Tuongvan  +  529666 Thu, 19 Jun 08 05:39 PM Hi teachers , Please help me understand the following: 1/ Why  is the simple past , not the present perfect  used with "since "here ?   He has worked here for 2 years , but only since last July did he get paid for it .(I think it should be" ...only since last July has  he gotten  paid for it ". Which one is right? ) 2/Is it ok if we use "would prefer" and " would rather" interchangeably in the following structure?: I would prefer that /I would rather that you were introduced by the Australian equivalent of the Vietnam Veterans' Association . I would prefer that  /I would rather that  you went home now  3/Can I say like this?: I go to the same school as he does/as him I go to the same school with him. Thank you in advanve Tuongvan Joined on Sun, Dec 30 2007 Regular Member 975 van Simple Past, Present Perfect

	optilang  +  529696 Thu, 19 Jun 08 06:39 PM  He has worked here for 2 years , but only since last July has he been paid for it.   I  would prefer that /I would rather that you were introduced by the Australian equivalent of the Vietnam Veterans' Association . - OK I would prefer that  /I would rather that  you went home now  - OK    I go to the same school as he does/as him. - OK I go to the same school with him.      optilang Joined on Tue, May 13 2008 Poland Senior Member 2,521 OptiNative British English Speaker Wherever I may roam, I'm still a Londoner.