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Yankee  +  471917 Sat, 02 Feb 08 05:59 PM
Hi Kooyeen

I really don't have any statistics on which tense would be more frequently used in informal AmE in a passive sentence like yours.  But I do think that we're more likely to the present perfect in "Damn! My bike's been stolen!" than to use the present perfect in "Damn!  Somebody has stolen my bike!"

I found your first response to be misleading because you were assuming/presenting a context that simply was not provided in the original question. You really can't go too wrong if you change a simple past tense active sentence to a simple past tense passive sentence.  And I'm not talking about just on tests -- I'm talking about everyday speech, too.  However, you can go very wrong if you run around blindly changing simple past tense active sentences to present perfect passive sentences. 

In your specific example, I suppose the reason we'd be more likely to use the present perfect in the passive sentence is because in the passive sentence the focus changes from the act of theft (which is finished) to the fact that the new "state" or status of my bike is "not here now".

 
Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006
Connecticut, USA
Veteran Member 6,497
Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain
Kooyeen  +  471921 Sat, 02 Feb 08 06:20 PM
Ok, thank you so much Amy!
This time I owe you a beer... German size! Wink [;)]

Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005
Italy
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