present perfect and simple future
Hi,

I came across this excerpt in Harry Potter but felt quite confused.

"Hermione’ll probably have all the answers when they wake her up! Mind you, she’ll go crazy when she finds out we’ve got exams in three days’ time. She hasn’t studied. It might be kinder to leave her where she is till they’re over.”

Could you please explain to me why the author used present perfect tense instead of future tense after "when"? Shouldn't it be:
"she’ll go crazy when she finds out we will have exams in three days’ time" ?

Thank you very much,

Question

present perfect and simple future
Hi,

I came across this excerpt in Harry Potter but felt quite confused.

"Hermione’ll probably have all the answers when they wake her up! Mind you, she’ll go crazy when she finds out we’ve got exams in three days’ time. She hasn’t studied. It might be kinder to leave her where she is till they’re over.”

Could you please explain to me why the author used present perfect tense instead of future tense after "when"? Shouldn't it be:
"she’ll go crazy when she finds out we will have exams in three days’ time" ?

Thank you very much,

Answer

Hi,
Interesting question. Your example would work grammatically, but it wouldn't sound as natural. Think of it as present tense. We use present simple tense to talk about future FIXED events. "The plane leaves tomorrow at 8:00." Or, "We have exams all week next week."

"Have got" is another way to say "Have", don't think of it as present perfect. (It's a very British way to say "have".)

It could also read, "She'll go crazy when she finds out we have exams in three days." (That would be more of an American English way to say it.)

Hope this helps!
Jesse