Has Or Is?

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

+JMJ

Perhaps this is just me, but the sign our parish put up for Easter Masses says "He has risen!" It struck me as being off theologically... I mean, it seems like the sign implies that the Resurrection is a distant event rather than a present reality. It may also have been that it was up well before Easter. I was hoping to find some explanation from others and perhaps a few opinions on the word usage.

[aalpha1989]

"Is risen" could be a remnant of the time when "to be" was the helping verb used for the perfect tense when showing a change of state or motion.

I.e. "I am come into the room" would mean "I have come into the room"... my 1962 Missal uses to be in this way. Not my favorite translation, but there it is.

Edited April 5, 2010 by aalpha1989

[MissyP89]

It's not exactly inappropriate because Christ rose in the past, so 'has' is fine, but 'is' is good also because He remains today is a state of resurrection. Both are fine to my ears, for what it's worth.

[LouisvilleFan]

Most grammatical rules allow for some leeway in cases where a phrase is in common usage or simply sounds awkward in the "correct" way, so "He is risen" should work fine even "by the rules."

But you can always ask [url="http://http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/"]Grammar Girl[/url].

Edited April 6, 2010 by LouisvilleFan

[Noel's angel]

I'd say 'Is Risen' is better. Think about it:
'Christ has died
Christ is risen
Christ will come again'.

He died (past). He is risen (present). He will come again (future).

I suppose there's nothing wrong with the other though.

[Apotheoun]

During the liturgy the present tense should normally be used.

[Era Might]

I think "has" puts the emphasis on the actual event of the Resurrection, while "is" puts the emphasis on the resurrected state of being.

To use another example, the phrase "he has married" emphasizes the actual marriage event, while "he is married" emphasizes the marriage relationship.

Edited April 6, 2010 by Era Might

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='Apotheoun' date='05 April 2010 - 07:42 PM' timestamp='1270514525' post='2087334']
During the liturgy the present tense should normally be used.
[/quote]

But it isn't the present tense. Not only in English, but in other languages, as well, the prefect tense (or its equivalent) is used in the paschal greeting. Spanish, for example, uses the pretérito perfecto: "¡Cristo ha resucitado!". Latin uses the perfect "Christus resurrexit!". I am fairly certain that the verb "anesti" itself is a perfect verb in Greek, though I cannot confirm that with any certainty.

As aalpha explained, in archaic English, in order to form present perfect tense of motion verbs, the verb "to be" was used as the auxiliary instead of "to have". Thus statements like "I am come in the name of my Father" are found in the Douay-Rheims Bible (John 5:43), even when most people today would translate "Ego veni in nomine Patris mei" as "I have come in the name of my Father."

[LouisvilleFan]

Here in Kentucky we say, "He done gone 'n rose."

[Luigi]

The English present perfect tense (have/has + past participle) is used to indicate:
1. Events that happened in the unspecified past, e.g., Have you (ever) eaten rattlesnake?
2. Events that began in the past and continue in the present, e.g., He has been in college for seven years (to date, so far, up to now, at this point in time, etc.).

Therefore, present perfect "He has risen" is correct in the sense of happened-in-the-past-and-continues-into-the-present. I think FutureNunJMJ's intuition about it being slightly off theologically may arise from Usage #1 above - perhaps you feel that "He has risen" smacks of the unspecified-past-event?

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='Luigi' date='05 April 2010 - 11:32 PM' timestamp='1270528348' post='2087487']
The English present perfect tense (have/has + past participle) is used to indicate:
1. Events that happened in the unspecified past, e.g., Have you (ever) eaten rattlesnake?
2. Events that began in the past and continue in the present, e.g., He has been in college for seven years (to date, so far, up to now, at this point in time, etc.).

Therefore, present perfect "He has risen" is correct in the sense of happened-in-the-past-and-continues-into-the-present. I think FutureNunJMJ's intuition about it being slightly off theologically may arise from Usage #1 above - perhaps you feel that "He has risen" smacks of the unspecified-past-event?
[/quote]

In archaic English, "to be" is used instead of "to have" as the auxiliary verb with verbs of motion in the present perfect tense. (This is actually quite similar to modern French.)

"I am come" and "I have come" mean the exact same thing, just as "he cometh" and "he comes" mean the exact same thing.

[aalpha1989]

[quote name='Resurrexi' date='06 April 2010 - 12:36 AM' timestamp='1270528568' post='2087490']
In archaic English, "to be" is used instead of "to have" as the auxiliary verb with verbs of motion in the present perfect tense. (This is actually quite similar to modern French.)
[/quote]

And German.

[Luigi]

But we don't live in archaic England.

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' date='06 April 2010 - 02:55 PM' timestamp='1270522529' post='2087406']
Here in Kentucky we say, "He done gone 'n rose."
[/quote]


Or the ever popular HE IS RIZ!

[aalpha1989]

[quote name='Luigi' date='06 April 2010 - 12:40 AM' timestamp='1270528832' post='2087495']
But we don't live in archaic England.
[/quote]

It's where our language comes from.