Talk:Hugo de Jonge

Latest comment: 4 years ago by 2001:984:20BB:1:95:6FC8:6CB8:F963 in topic Opening line

Opening line

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Both "a politician who serves as x since y" and "a politician who is x since y" are grammatically incorrect as simple present is used for (if I may quote from Wikipedia) "an action or event that takes place habitually", "habits, facts and general realities, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions, and wishes". By contrast, "a politician who has served as x since y" is a very common opening line for incumbents' articles; see Boris Johnson, Giuseppe Conte, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, etc. I don't see how De Jonge's candidacy for the party leadership changes this. 2001:984:20BB:1:95:6FC8:6CB8:F963 (talk) 17:31, 19 June 2020 (UTC)Reply

First of all, I would like to invite you to create an account, and use that to communicate. These conversations are rather hard to have in a constructive and mutually respectful way (where I can notify you of a follow-up message, for example) if you don't.
There are plenty of examples where X is Y or X is serving as Y is the status quo (See for example Donald Trump, Mark Rutte). Additionally, please refer to the Manual of Style which dictates the use of the present tense should generally be used for biographies of living persons, unless it is referring to a historical event. effeietsanders 18:02, 19 June 2020 (UTC)Reply
The opening line of Donald Trump is correct because it doesn't state since when he has been president; as soon as you add that qualifier, the use of simple present becomes incorrect. The Manual of Style does dictate the use of the present tense, and the form used in many incumbents' articles, present perfect progressive, does not deviate from that. And yes, the opening line of Mark Rutte is also incorrect. 2001:984:20BB:1:95:6FC8:6CB8:F963 (talk) 18:17, 19 June 2020 (UTC)Reply