English Language & Usage Asked on December 8, 2020
Today, I AM WEARING ice skates for the first time (ever).
Yesterday, I WORE ice skates for the first time (ever).
Tomorrow, I WILL WEAR ice skates for the first time (ever).
with the phrase ‘for the first time’, versus
Today IS the first time I HAVE (ever) WORN ice skates.
Yesterday WAS the first time I HAD (ever) WORN ice skates.
Tomorrow WILL BE the first time I WILL HAVE (ever) WORN ice skates.
with the phrase ‘it is/was/will be the first time’.
Are these tense changes correct? If they are, how come they occur, since the situations described remain the same exactly, irrespective of whether you use ‘for the first time’ or ‘it is/was/will be the first time’?
One of your premises, "the situations described remain the same exactly", is incorrect.
The situations described by your first set of sentences is not quite the same as those described by your second set of sentences. For example, "I am wearing" is not the same as "I have worn"; the first implies you are currently wearing something, and the latter implies that you are no longer wearing it.
If you want to change the position of that phrase without altering the meaning, there are other ways, like, for example, instead of:
Today, I AM WEARING ice skates for the first time ever.
you could say
Today, for the first time ever, I am wearing ice skates
or, somewhat awkwardly, in my opinion:
I am wearing ice skates today, for the first time ever.
Answered by pabrams on December 8, 2020
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