Re: where do so many tenses come from?

Ruud Harmsen <realemailseesite13@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 12:34:16 -0500: Harlan Messinger
<hmessinger.removethis@xxxxxxxxxxx>: in sci.lang:

You have the date (appointment, agreement, arangement to meet) now,
and it is about a meeting that will take place (not: takes place?)
tomorrow.

Semantic shift: the "date" is the actual night out with someone, not the
appointment to have it. It doesn't matter anyway: I could also say I
have a meeting/test/seminar/presentation tomorrow. Or, "I'm giving a big
presentation tomorrow." "She graduates from college next month."

OK.
Yet, I still believe if translated all Dutch presents that really
refer to the future to English presents, it sounds very strange.

The future Mrs Des being, as she is, Dutch, I have occasion to second
this intuition. But a lot of the mismatches "I X" -> "I am Xing"
(non)translations, whether in the present or implicit future. (I am
thinking, at least.)

Same with composite perfects.

Very likely.

Des
can't remember what those are offhand
.