Present perfect and while

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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whippoorwill
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Present perfect and while

Post by whippoorwill »

Hello humans.
Example is:
I've got runny nose while sweeping the floor.
I use present perfect because event occurred recently and I still have runny nose (or cold, i am not sure)
But which tense in while section should I use and how to do that properly?
Maybe there are other ways to say what I want. It would be good to know.
Thanks in advance =)
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Alan
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Re: Present perfect and while

Post by Alan »

You could theoretically say

I've got a runny nose while sweeping the floor.

to mean that this has happened on one or more occasions in the past.

That would, however, naturally exclude the implication that you still have the runny nose now.

On the other hand, you could say, e.g.

I've got a runny nose from sweeping the floor.

with the sweeping being identified as the cause of the runny nose, and the implication that the condition is still ongoing at the time of speaking.
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