3 in the bed – recently & co.

Recently, lately, in the last few hours, days, weeks etc. all talk about a time going back from the present but without saying exactly back to when – maybe it’s not important or even known exactly how long it goes back. The important thing is the time started in the PAST and continues up to the PRESENT – remember Dave’s tip PAST PRESENT aka Present Perfect in correct grammar speak.

Typical situations: “Have you seen Dave recently?” (It depends on the situation. At work between colleagues, it usually means minutes/hours, in private between family or friends, it could mean hours, days or even weeks) “Yes, I have. He was at the photocopier a few minutes ago.” (N.B. short answer with the auxiliary verb ‘have’ and then go into the PAST – AGO) “No, I haven’t (seen him recently). The last time I saw him was sometime last week.”

What about another: “I’ve been a bit under the weather lately, so I went to the doc yesterday!” (ONLY I really know how long that is. The DOC asked me to be more precise.) But as I didn’t remember the exact time I said “Well, doc, in the last few days, I haven’t really been as fit as a fiddle.” (so if you want to be more precise with your times, you have the phrase ‘in the last few ……….’. NB, just because you see the word ‘last’ in the phrase, don’t use the PAST tense form with it.

QOTD: “Have you heard a great joke lately?” AND is it clean enough to pass on?!?

Recently, lately, (kürzlich/neulich), auxiliary verb (Hilfsverb), to be under the weather (nicht ganz in Form sein), to be as fit as a fiddle (fit wie eine Turnschuhe sein)

2 Gedanken zu „3 in the bed – recently & co.

  1. Jenny Antworten

    Yes, I’ve heard a good joke recently. Goes like this:

    A Roman walks into a bar and asks for a Martinus.

    „You mean a Martini?“ the bartender asks. The Roman replies, “if I wanted a double, I would have asked for it!“

    I’m into those nerdy science jokes Sheldon would laugh about. Here’s another one which is at least in my opinion funny:

    An engineer, a physicist, and a mathematician have to build a fence around a flock of sheep, using as little material as possible. The engineer forms the flock into a circular shape and constructs a fence around it. The physicist builds a fence with an infinite diameter and pulls it together until it fits around the flock. The mathematician thinks for a while, then builds a fence around himself and defines himself as being outside.

    Or: When I heard that oxygen and magnesium hooked up I was like OMg.

    Also good: A photon walks into a hotel and checks in. „Do you want a hand with your luggage?“ asks the receptionist. „No thanks“, replies the photon, „I’m travelling light“.

    I would make some more chemistry jokes but all good ones Argon!

    Have you ever heard about the LaughLab project in the UK? It’s the scientific search for the world’s funniest joke. You can find more information, the final report as well as over 1000 – unfortunatell all clean – jokes here:

    http://laughlab.co.uk/

    • Dave Preston Autor des BeitragsAntworten

      „Nice one, centurian“. (Life of Brian). Loved the Roman one and cheers for the link, will check it out for grammar in jokes for my upcoming Fun on Friday book. Thanx

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