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Which of the two sentences would look more natural in this short text:

Dostoyevsky is a famous Russian writer. He has written Crime and Punishment.

or

Dostoyevsky is a famous Russian writer. He wrote Crime and Punishment.

There's no specific time expression in sentence 2, and "Crime and Punishment" is a widely-read novel, so we can say that the event "relates to the present" in some way. Still, could the use of Present Perfect be erroneous or infelicitous here, and why?

CowperKettle
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    D wrote C&P. PP doesn't work because D is no longer living and writing. – TimR Jul 11 '15 at 13:06
  • @TRomano - Euclid is also no longer living and solving geometric problems, but.. – CowperKettle Jul 11 '15 at 13:10
  • to paraphrase the poet: "Among all great minds that have ever lived, including those who live among us today, Euclid alone has looked upon beauty bare. Let all who prate of Beauty...". In that statement, there is still proximity to the present. While an artist lives, we use the present perfect. "Coppola has directed a number of famous films" whereas "*Michelangelo has painted the Sistine Chapel." – TimR Jul 11 '15 at 13:23
  • @TRomano - thank you! So a native English speaker would feel the sentence to be jarring logically, since the author is dead. You might post this as an answer! – CowperKettle Jul 11 '15 at 13:25
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    @CopperKettle: another consideration is the fact that the present perfect is somewhat 'open-ended" - it allows for the possibility of writing more, in this case. – CocoPop Jul 11 '15 at 14:32
  • When I compare it with a possible sentence in Persian, I feel agree with @CocoPop, for example "He has written Crime and Punishment which has millions of readers" – Ahmad Jul 11 '15 at 15:52
  • @Ahmad: Your example does not jibe with CocoPop's point: "the possibility of writing more". Mr Dostoyevsky, he dead. – TimR Jul 11 '15 at 15:57
  • @TRomano I thought he means writing more by the author of the article, specially that he mentioned "open-ended". Despite it, my analyses has any credit? "...which has millions of readers" change the focus of the event on the book and continues it to the present. – Ahmad Jul 11 '15 at 16:18
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    @NathanTuggy - thank you for the link. Still there's a slight difference: the Chinese nation still exists and still invents while Dostoyevsky can no longer write. – CowperKettle Jul 11 '15 at 18:58
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    @CopperKettle: I suspect the underlying reason is the same, though, in that the Chinese that invented (or did not invent) the printer are certainly not the same ones of these days. – Nathan Tuggy Jul 11 '15 at 19:02
  • @Ahmad: the work "lives on" after its author dies. C&P has had millions of readers (its readership began in the past and extends to the present). One could say "Dostoyevsky has had millions of readers" but if we link the readers to the work, then we would say "D wrote C&P which has had millions of readers" since the writing of the work was an action completed in the past. – TimR Jul 11 '15 at 23:33

1 Answers1

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Unless the meaning involves an ongoing connection with the present, as in the St Vincent Millay poem cited in the comment, we use the past tense when referring to the works of those no longer living.

Coppola has directed a number of famous films, including The Godfather trilogy.

Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel.

If a living person has ceased doing what they did, for whatever reason, age, infirmity, change of career, we can use the past:

The boxer, Cassius Clay, who changed his name to Muhammad Ali, fought in match-ups which were widely televised.

or the present perfect

....who changed his name to Muhammad Ali, has fought in match-ups which were widely televised.

P.S. Courtesy requires that we write:

The boxer, Muhammad Ali, who changed his name from Cassius Clay, has fought...

TimR
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