Search results for 'tag:Past tenses tag:British English' matching tags 'Past tenses' and 'British English'

Re: Present Perfect (americans)

Yankee — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:04:32 GMT

As is the case with British English, whether an American uses the simple present or the present perfect often simply depends on how the speaker is viewing a past activity. That said, when either tense is possible according to the "usual rules", I think there is a noticeable tendency for Americans to choose the simple past tense more often than our British cousins would. There are also a few well-known examples of American usage that probably drive some (but hopefully not all) Brits crazy. For example: "Did you eat yet?" and "I already did that."

The problem with quite a few of your sentences is that there isn't enough context in the sentences themselves (they're very short) and/or not enough broader context with them to say for sure which tense might be more likely in AmE. In a few of your sentences, you haven't really given what I think would be typical wording, so there really isn't much point in trying to say which tense would be used. For example, I can't imagine a doctor asking a patient in his office whether or not the patient had broken his/her arm. And I doubt that the sentences "I've changed my address!" and "I changed my address!" would be used to tell someone I had moved to a new address, so I would need more context there before I could give further input.

It may well be the case (but I don't know this for a fact) that in some cases where a Brit would definitely use the present perfect because there is an effect on the present, we might choose instead to use the simple present tense. If I take your broken arm example, an American might choose to say "I broke my arm last week" (focus on the past event) or "My arm is broken (focus on the current state -- the bone is not yet healed).

Maybe someone else will have some input for you.

Re: dreamed and dreamt

Grammar Geek — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:00:22 GMT

Hello anon,

I'm not sure why you chose to stand on your soapbox about the declining state of English on a post that was almost two years old, but you are mistaken.

Regarding dive:http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dive - usage Dive, which was originally a weak verb, developed a past tense dove, probably by analogy with verbs like drive, drove. Dove exists in some British dialects and has become the standard past tense especially in speech in some parts of Canada. In the United States dived and dove are both widespread in speech as past tense and past participle, with dove less common than dived in the south Midland area, and dived less common than dove in the Northern and north Midland areas. In writing, the past tense dived is usual in British English and somewhat more common in American English. Dove seems relatively rare as a past participle in writing.

Regarding sneak: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sneak - usage From its earliest appearance in print in the late 19th century as a dialectal and probably uneducated form, the past and past participle snuck has risen to the status of standard and to approximate equality with sneaked. It is most common in the United States and Canada but has also been spotted in British and Australian English.

Regarding fun: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fun - note the adjective function, making "so fun" perfectaly acceptable.

Regarding hang: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hang usage For both transitive and intransitive senses 1b the past and past participle hung, as well as hanged, is standard. Hanged is most appropriate for official executions <he was to be hanged, cut down whilst still aliveâ¦and his bowels torn out â Louis Allen> but hung is also used <gave orders that she should be hungâ Peter Quennell>. Hung is more appropriate for less formal hangings <by morning I'll be hung in effigy â Ronald Reagan>.

Next time, try consulting a dictionary instead of your own sense of indignation.

Re: wrong to use past tense?

Mr Wordy — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:52:17 GMT

He bought a parrot that the seller said it would repeat every word he uttered. Contented, he went home ~~and~~ but later found it didn't say a word. Furious, he went back to the owner and asked him what had happened. The owner answered that he had not lied (didn't lie OK??) to the man.

The lying (or, in fact, absence of it) happened some time before the answering, so "had not lied" (or "hadn't lied") is correct. You might hear native speakers use "didn't lie" in this context, but it's sloppy (IMO) and you should avoid it.

He went mountain climbing. On the way up the mountain, he saw what looked like a box covered in golden paper in a plastic bag. He thought he had gotten (got OK??) something that is was worth a large sum of money but ended up finding there was trash in the bag.

US usage is "gotten" and UK usage is "got". The following is from a British English perspective. I'm not certain if this explanation is also true in Amercan English (with "got" replaced by "gotten").

"Have/had got", in the sense you're using it, is a slightly tricky one. Literally, "have got" means something like "at some point in the past, I got (received/obtained) something, and I still have it", so literally it's the present perfect. Similarly, "had got" is literally the past perfect. However, this sense is, to varying degrees, suppressed, so "have got" can function almost like a present tense (meaning "have"), and "had got" almost like a simple past tense (meaning "had"). In your sentence "had got" is correct (though I suppose "had found" might be better). It can either suggest that he obtained it some time before the moment you're describing, or it can just mean that he had it in his possession. "He thought he had something..." is also OK and replicates the second sense.

[I edited this a little while after posting it to fix a couple of minor typos that were annoying me.]

Re: Smelt/smell

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:23:10 GMT

Smelt is an alternative to smelled and is preferable, though not obligatory, in British English. At the end of the day, the sound difference is only between and . The verbs that follow a this pattern of having regular / irregular alternatives with this t/d sound ending are:
infinitive irreg past tense and participle regular past tense and participle

burn	burnt	burnt burned
dream	dreamt	dreamt dreamed
lean	leant	leant leaned
leap	leapt	leapt leaped
learn	learnt	learnt learned
smell	smelt	smelt smelled
spell	spelt	spelt spelled
spill	spilt	spilt spilled
spoil	spoilt	spoilt spoiled

In General American English there is a preference to make these verbs regular, which is also acceptable in British English (no one can say you're wrong for using these words) but not usually used. I don't know if, in America, they would tell you that the irregular spelling is wrong or whether it would be accepted as an alternative.

Re: What tense should i use?

Mister Micawber — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:58:46 GMT

He went out already.
He has already gone out.

Both are OK. British English does not like to use already with past tense, but American English often does.

Re: Is this grammatically correct?

Yankee — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 07:44:06 GMT

Anonymous wrote:
Thanks Yankee. The original sentence is

I've got to go on a business journey to Rome next weekend.

journey has to be changed to trip, right? But my friend insisted that this sentence is right:

I've got a journey to go on business in Rome next week.

I agree with CJ that you would need to use the word 'on' twice in your friend's version of the sentence in order to make it grammatically correct. But grammatically correct and natural are sometimes worlds apart. Your friend's sentence is neither grammatically correct nor natural.

In American English, it is not normal to say "business journey". It is normal to say "business trip". I think this is also true in British English.

"I've got to go on a business trip to Rome next weekend" is OK.

"I've got to" = "I have to" = "I must"
All of these expressions are used with an infinitive (i.e. I've got to go). They do not refer to the finished past. They refer to a necessity to do something now and/or in the future.

"I've got" = "I have" = "I possess"
Your friend changed "I've got to" to "I've got". So your friend also removed the idea of necessity from the original sentence.

But it sounds so awkward and not right. She insisted that journey is okay to use. I said, maybe you could say:

I took a journey to do some business in Rome next week. ---> Is this right?

No, the word 'took' is past tense and that doesn't make sense with 'next week'.
Typical collocations are:
- take a trip
- go on a trip
- go on a business trip

You could say this:
"Next week I'm taking a trip to Rome to do some business."
(I doubt I would ever use the word journey in such a sentence.)

Re: Past tense or present tense

nona the brit — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:49:59 GMT

"... when you have both finished" sounds awkward, is it a common sentential constuct? Yes, it's a normal construct

And your sentence "What were the questions like?" looks good but can I also say "How were the questions like?"? No, but you could say "How were the questions?' or 'How did you find the questions?' How is not used with like.

You only need one question mark, and in British English it goes inside the quotation marks.

Re: Past tense or Past Perfect? (from Tintin's "Red Rackham's Treasure")

Marius Hancu — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 11:38:32 GMT

Teleostomi wrote:
Thanks!

I guess Swan is a British English speaker, but does he have in mind both BrE and AmE usages when he wrote it?

did

Good book, better at your level than Curme, who's difficult to read, as I mentioned.

Re: Past tense or Past Perfect? (from Tintin's "Red Rackham's Treasure")

Teleostomi — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:09:33 GMT

Thanks!

I guess Swan is a British English speaker, but does he have in mind both BrE and AmE usages when he wrote it?

What would be BrE speakers' opinion on this? I guess Bokeh is American (aren't you?).

Past tense or Past Perfect? (from Tintin's "Red Rackham's Treasure")

Teleostomi — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:51:23 GMT

The following quote is from Tintin's volume: Red Rackham's Treasure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Rackham's Treasure

So we've already passed the right point, and yet we saw nothing...I simply can't understand it!

Tintin was written in French, and translated into BrE.
I understand why the perfect tense was used in "we've already passed..." but don't understand why the past tense in "we saw nothing." even though it's British English.