MSGID: 2:221/360.0 5dbad04e   
   REPLY: 1:153/716.0 db9ed2fa   
   PID: Sylpheed 3.5.0 (GTK+ 2.24.23; i686-pc-mingw32)   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   TZUTC: 0200   
   Ardith Hinton to Anton Shepelev:   
      
   AS>>>>> On  my  way  to  work I have encountered a difficult   
   AS>>>>> case   
      
   AS>>>> Omit "have".   
      
   AK>>> The information about the case is connected  with  the   
   AK>>> present   time   (you  haven't  put  the  time  mark).   
   AK>>> Therefore, IMHO, the present perfect time was correct.   
      
   AS>> No, the Present Perfect is harly [AS: hardly]  possible   
   AS>> here  because  "on  my way to work" clearly indicates a   
   AS>> past time and makes the whole sentence narrative.   
      
   AH> IMHO the issue may have a lot to do what is or  isn't  a   
   AH> "time marker".   
      
   Well,  I  dislike  this  term  in  particular, and prefer in   
   general to analyse grammar based  on  the  intended  maning,   
   using  terminology  as  an  aid  rather  than as the primary   
   instrument.  From that viewpoint, nothing can  depend  on  a   
   defintion of a term.  The sentence is correct or wrong (or a   
   gradation in between!) regardless of what terms  we  use  to   
   discuss it.   
      
   AH> I  regard  your  correction  as an improvement because I   
   AH> imagine you mean something along the lines of "On my way   
   AH> to  work  today,  before  I  was able to relax at home &   
   AH> catch up on my echomail, I noticed [blah  blah]  in  the   
   AH> comedy of manners I was reading on the bus".   
      
   Sort  of  that thing, yes -- I simply wrote of an event that   
   had occured with me (or to me?) earler.  It is not  a  "been   
   there, done that" kind of statement.   
      
   Do you think all Wilde's plays comedies of manners?   
      
   AH> Alexander  may  be  thinking  more  of Freddy in MY FAIR   
   AH> LADY, who informs the audience "I have often walked down   
   AH> this street before"....  :-)   
      
   I  have  not  read  that  one, but the line you quoted has a   
   "habutual" meaning, if I may say so, for it does  not  refer   
   to  a  specific  event in the past.  I wot not how Alexander   
   might have misinterpreted my sentence in this way.  It  does   
   not  have  "often"  or  another  word indicating a habit and   
   repetition...   
      
   ---   
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