I know it is correct to say
He has been dead for three years.
I've learned the present perfect tense, and it's said that non-continuous verbs are allowed. Is this sentence correct as well?
He has died for three years.
present-perfecttenses
I know it is correct to say
He has been dead for three years.
I've learned the present perfect tense, and it's said that non-continuous verbs are allowed. Is this sentence correct as well?
He has died for three years.
Best Answer
Die is an Inchoative verb; that means it refers to a change of state.
The Present Perfect construction can be used with a Stative predicate like be dead or own a house the way you suggest. This is called the Universal sense of the Perfect.
But die is not stative; it's inchoative, and therefore punctual -- it refers only to the instant when the change took place. So, in principle, it could use the Existential sense of the Perfect, which is restricted to punctual, or at least completable, events.
which suggests that he has died several times over a time span of three years. However, dying is something that can only be done once, and therefore a sentence like this is apt to raise an eyebrow, at least.