Why is the present perfect tense "have been infected" used?

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Good question! "Have been" has been used here as it's a description of a hypothetical situation and refers to an action which was completed in the recent past and still assumes importance in the present. However, according to the verb tense used by the speaker, it would have also have been okay to say "are infected and have either perished or survived," as this does a better job at keeping tenses consistent while still effectively describing the hypothetical pandemic response situation. Ex: In my city, the vaccination program has been running since January. Ex: I have been attending this school for two years.

How do native speakers use this expression?

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Popular Q&As

03/29

1
Why does he say "when you're 7 years old" while he's talking about his story? I thought he should say "I'm."
Great question! He uses "you're" to imply that all 7-year-olds do similar things, as though he is addressing everybody who is listening, saying they would have also done the same thing when they were 7. It means the same thing as saying "I did the only thing available any 7 years old would do".

2
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3
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