# EN: Coluche est le plus grand comique français



## Guill

Hi,

My problem is that I don't know if I have to use present or past perfect to translate this :
Coluche (who's dead, RIP) is/has been the greatest French comedian ever.

Which one would you use ?

Thanks in advance


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## Maxzi

Bonsoir,

Comme il s'agit d'un fait passé qui a continué et qui est toujours vrai (Coluche a été, et est toujours le plus grand comique), j'utiliserais le *present perfect*.

Donc je dirais :

"Coluche has been the greatest French comedian ever"


Mais je ne suis pas sûr à 100%


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## Guill

C'est ce que je pense aussi, mais, sans savoir pourquoi, j'ai l'impression que c'est pas exactement le cas ici... Utilise-t-on aussi le present perfect si la personne n'est pas morte mais exerce toujours son métier ?


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## Suehil

'Coluche *was* the greatest French comedian'.  Once someone is dead, you always say 'he was.....'


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## Guill

Great ! Glad to know it, thank you !

Quel temps utiliserais-tu aussi si la personne est encore vivante ? J'imagine que est le past perfect mais j'aimerais en avoir confirmation


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## Suehil

Then 'he *is* the greatest comedian'


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## berndf

_XXX *is* the greatest French comedian, _assuming XXX is still alive and performing.


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## Guill

Okay, so we would never say "X has been the greatest comedian" ? I guess that for somebody who was the greatest but who isn't anymore, one would say "He used to be"...


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## berndf

I could be used if you want to express a state which started in the past and persists to this very day:
_Ever since he first appeared on stage, XXX has been the greatest French comedian._


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## Guill

Hum, I think I get it  : if there's a reference point, one uses present perfect, otherwise it's past simple or present, depending on whether the person is still alive ? I think that's what's taught, but as far as there are many exceptions, I'm no longer sure about the uses of the different tenses...


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## berndf

Guill said:


> Hum, I think I get it  : if there's a reference point, one uses *past perfect*...


_Has been_ is *present* perfect.


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## Guill

My mistake, I said it as opposed to pluperfect but I forgot the real name


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## berndf

_Pluperfect_ and _past perfect_ are just two different names for the same thing.


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## CapnPrep

berndf said:


> I could be used if you want to express a state which started in the past and persists to this very day:
> _Ever since he first appeared on stage, XXX has been the greatest French comedian._


Could be, but it doesn't sound very good to me… It implies that _XXX_ is the greatest French comedian (which, as we have seen, strongly suggests that _XXX_ is still alive). 

If forced to choose, I would use _was_ in this sentence. It isn't exactly compatible with _since_, but most importantly it doesn't have any false or misleading implications.  The best option would be to avoid _since_ altogether.


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## Guill

All right, cheers for these explanations


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## berndf

CapnPrep said:


> Could be, but it doesn't sound very good to me… It implies that _XXX_ is the greatest French comedian (which, as we have seen, strongly suggests that _XXX_ is still alive).


Yes, that's what I meant to say. You can use this, if XXX is alive.

(This refers to my earlier example in #7 which I deleted because Suehil was faster but which I shouldn't have deleted, if I want to refer to it later... Anyway, I un-deleted it.)


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## Montaigne

Dead and still the greatest.I suggest "Coluche remains......"


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