Why Past Simple???

[Basia]

I have a question about the use of tenses. I've read such a sentence in an article: "Poland's first budget airline, Air Polonia, began domestic operations this week". I know that when we want to say what happened in the period of time which hasn't finished yet, we use the Present Perfect tense. So, why it is said that the airline began domestic operations THIS WEEK? Why not "has begun"? From the quoted sentence I assume that the week hasn't finished

[KenWalsh]

Before launching into a discussion of the use of past tense versus past perfect tense, I'd like to point out that reporters are taught to write in a clear, concise manner. This style leads to shorter sentences.

The phrase "has begun domestic operations" indicates that the operations are currently going on and would not take on the adverbial phrase "this week." The phrase "began domestic operations" implies nothing about present conditions, and "this week" describes the beginning.

In English, one might say "domestic operations have begun" to emphasize the ongoing operations, not the act of the airlines beginning operations. This instance illustrates the subject/direct object choice of the author.

I'll let Andrzej explain the appropriate use of past and past perfect tenses. I found Polish grammar involving completed/incompleted actions to be a difficult concept to translate into English rules.

[Basia]

Thanks Ken for your explanation but I still have some doubts Why do some grammar books say that we use Present Perfect with such expressions like today/this week, month, year,...? And they don't usually say that we may also use the Past Simple Tense in some cases with the same expressions? You can look e.g., at this page: www.english.com.br/classroom/grammar_new/PRESENT_.htm or this one: odl.vwv.at/english/odlres/res8/Grammar/grammar_explanations/present_perfect_tense.doc. Maybe it's because of the verb "begin" (beginning can not be unfinished so you must indicate that it's finished???). Or maybe it's due to the fact that Past Simple is often used in American English whereas the same sentence is in Present Perfect in British English???

[KenWalsh]

I think that you're on track now with the notion that "begin" is never unfinished.

"The airline, Air Polonia, has operated domestically this week" would be a good example of present perfect usage. However, the purpose of the original article was to indicate a discrete event, the start of operations.

An easier example:

"I drank coffee this week" indicates that I imbibed that caffeinated beverage at least once and that it was an unusual event for my life.

"I have drunk coffee this week" indicates that I have made a habit of coffee drinking this week, rather than sticking to my typical Diet Coke.

Hope this helps distinguish when to use the tenses (and shows you why it's also tough for Americans to learn Polish grammar rules).#nosmileys

[Basia]

I have to give it a second thought

[xeo]

hmmm... as far as I know when we write a report about something we use Past Simple, it's the same as if we wrote a story... simply the author of this article lists events (linked with Polish airlines) in turn...maybe that's why he/she used this tense...
or maybe he/she thought about "beginning" as a seperate period of time which had finished...