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Yesterday, Adam invited (among others) John, Peter, and Sarah to his party, which took place today. Sarah couldn't come because she got sick yesterday (and is still sick today), and Peter couldn't come because he had to go to work. John was the only one who came. Since Peter didn't know that Sarah had got sick, after the party he asked John if he and Sarah had enjoyed the party. John replied:

I did, but Sarah couldn’t come because she's got sick.

Is it correct to use the present perfect "she's got sick" after the past tense "couldn't come" if the speaker wants to emphasise that Sarah is still sick at present? Thanks.

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    Past perfect would be typical there for many speakers. It expresses the condition that prevented her from attending, not her present condition, though it may well be so. But some speakers might say "She could not come because she has come down with the flu", killing two birds with one stone.
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 6 at 18:45
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    "has got" is not the present perfect; it would be "has gotten."
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Nov 6 at 19:47
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    "because she has gotten sick" is idiomatic in AmE and would indicate that she still has the malady that prevented her from attending the party.
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 6 at 20:23
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    If the goal is to indicate that her sickness is both a reason for the past absence and a continuing fact, I would simply say, She couldn't come because she's sick.
    – Peter Kirkpatrick
    Commented Nov 6 at 21:17
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    And "because she wasn't feeling well" could leave open the possibility that she might have had a headache that is gone by now, or that she ate something from a "wet market" that will make her ground zero for an outbreak of something disastrous for humankind.
    – TimR
    Commented Nov 7 at 11:08

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I find she's got sick to be unidiomatic. She got sick is OK, but I wouldn't say it in British English; and American English usually prefers the past participle gotten. (I don't know whether she's gotten sick is OK in American English - it sounds OK to me, but that's not my variety).

The use of the present perfect in this context is fine, but doesn't necessarily have the meaning you suggest.

In British English,

Sarah couldn't come because she's caught flu.

implies that she still has it; but

Sarah couldn't come because she's been ill.

doesn't: the "present relevance" in that case is rather the after effects than that she is still ill.

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    Personally (American speaker), I wouldn't go for "she's gotten sick," though I might for "she got sick" if context made the past tense convenient (as in the question's example; but perhaps not, say, "she's not at this meeting because she got sick").
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Nov 6 at 19:49

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