atw: Re: Particular past tense

Peter,
I know what you mean although what I commonly hear is TV headline news
of events in the past expressed in present tense - eg. "Boris Yeltsin
dies at home in Russia", instead of "Boris Yeltsin died today at home
in Russia".  
 
I think it's that media thing of having a sense of immediacy. Plus it
gives you the insinuation that they have some footage to show you the
actual event so you can experience it live  - rather voyeuristic I think
and I wince every time I hear the present tense used in this way.
 
Mat

>>> pfagan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 26/04/07 3:09:59 pm >>>

I have noticed how common it has become in this country for police and
other emergency personnel to a use a particular past tense when
describing
events to the media. Example:

"The driver has lost control of his truck and he's ended up in a
creek.
He's got out of the cab and tried to swim for it but he's caught his
leg
in a snag. He's yelled out and fortunately some local kids have heard
him.
They've run for help..."

Rather than:

"The driver lost control of his truck and ended up in a creek. He got
out
of the cab and tried to swim for it but caught his leg in a snag. He
yelled out and fortunately some local kids heard him. They ran for
help..."

Can one of our esteemed grammarians (Michael Lewis?) please tell me
the
name of this tense? Would anyone like to speculate as to why it has
become
common usage when describing such events and offer an opinion as to
its
appropriateness?

My limited research says:

Use the past tense ("The driver lost control") for the immediate past
and
the past perfect tense ("The driver had lost control") for the less
immediate past. So what is the status of "The driver has lost
control"?

Peter Fagan

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