The meaning of this sentence is clear,
and I should hazard the opinion
that it is acceptable as "world English";
but it is not strictly grammatical.
Staying close to your sentence, I should say,
"For the first time, I am digging a hole in the back yard."
http://www.englishpage.com/verb...lepresent.html
and
http://www.englishpage.com/verb...ontinuous.html
provide rules for the most common patterns
like "I dig" and "I am digging."
Looking at your impressive profile
I am emboldened to suggest
you might better serve the community
by translating your Amazigh sentences
into French,
watching how the French translations
are rendered into English,
and pointing out errors.
CK's suggestion is particularly interesting.
It's very close to what came first to my mind:
"This is the first time I have dug a hole in the back yard."
If we look at the French, German, and Spanish translations of
"It's the first time I put a cigarette out before finishing it",
we see they all imply "now";
where "This is the first time I have ..."
may refer to a completed action
as well as to an action in progress.
(Just to add to the confusion,
the finite verb "put" is both the present and past tense form.)
"It's the first time I dug a hole in the back yard"
might well be produced by an American speaker,
so it's not ungrammatical in the descriptive linguistic sense,
but it suggests a want of education.
CK & halfb1t
Thank you for your helpful advice.
>>>>> "It's the first time I dug a hole in the back yard"
might well be produced by an American speaker,
so it's not ungrammatical in the descriptive linguistic sense, but it suggests a want of education.
I live in a country where English is very rarely used or spoken. Meeting an English-speaker is almost exceptional and meeting a native English-speaker would happen once every two years here. This is why it's very difficult for a person like me to be aware about all the subtleties of the correct English spoken/written by native speakers. I try to read a lot, and I also try to watch many films in English, and this doesn't help me always in order to make the difference between formal and informal English.
Anyway, I'll continue translating FROM English and ask questions to you, guys, if I have any problem.
Thank you
Amastan
CK: About my other sentences:
>>>>> All your other sentences with this pattern should be changed, too.
http://tatoeba.org/eng/sentence...und&to=und
I will change them as soon as possible.
Thanks.
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This sentence is original and was not derived from translation.
added by Amastan, July 10, 2012
linked by Amastan, July 10, 2012
edited by Amastan, November 18, 2012
linked by alexmarcelo, July 8, 2013