In Present perfect^x, Past tenses^x, Simple past^x

Hi AnonI don't feel comfortable with that either. The present perfect typically refers to a past activity that happened at an indefinite time in the past, or at some unspecified time between a point in the past and now. Generally speaking, you'll mainly find a specific past time in a...

Hi, So if I were to say "She has never watched TV". Does it mean that she hasn't watched TV until now? Meaning, up until now she has watched TV? Yes, correct.Even if I were to say "She never watched TV", isn't it also true that she has not watched TV up till now? We...

Hello everybody,I had to write some business correspondence recently and I got stuck at the early beginning in the mesh of time clauses and verb tenses. Here's the sentence I would like you to check in various verb tense - options and to give some brief comment if possible. I start with what...

Hi there. Welcome to EF.The differense between them happens to be interchangeable in some informal way or in narratives. We use Past Simple along with Present Perfect when we're talking about events happened in the past, but Present Perfect points that event may occur in the present again.He...

Hello, everyone: I don't understand the following paragraph, cited from a grammar book, could you help me please?"there is an idiomatic exception to the rule that the simple past tense indicates definite meaning: this is the construction with "always" illustrated by "I...

Of course they wouldn't say that, Jim. Most don't even know what the names of verb tenses/forms are. That's the reason I specifically mentioned people who are NOT English (ESL) teachers. I'll grant you that a single difference in usage might slip by unremarked, but repeated or...

Hi HuevosIf you are a native speaker, then I'm sure you also realize that a native speaker will understand whether that 'sss' sound is there or not. In other words, a native speaker knows whether someone is saying somebody's or somebody. What I'm saying is that in the scenario...

Hi YvesI'd say there are a couple of reasons for my (personal) preference of the present perfect in the examples you gave earlier:1. The past activities I'm mentioning in the email probably took place extremely recently, and the fact that I'm currently writing about those very recent...

Hi YSchneider It sounds like someone might have told you that Americans hardly ever use the present perfect, and that you are now noticing that that just isn't true. Am I right?Anyway, to answer your question, yes, it is also possible to use the simple past tense in the sentences you posted. ...

I feel the same.But there's nothing I could find in the original example that sets up the idea that I am typing out an e-mail!Here's my version.I had been having so much trouble with some new software that I didn't think I would ever manage to get a picture attached to an e-mail that...