the last year

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To ask a seemingly year 4 student at college/uni, which tense is correct/wrong?:

-Is this the last year you have been here?
-Is this the last year you will be here?
-Is this the last year you are here?

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Type: Question • Score: 7 • Views: 728 • Replies: 13

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@WBYeats,

Quote:

-Is this the last year you will be here?

That's the one, although we would probably say instead, "Is this your final year?"

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Quote:

-Is this the last year you are here?

You might hear this too.

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@WBYeats,

The first one is wrong. It's quite awkward sounding to me.

The latter two are correct (read as usable in a conversation). Their usage depending on the context and tone of the conversation.

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You could see "Will you be here all week?" as inviting someone to make a prediction, and "Are you here all week?" as asking about their schedule.

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@WBYeats,

WBYeats wrote:

To ask a seemingly year 4 student at college/uni, which tense is correct/wrong?:

-Is this the last year you have been here? 'have been' indicates the past.
-Is this the last year you will be here? 'will be' indicates the future - this is correct.
-Is this the last year you are here? 'are' indicates only the present - if the present year is also the 'last year', this may seem correct, but it's technically awkward, as this year is always presently the last year.

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@Jack of Hearts,

Sorry, Jack of Hearts, but I don't agree with your last point. You can say "Is this year/next year/2017 the last year you are here?" because the 'are' is referring to a schedule which exists in the present.

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Thank you~

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@contrex,

Yes, as it seemingly does refer to a schedule, you are correct.
WBYeats poses the question, of - past, present, or future "which tense is correct/wrong". There's agreement that the past tense is wrong, and that the future tense is most correct. It is not "wrong" nor 'incorrect' to use the present tense, but I still think the future tense is to be preferred. (Noted: WBYeats did not ask which is preferred.)

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@Jack of Hearts,

One "tense" can't be preferred over another, JoH. We choose that
which fits the language situation.

English doesn't have a future tense.

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@JTT,

JTT, this is the question - "which tense is correct/wrong?"
American English most surely has a future tense - "will be" is a prime example. How will you answer WBYeats' question?

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@Jack of Hearts,

And the question was answered , Jack. The appropriate "tense" is the
one that fits the situation.

AmE is no different than any other dialect of English. None of them has
a future tense.

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@JTT,

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sequence.htm

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@Jack of Hearts,

You picked one of thee worst English/grammar websites on the Net, Jack.
But regardless, English doesn't have a future tense. It has many ways to
describe the future but no specific tense.

What of present tense lexical verbs used to describe the future?

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the last year

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