Am I wrong?

LaineB2Kwiziq community member

Am I wrong?

On a quiz, I answered the question, "How would you say ''Suzanne hasn't seen him since 2013.'' ?" with "Suzanne ne le voit pas depuis 2013." because, to me it is very clear that it's something on going, and is still true. The answer Kwizbot gave me was that "Suzanne ne l'a pas vu depuis 2013." which would imply that perhaps or perhaps not Suzanne has seen her or him since 2013, since the action in the past is finished.
Asked 7 years ago
JimC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
When you write "Suzanne ne le voit pas depuis 2013" you are not expressing "hasn't seen" you are expressing "did not see". To express "Suzanne hasn't seen him since 2013" you have to think that you are describing a situation in the past which is complete. "Suzanne has not seen him etc" therefore I agree with "Suzanne ne l'a pas vu depuis 2013" Hope that helps. Alan
AndrewC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I don't get this either and find myself agreeing with Laine. Surely if Suzanne hasn't seen him since 2013 and she still hasn't seen him then it's an action that started in the past but is still going on in the present, and hence requires the present tense? What would "Suzanne ne le voit pas depuis 2013" translate as? Or is it meaningless in French? Thanks for any clarification
MelodyC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Laine and Andrew- I had a similar problem with this question, and reported as a problem on the question, about 2 weeks ago. No response as yet. I did find this on another site- In negative sentences, depending on the meaning, depuis may be used with either the present (action still going on) or the passé composé to indicate how long something has not been going on (non-action). If that is indeed correct, then I understand why I got the question wrong. But the Kwiz lesson does not make this distinction. And, I have know way of knowing if the explanation from the other site is correct (although in my experience it's extremely reliable- and has been around a lot longer than Kwiziq).
MeghnaC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I have the same issue with this question. I keep getting it wrong when to me the Right answer is not 'Suzanne ne l'a pas vu depuis 2013´. Suzanne HASN'Tseen him clearly means she hasn't yet seen him and hence the present tense should apply. The correct answer must be ´Suzanne ne l'a pas vu depuis 2013.´ Can the powers that be at kwizik pls clarify - I need my diamond score ! And this is one question I keep repeatedly failing at.
KathyB1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Hm, I don't see the confusion. If anything it is directly consistent with the example given in this lesson: Elle ne t'a pas vu depuis trois mois. She hasn't seen you for three months. Following this lesson, the present tense is only applicable in two cases: 1) using "ne... plus". So, "Suzanne ne le voit PLUS depuis 2013" 2) using "depuis longtemps". But this would change the meaning of this example altogether... Does that help?

Am I wrong?

On a quiz, I answered the question, "How would you say ''Suzanne hasn't seen him since 2013.'' ?" with "Suzanne ne le voit pas depuis 2013." because, to me it is very clear that it's something on going, and is still true. The answer Kwizbot gave me was that "Suzanne ne l'a pas vu depuis 2013." which would imply that perhaps or perhaps not Suzanne has seen her or him since 2013, since the action in the past is finished.

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