (but now lives somewhere else). The model answer is correct, and you can't use the present perfect with a period of time if the situation is no longer ongoing. – Kate Bunting Jan 23 '24 at 17:47
  • 1
    There are some contexts where you can use Present Perfect *have lived [somewhere]* even if you no longer live there. For example, I have lived abroad for much of my life because of my job, but I retired to Sussex last year. Which would also be fine using Simple Past I lived* abroad..., but the Perfect version slightly* draws more attention to some "connection" between those two phases of my life (the "connection", being me, if nothing else! :) – FumbleFingers Jan 23 '24 at 18:15
  • "Has lived" would mean that he is still there, but the following sentence contradicts that, so it doesn't make logical sense. "Has lived" is fully grammatical, but in this particular context it's not correct to use it here. The correct answer is "lived". Tense choice is always dependent on context. – Billy Kerr Jan 23 '24 at 18:25

1 Answers1

0

There is no grammatical reason why the answer you gave should not be a valid one. The only reason the official answer is better is because of the meaning. This is why tests are often hard; you're forced to choose among several valid options and decide which is the most likely one.

The example sets up a contrast; the uncle used to live in Alexandria, and now he lives in Cairo. Present perfect is often used for actions that are "ongoing." "I've been a grocer for 20 years" implies that I still am one. So it would be an odd choice for this example. But if the example were just "My uncle has lived in Alexandria for 20 years"—and he still does—then there's no problem. Or if he now has two houses:

"My uncle lived in Alexandria for 20 years. Now, he also lives in Cairo."

There are even other tenses that would be grammatical but unlikely. How about the future tense!

"My uncle will live in Alexandria for 20 years. Now, he lives in Cairo."

This time there isn't even a conflict in the meaning. This is just an unlikely thing to say because we don't normally plan how long we live in a city. But the same tenses and construction might be fine for a different situation:

"Soon I will study for 20 minutes. But for now, I eat."

Andy Bonner
  • 13,424
  • 1
  • 16
  • 40