Search results for 'tag:Past perfect tag:American English' matching tags 'Past perfect' and 'American English'

Re: past tense and politeness and tentativeness

AlpheccaStars — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:56:41 GMT

"I wondered whether you could help me?",

Simple past, completed action. This is not present tense, but I suppose the "past time" could be one second ago. I don't use this.

"I had wondered whether you could help me?"

Past perfect tense. The action (wonder) completed at some time in the past. I don't use this.

"I was wondering whether you could help me?"

I use this to ask someone very politely for help right now. The progressive tense means that the action (wonder) started a short time ago, and continues up to this point in time. I also use "if" more frequently than "whether". (American English)

I also ask,: "Can you please help me?"

Re: got/gotten

Yankee — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:42:30 GMT

Fandorin
Hi. Yes, both of the words may be used. Simply "have(has) got" tend to be used side by side with have (has,had).
have(had,has) got = have(has,had). But the expression "had got" is rarely used in contemporary grammar.

Hi Fandorin

You seem to be mixing things up.

Angliholic's sentence is not an example of the idiomatic "to have got", which means basically the same thing as "to have" or "to possess".
In that idiom, it is not possible to change the word 'got' to 'gotten' -- not even in American English. It would be unusual to find "to have got" used in the past tense (i.e. had got).

Angliholic's sentence uses the verb "to get" in the past perfect. To form the past perfect of the verb "to get", you need had+gotten in AmE or had+got in BE.
The past perfect of the verb "to get" is in current use and is used just as often as the past perfect of any other verb.

Re: did vs be in questions?

Cool Breeze — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:53:55 GMT

Do is not used:

1. With be (except imperatives):
Were you late?
Is he walking now?
But: Don't be a fool!

2. With the defective auxiliaries (can, could; will, would, shall, should; may, might, must; ought):
Can he swim?
Will they come as well?
Would you have said that?

3. With have, has, had when they are perfect and past perfect auxiliaries:
Have you seen him?
Had he done anything?

Do need not be used with the above verbs when they mean 'own', 'possess':
Has he a car? It is more common, especially in American English, to use do: Does he have a car?

When have has another meaning, do must be used:
What time did you have lunch today? (= eat)
Do you have to go there every week? (= must)
Does he have his house painted every year? (= someone does the job for him)

4. When an interrogative pronoun is the subject or a part of the subject of a clause:
Who said that?
Whose friend said that?
What happened?

CB

Re: all tenses in one exercise - from Bywater's A Proficiency Course in English

Grammar Geek — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:29:50 GMT

1. I wonder who is making / was making that dreadful row. - are both versions possible?

Yes. If you are talking about the noise going on now, use "is" but if you are talking about that noise you hear last night, for example, use "was."

2. After he had eaten an enormous dinner, he fell asleep and was dreaming peacefully when a lump of coal fell on to the hearth and woke him up. - Could you please tell me, why there is past perfect used? Is it necessary here? Could I use simple past? -- Your're right, it's not strictly necessary because the other words give the sequence by using "after." But the past perfect is used to refer to a time in the past that was even more in the past than another past event. Here, the "eating" was earlier than the "falling."

3. I had been living / lived in that flat for several years before I decided / had decided to look round for something more central. - Wchich version is correct? Could I simply use the simple past tense here? We have words like "before" don't we? So is present perfect necessary (especially in the second part) ? -- This one is beyong me to explain at the moment. If no one else comes by to attack it, I'll return to it.

4. I shall / will have finished the book in about twenty minutes' time; can;t you wait until then? - The key gives "shall" and I don't know whether "will" and "shall" differ in any way... do they? Besides, I wanna know whether I could simply say "I will finish the book in about 20 minutes..." and if not, why??? -- Please don't use "wanna." In practical terms, "I shall" is simply not used in American English. To express simple future for the first person, "shall" is technically correct (while "will" is more of a statement of dermination or obligation). By the time it is 20 minutes from now, I shall have finished the book. If you are thinking about it from the point of view of that future, then use "have finished." If you are simply talking about projecting your estimate abour the future using right now as the base, use simply shall/will.

Say I'm driving someplace, and someone asks when we'll get there: "I will arrive in about 20 minutes, I think." But if someone says that I look tired, I can say "By the time I arrive (projecting into the future) I will have been driving for ten hours today."

5. The Incas were beaten in battle by the Spanish conquistadores and, after being held / were held / they had been held in captivity for some time, their Emperor was murdered. - The key says "had been held" and I have no idea why... couldn't I simply say "were held" ? or "being held" ? why not? -- I certainly think you can say "being held" or "they were held." I don't know why the book lists only "they had been held." Again, the "after" provides the sequence for you, so the past perfect isn't necessary.

6. Have you seen my glasses? - Can I say "Did you see my glasses" ? why/why not? -- The "have you" seems more recent.

7. When I arrived on the field yesterday, preparations were / had been in the full swing for the Fair which opens today... - again, sp vs p. perf. - The key says "were" and I would say "had been" ... is it wrong to use the past perfect here? what would it take to use it? adding a word like "already" maybe? -- Yes, you would need to say something like "had been in full swing for several hours."

8. I met your sister yesterday and I think / thought she was looking very well / she looks very well. - Can I use simple present? If I mean that she looks fine, like... kind of... generally! And does "thought" imply that I thought that in the past and I don't think that anymore? or does it mean more like "generally" ? Could I use "I think..." here? why not? -- Eh, it sounds funny to talk in the present about an event that happened yesterday.

9. Tolstoy tried / had been trying / had tried to educate his serfs but after he had been working / working / having been working at it for 20 years he got discouraged and gave it up. - Here, I'm completely confused... The key says "tried" and "had been working" ... dunno why... and why the rest is wrong... -- Again, I'm not up for this one right now. If no one else comes along, I'll try again.

PS. Is that true that if a Brit guy comes to the USA and uses a/the word "fortnight" he may not be understood? -- No.

Re: Past Perfect or Past Simple?

Cool Breeze — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 20:26:49 GMT

Hi Magda

I'd say both your sentences are correct. There is a tendency in American English to use the past tense with always and never, but the perfect tense is of course also right. (I do realize that in your example the past perfect is used.)

Examples:
I always wanted to see him in person. / I have always wanted to see him in person.
I never liked him. / I have never liked him.

There may be special reasons to prefer one tense to the other in some contexts but as a rule both tenses are OK.

Cheers
CB

Re: Past perfect in a museum

Pastsimple — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 23:11:58 GMT

CalifJim wrote:
Well, those R's are just lovely. Don't even think of getting rid of them!

And, for what it's worth at the end of your discussion, I'd have said, by the way, with a smile:

Yes, I saw the sign!

CJ

I reckon American English might get me into some dodgy situation in Blighty, mate.

Isn't BrE lovely as well?

Re: by the time + past perfect or simple past

CalifJim — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:15:33 GMT

What do you think about patterns with both clauses in simple past?

They are among the most useful, I think, and they sound quite natural. See previous post.

No. had already is common in that context, but just already is also fine in American English. Personally, I would have chosen had already.
I believe the British may have different preferences.

in years is a period of time ending at the present moment. This is the exact situation which calls for a perfect tense.

CJ

Re: Reported Speech Strikes Back - Episode I - Advanced Help Needed

Grammar Geek — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 04:09:03 GMT

3/ What's the difference between :

I would like to see it VS I should like to see it.

In American English, you do not use "I should" to mean "I would like to," which translates roughly into "Please, may I see it." I'm sure you can construct a situation in which you'd say "I should like to see it" - but you'd have to work hard to do it. Perhaps our British friends can tell us whether "I should like" is still used to mean "Please can I..."

4/ According to Thomson & Martinet's Practical English Grammar the following sentece would have a different meaning if we change the tense from simple past to past perfect in reported speech :

I'm quoting form T&M :

He said, 'I loved her' must become "He said he had loved her" as otherwise there would be a change of meaning. But - He said, 'Ann arrived on Monday' could be reported "He said Ann arrived (<had> is optional here) on Monday"

This is presented in the point 309 "Past tenses sometimes remain unchanged"

a) I don't understand why there would be a change of meaning in the first sentence. Why do I HAVE to use past perfect? And why in the second one it's optional? Because of the ambiguity of saying simply "He said that he loved her." That could mean current or past, as we've discussed. In his direct speech, he said his love for her was in the past - so if you want to avoid the ambiguity, you use the past perfect. Clearly in the past. On the other hand, Ann's arrival is definitely in the past, so the "had arrived" doesn't add any clarity or other information that the simply past doesn't provide all on its own.

b) When past tenses remain past tenses without changing into past perfect? T&M gives examples but no explanmation :/ See above - is my explanation clear enough?

c) And, again, could we say "He said he loves her" instead of "He said he loved her" ? Why? Why not? If you report his speech as "he loves her" you are putting his love for her in the present, and he told you it was in the past. It's not exactly equivalent, but I said to you "I just got home late," my arrival home is in the past. You wouldn't say "Barb says she's getting home late." That puts it back in the present. You'd say "Barb says that she got home late."

d) Does "He said he loved her" imply that he, possibly, doesn't love her anymore? Yes, as we've stated many times now, it's ambiguous. It could imply that he doesn't love her anymore or it could mean that he still does. You need context. Using M&T's guide, to avoid the ambiguity, you should say "he said that he HAD loved her" for past love and "he said that he loves her" for current love.

By the way - I'm female.

Re: Any mistake?

CalifJim — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 19:52:53 GMT

That's correct, Abbie. The past participles are 'gotten' and 'forgotten' in AmE. Nevertheless, the idiom "have got" to mean simply "have" takes "got", not "gotten".

I have (got) a computer on my desk just now. I am using it to respond to this question.
I have gotten/bought a computer this week. It wasn't very expensive.
I have gotten/received three letters from New York this week. They were all short.
I have (got) the three letters on my desk right this minute. Do you want to read them?

So as for D's sentences in American English:

He got an award in 1995. (received it then, simple past, OK)

He's got 2 awards since 1990. (Not OK. "He has got two ..." - so idiomatic "has got" - not usable this way -

It's either "He has gotten two awards since 1990" or "He has got two awards (now)", i.e., either "He has received them" or "He has them (now)". Also possible: "He has had them since 1990".)

He's gotten 2 awards since 1990 (received them since then, past perfect, OK)

CJ

Re: Assume

CalifJim — Wed, 29 Dec 2004 17:40:56 GMT

"in future" for British English. "in the future" for American English.

1. Correct.
2. Wrong. "... what you would like to do ..." is the correct form.
The question part (requiring inversion of "you have" to "have you") is correct. That's the main clause. The second clause is subordinate, so it does not invert "you would" to "would you".
3. Correct with "never". There's no problem using "never" or "ever" with the past perfect tense. (Off topic: "like you" is more idiomatic that "such as you".)

CJ