Attn MrPedantic , blitz here

Hello Blitz

Yes, I should probably qualify what I said before: the PS is used in contexts where you don't want to imply a connection to the present; the PP, where you do.

So:

'Yesterday I rode my bike across the field' - PS. You only want to talk about yesterday.

'I've ridden my bike to work every day this week' - PP. It's still 'this week', so the action has a relation to the present.

'I've been riding my bike for a year now' - this is fine. It's another form of the PP, called the 'present perfect progressive' (PPP). It consists of [have/has+been+-ing form of verb].You use it when you want to stress the 'continuing' nature of an action.

'I have just ridden my bike' - PP - it is very difficult to think of a context for this. It's not something you often hear...Maybe: a boy has had a broken leg for 12 weeks; the plaster cast has just been taken off; he's at home doing all the things he used to do; he comes in from the street and says to his mother 'I've just ridden my bike!'

'No, he didn't give me a present' - PS. The (non-)action is complete; you don't expect anything now.

'He hasn't given me a present yet' - PP ("he has not but he just might gimme one"). The non-giving has a relation to the present, because you're implying there's still a chance a present will turn up.

'He gave me a present for my birthday' - PS - incident closed.

'He's already given me a present for my birthday' - PP - the giving has a relation to the present, because this is still a time when you might receive birthday presents.

do you think ppl will notice this kinda stuff wen we talk

i dont think its noticed cuz ppl here dont talk like this

These differences are pretty certain to apply in newspaper English, or written business English, for instance. Spoken English is another matter, and it wouldn't be surprising if people in different areas used the PS and PP slightly differently.

For instance, colloquially, you might hear:
'Are you ready for school yet?' - 'Ready for school? I only just woke up.' = PS.

In formal English, this would be:
'Are you ready for school yet?' - 'Ready for school? I've only just woken up.' = PP.

In other words, where people observe the difference between the two tenses, you can say that one is the PS, and the other is the PP. Where people don't observe the difference, you can say that for those people, the PS has some of the functions of the PP.

Quite tricky, really.

MrP

Hello Blitz

ur right its really tricky so do u advise me to go ahead using the colloquial forms?

It would depend on the context. Sometimes using the colloquial forms can put you at a disadvantage. Say you speak "English: regional variation X". Anyone who doesn't speak X is going to find X strange. So if you used X in business letters, essays, official documents, etc., you'd be putting yourself at a disadvantage, because the reader would probably be non-X.

If you used X for the dialogue in stories, on the other hand, you'd probably be OK. But if you used it for the body of the text, you might deter non-Xs. Then again, it would probably be closer to what you wanted to say.

Also, if you lived among X-speakers, and started talking standard English, they'd find it pretty strange.

Probably the best thing is to know both X and standard English, and use whichever one suits the occasion.

you have screwed over my friend

I think this means, in a forceful way, 'you have taken my friend for a ride', 'you have acted to the disadvantage of my friend'.

no he didnt gimme a present yet

This is a colloquial PS, used instead of the more 'formal' PP:
'No, he hasn't given me a present yet.'

I called to check whether your phone is working or not/if your phone's working properly

Both are fine. You can leave out the 'or not' if you want. You can also say 'I called to check whether your phone was working'.

I called to check if he's going out or not/I called to check whether he's going out or not

Again, both sound fine to me!

MrP

Hello Blitz

These would be ok:

'I'm going to be gone when you get back' (= I'll have gone by the time you get back).

'I'm going to be gone for 3 weeks.' (=I'm going to be away for 3 weeks.)

But 'I'm going to be gone for a shower' sounds slightly odd to me. In what situation would you say it?

(Maybe:

'Don't bother calling me later. I'm going to be gone for a shower'?)

MrP

You're welcome!

1. 'He hadn't had the chance to prove himself' - that one's fine.

2. This needs a slight change - take out the 'had':

'If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been together.'

MrP