http://www.englishforums.com/search/pro.htm?q=tag%3aExpressions+tag%3aAuxiliaries+tag%3aSimple+pastSearch results for 'tag:Expressions tag:Auxiliaries tag:Simple past' matching tags 'Expressions', 'Auxiliaries', and 'Simple past'en-USCSMOD (Build: 3273.32735)http://www.englishforums.com/English/SimplePastPresentPerfect/bqrwx/post.htmThu, 24 Nov 2005 20:28:02 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:162279valentin14Congratualtions for your explanations There are clear and the best i ve found Vos explicatons sont les plus pédagogiques que j ai pu trouver à ce jour et je tiens tout particulièrement à vous en rendre hommage Gérard Forum New Common English Questions and Answers Archived PostsPosted Oct 6 6 46 AM GMT 1 Post Subject Re Simple past vs persent perfectPost author CalifJimThere is more than one difference between the simple past and the present perfect The simplest difference is the grammatical difference that the simple past can be used with expressions which signify a definite particular time in the past I wrote a letter yesterday I wrote a letter at 7 o clock I wrote a letter last Monday I wrote a letter several weeks ago The present perfect cannot be used with such expressions After all it IS a present tense I have written a letter yesterday wrong I have written a letter at 7 o clock wrong I have written a letter last Monday wrong I have written a letter several weeks ago wrong Being a present tense the present perfect can be used with now I have now written a letter Another difference is the way the two tenses cut through time Imagine time as a very very long loaf of bread extending into infinity from where you are located As you look into the distance at this long loaf of bread let s say that you are looking into the past The loaf ends at your feet and this is the present moment When the simple past tense is used to report an event it cuts a slice out of time To do this somewhere along the bread loaf time you make two cuts fairly close together The cuts represent the beginning and the end of the event or action Suppose you wrote a letter It took let s say an hour Then the thickness of the bread slice represents one hour of writing If that hour took place this morning the slice is located quite close to you I wrote a letter this morning If that hour took place yesterday the slice is located farther from you I wrote a letter yesterday If it took only 15 minutes to write the letter the bread slice is much thinner but again the slice may be closer to or farther from the present e g this morning or yesterday When the present perfect tense is used to report an event the slicing is different because you don t know exactly where the slice is located along the loaf If you say I have written a letter you know there were two cuts in the loaf to make the slice but you don t know where You only know that if you examine the loaf you will discover a slice representing the letter writing somewhere along the loaf Another feature of the present perfect is that you can limit how far back in time how far back along the loaf you want to go in your search This is done with a since clause In the sentence Since Monday I have written a letter we know that the slice representing the letter writing will be found between the distance from us which represents Monday and the present moment at our feet But we still don t know exactly where within that more limited part of the loaf we will find the slice Another way to look at it is that the simple past singularizes individuates or particularizes an action by focusing on a specific time Whether the specific time is mentioned or not the simple past when used to report an event always implies at a certain time In fact it is this implication that particularizes the event Even if the implication is when it happened the implication is still there Did you see that implies Did you see that when it happened Another example Did you notice that John got nervous when we mentioned the missing cash The noticing we are referring to is the noticing of that specific instance of nervousness that occurred at the time we mentioned the missing cash The present perfect however does not singularize individuate or particularize an action With the present perfect we don t even know exactly when the action happened What is more important with the present perfect is that the action now has some felt effect on the present When you say I have written a letter in a way you are pointing to that letter and saying And here it is Here is the letter I have written even though the pointing and saying may be only a mental pointing and saying The important thing is having hence the auxiliary have the letter now Another way to look at the present perfect is that it is the diary tense It is as if everyone has an imaginary diary where his life experiences are written With I have written a letter we are saying that we will find in your diary today if we look now the notation Letter written on some page of the diary but we don t know or don t care which page that might be Becoming adept at the use of the simple past and the present perfect takes lots of practice Don t be too disappointed if you find it difficult at first http://www.englishforums.com/English/DifferenceBetweenAmericanBritish-English/3/pdrc/Post.htm#74564Thu, 17 Feb 2005 09:29:44 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:74564guest1 Use of present perfect tense and simple past tense Speakers of American English generally use the present perfect tense have has past participle far less than speakers of British English In spoken American English it is very common to use the simple past tense as an alternative in situations where the present perfect would usually have been used in British English The two situations where this is especially likely are i In sentences which talk about an action in the past that has an effect in the present American English British American English Jenny feels ill She ate too much Jenny feels ill She s eaten too much I can t find my keys Did you see them anywhere I can t find my keys Have you seen them anywhere ii In sentences which contain the words already just or yet American English British American English A Are they going to the show tonight B No They already saw it A Are they going to the show tonight B No They ve already seen it A Is Samantha here B No she just left A Is Samantha here B No she s just left A Can I borrow your book B No I didn t read it yet A Can I borrow your book B No I haven t read it yet 2 Verb agreement with collective nouns In British English collective nouns i e nouns referring to particular groups of people or things e g staff government class team can be followed by a singular or plural verb depending on whether the group is thought of as one idea or as many individuals e g My team is winning The other team are all sitting down In American English collective nouns are always followed by a singular verb so an American would usually say Which team is losing whereas in British English both plural and singular forms of the verb are possible as in Which team is are losing 3 Use of delexical verbs have and take In British English the verb have frequently functions as what is technically referred to as a delexical verb i e it is used in contexts where it has very little meaning in itself but occurs with an object noun which describes an action e g I d like to have a bath Have is frequently used in this way with nouns referring to common activities such as washing or resting e g She s having a little nap I ll just have a quick shower before we go out In American English the verb take rather than have is used in these contexts e g Joe s taking a shower I d like to take a bath Let s take a short vacation Why don t you take a rest now 4 Use of auxiliaries and modals In British English the auxiliary do is often used as a substitute for a verb when replying to a question e g A Are you coming with us B I might do In American English do is not used in this way e g A Are you coming with us B I might In British English needn t is often used instead of don t need to e g They needn t come to school today They don t need to come to school today In American English needn t is very unusual and the usual form is don t need to i e They don t need to come to school today In British English shall is sometimes used as an alternative to will to talk about the future e g I shall will be there later In American English shall is unusual and will is normally used In British English shall I we is often used to ask for advice or an opinion e g Shall we ask him to come with us In American English should is often used instead of shall i e Should we ask him to come with us 4 Use of prepositions In British English at is used with many time expressions e g at Christmas five o clock at the weekend In American English on is always used when talking about the weekend not at e g Will they still be there on the weekend She ll be coming home on weekends In British English at is often used when talking about universities or other institutions e g She studied chemistry at university In American English in is often used e g She studied French in high school In British English to and from are used with the adjective different e g This place is different from to anything I ve seen before In American English from and than are used with different e g This place is different from than anything I ve seen before In British English to is always used after the verb write e g I promised to write to her every day In American English to can be omitted after write i e I promised to write her every day 5 Past tense forms Below is a table showing verbs which have different simple past and past participle forms in American and British English Note that the irregular past forms burnt dreamt and spoilt are possible in American English but less common than the forms ending in ed infinitive simple past Br simple past Am past participle Br past participle Am burn burned burnt burned burnt burned burnt burned burnt bust bust busted bust busted dive dived dove dived dived dived dream dreamed dreamt dreamed dreamt dreamed dreamt dreamed dreamt get got got got gotten lean leaned leant leaned leaned leant leaned learn learned learnt learned learned learnt learned plead pleaded pleaded pled pleaded pleaded pled prove proved proved proved proved proven saw sawed sawed sawn sawn sawed smell smelled smelt smelled smelled smelt smelled spell spelled spelt spelled spelled spelt spelled spill spilled spilt spilled spilled spilt spilled spit spat spat spit spat spat spit spoil spoiled spoilt spoiled spoilt spoiled spoilt spoiled spoilt stink stank stank stunk stunk stunk wake woke woke waked woken woken Note that have got is possible in American English but is used with the meaning have gotten is the usual past participle of get e g American English British English You ve got two brothers you have two brothers You ve got two brothers You ve gotten taller this year You ve got taller this year from www onestopenglish comhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PresentPerfectPastSimple/ngzp/post.htm#65703Thu, 06 Jan 2005 11:02:25 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:65703mister micawber TO QUOTE CALIFORNIA JIM There is more than one difference between the simple past and the present perfect The simplest difference is the grammatical difference that the simple past can be used with expressions which signify a definite particular time in the past I wrote a letter yesterday I wrote a letter at 7 o clock I wrote a letter last Monday I wrote a letter several weeks ago The present perfect cannot be used with such expressions After all it IS a present tense I have written a letter yesterday wrong I have written a letter at 7 o clock wrong I have written a letter last Monday wrong I have written a letter several weeks ago wrong Being a present tense the present perfect can be used with now I have now written a letter Another difference is the way the two tenses cut through time Imagine time as a very very long loaf of bread extending into infinity from where you are located As you look into the distance at this long loaf of bread let s say that you are looking into the past The loaf ends at your feet and this is the present moment When the simple past tense is used to report an event it cuts a slice out of time To do this somewhere along the bread loaf time you make two cuts fairly close together The cuts represent the beginning and the end of the event or action Suppose you wrote a letter It took let s say an hour Then the thickness of the bread slice represents one hour of writing If that hour took place this morning the slice is located quite close to you I wrote a letter this morning If that hour took place yesterday the slice is located farther from you I wrote a letter yesterday If it took only 15 minutes to write the letter the bread slice is much thinner but again the slice may be closer to or farther from the present e g this morning or yesterday When the present perfect tense is used to report an event the slicing is different because you don t know exactly where the slice is located along the loaf If you say I have written a letter you know there were two cuts in the loaf to make the slice but you don t know where You only know that if you examine the loaf you will discover a slice representing the letter writing somewhere along the loaf Another feature of the present perfect is that you can limit how far back in time how far back along the loaf you want to go in your search This is done with a since clause In the sentence Since Monday I have written a letter we know that the slice representing the letter writing will be found between the distance from us which represents Monday and the present moment at our feet But we still don t know exactly where within that more limited part of the loaf we will find the slice Another way to look at it is that the simple past singularizes individuates or particularizes an action by focusing on a specific time Whether the specific time is mentioned or not the simple past when used to report an event always implies at a certain time In fact it is this implication that particularizes the event Even if the implication is when it happened the implication is still there Did you see that implies Did you see that when it happened Another example Did you notice that John got nervous when we mentioned the missing cash The noticing we are referring to is the noticing of that specific instance of nervousness that occurred at the time we mentioned the missing cash The present perfect however does not singularize individuate or particularize an action With the present perfect we don t even know exactly when the action happened What is more important with the present perfect is that the action now has some felt effect on the present When you say I have written a letter in a way you are pointing to that letter and saying And here it is Here is the letter I have written even though the pointing and saying may be only a mental pointing and saying The important thing is having hence the auxiliary have the letter now Another way to look at the present perfect is that it is the diary tense It is as if everyone has an imaginary diary where his life experiences are written With I have written a letter we are saying that we will find in your diary today if we look now the notation Letter written on some page of the diary but we don t know or don t care which page that might be Becoming adept at the use of the simple past and the present perfect takes lots of practice Don t be too disappointed if you find it difficult at first http://www.englishforums.com/English/SimplePastPersentPerfect/krcr/post.htm#49164Wed, 06 Oct 2004 05:46:03 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:49164califjimThere is more than one difference between the simple past and the present perfect The simplest difference is the grammatical difference that the simple past can be used with expressions which signify a definite particular time in the past I wrote a letter yesterday I wrote a letter at 7 o clock I wrote a letter last Monday I wrote a letter several weeks ago The present perfect cannot be used with such expressions After all it IS a present tense I have written a letter yesterday wrong I have written a letter at 7 o clock wrong I have written a letter last Monday wrong I have written a letter several weeks ago wrong Being a present tense the present perfect can be used with now I have now written a letter Another difference is the way the two tenses cut through time Imagine time as a very very long loaf of bread extending into infinity from where you are located As you look into the distance at this long loaf of bread let s say that you are looking into the past The loaf ends at your feet and this is the present moment When the simple past tense is used to report an event it cuts a slice out of time To do this somewhere along the bread loaf time you make two cuts fairly close together The cuts represent the beginning and the end of the event or action Suppose you wrote a letter It took let s say an hour Then the thickness of the bread slice represents one hour of writing If that hour took place this morning the slice is located quite close to you I wrote a letter this morning If that hour took place yesterday the slice is located farther from you I wrote a letter yesterday If it took only 15 minutes to write the letter the bread slice is much thinner but again the slice may be closer to or farther from the present e g this morning or yesterday When the present perfect tense is used to report an event the slicing is different because you don t know exactly where the slice is located along the loaf If you say I have written a letter you know there were two cuts in the loaf to make the slice but you don t know where You only know that if you examine the loaf you will discover a slice representing the letter writing somewhere along the loaf Another feature of the present perfect is that you can limit how far back in time how far back along the loaf you want to go in your search This is done with a since clause In the sentence Since Monday I have written a letter we know that the slice representing the letter writing will be found between the distance from us which represents Monday and the present moment at our feet But we still don t know exactly where within that more limited part of the loaf we will find the slice Another way to look at it is that the simple past singularizes individuates or particularizes an action by focusing on a specific time Whether the specific time is mentioned or not the simple past when used to report an event always implies at a certain time In fact it is this implication that particularizes the event Even if the implication is when it happened the implication is still there Did you see that implies Did you see that when it happened Another example Did you notice that John got nervous when we mentioned the missing cash The noticing we are referring to is the noticing of that specific instance of nervousness that occurred at the time we mentioned the missing cash The present perfect however does not singularize individuate or particularize an action With the present perfect we don t even know exactly when the action happened What is more important with the present perfect is that the action now has some felt effect on the present When you say I have written a letter in a way you are pointing to that letter and saying And here it is Here is the letter I have written even though the pointing and saying may be only a mental pointing and saying The important thing is having hence the auxiliary have the letter now Another way to look at the present perfect is that it is the diary tense It is as if everyone has an imaginary diary where his life experiences are written With I have written a letter we are saying that we will find in your diary today if we look now the notation Letter written on some page of the diary but we don t know or don t care which page that might be Becoming adept at the use of the simple past and the present perfect takes lots of practice Don t be too disappointed if you find it difficult at first