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Is the following sentence grammatically correct or it is awkward:

"Has this area attracted new residents lately?"

Should I instead say:

"Did this area attract new residents lately?"

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  • I don't see any problem. What is your concern?
    – user3169
    Commented Aug 25, 2015 at 23:32
  • I was wondering whether I can use Present Perfect with "lately". @VictorBazarov said it's Ok. The Present Perfect is really difficult for me ...
    – Rada
    Commented Aug 26, 2015 at 4:02

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It has always bothered me that, while Present Perfect is used when talking about present, about now, it is allowed to combine in the same sentence, like in your example, "have attracted" with "lately" (or "recently"), which to me sounds like an adverb that points to the past, and not present.

On the other hand, the point of using Present Perfect is to emphasize the result over some specific point in time of the event. So, yes, it is perfectly OK (pun intended).

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    Present Perfect is not merely Present. It is a Present that started in the past, and talks of a period of time that started in the past and has continued from there to the actual present you are referring to.
    – Dzyann
    Commented Aug 26, 2015 at 3:40

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