Search results for 'tag:Simple past tag:American English' matching tags 'Simple past' and 'American English'

Present Perfect / Simple past (american english)

YSchneider — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:59:24 GMT

When do you guys use the present perfect! (americans!)?

I had asked a similar question before and I got many diffrent answers! One was like:

So, we can say that generally we use the present perfect to talk about experiences, changes over time, accomplishments, and uncompleted actions we expect to be completed. Examples: Experience: I have been to England many times. Change over time: You have grown since I last saw you. Accomplishment: My daughter has learned to drive.
Uncompleted task expected to be completed: The snow has not stopped.

Then how about these: The train has arrived/arrived!
or I've attached a picture to the e-mail!
or I've changed my address!
or I've started smoking

Would you use the present perfect there as well? And if yes why? What makes you choosing this tense?
(please only native americans)

Is it because they have a relation with the present then what about: I broke my leg! or I lost my key! These are also related with the present but I've been told that americans they usually wouldn't use present perfect there! Is there a difference of how it affects the future! Please help!

Re: "a" or "one of"

MarvinTheMartian — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:35:16 GMT

Thank you Yankee for your detailed answer, but I'm still hopelessly confused about when to use the present perfect and when to use the simple past. You brought up an interesting point about the differences between American English and British English. I wonder if a Brit would find it more natural to say "I've broken my arm" or "I broke my arm". Perhaps a few more examples will make it clearer for me. For instance, in the following dialogue, would you say "I took" or "I've taken":

A: Where's my favorite coffee mug? I can't find it. It's not in the cupboard.

B: I took it out / I've taken it out. It's on the table.

According to your logic, one might argue that the action of taking the mug out of the cupboard took place in the past, which would warrant the use of the simple past. However, the result of said action affects the present (the mug is out of the cupboard and on the table). Can both tenses be used here? Which one sounds more natural to you?

I know I sound punctilious, but this is very important to me. After years of conversing with non-native speakers who mangle the English language at every turn, I find I canât trust my own judgment anymore when it comes to expressing myself verbally.

Go? Gone? Uh-oh again...

Kooyeen — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:25:12 GMT

Hi,
does the simple past tense of "go" imply that someone is back now? If not, then the first should be good...

#1 Oh... I can't find Sally. I wonder where she is. Where did she go?
#2 Oh... I can't find Sally. I wonder where she is. Where has she gone?

and if it's good, then "Mary went to the Canarian Islands" does not imply that Mary is back, right?

Thanks
PS: American English, please

Re: Until recently

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 15:45:39 GMT

Kooyeen wrote:
Hi,
which verb tenses can be used with "until recently"? I thought only the simple past or the past continuous could be used, but I've also seen some perfect tenses... Is there any difference?
American English, as always:

He worked in NY until recently. <-- ok, I think OK
He has worked in NY until recently. <--- I don't know. And if it's ok, is he still working there. or is that possible? PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE
He has been working in NY until recently. <--- I don't know. And if it's ok, is he still working there. or is that possible? SOUNDS ODD, NO
He used to work in NY until recently. <--- I don't think it's ok. Too little time has passed to use "used to". OK
Any advice? Thank you in advance

Re: Until recently

Philip — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 01:07:00 GMT

Kooyeen wrote:
Hi,
which verb tenses can be used with "until recently"? I thought only the simple past or the past continuous could be used, but I've also seen some perfect tenses... Is there any difference?
American English, as always:

He worked in NY until recently. <-- ok, I think OK
He has worked in NY until recently. <--- I don't know. And if it's ok, is he still working there. or is that possible? I don't think the present perfect works here.
He has been working in NY until recently. <--- I don't know. And if it's ok, is he still working there. or is that possible? "had been working" would be OK
He used to work in NY until recently. <--- I don't think it's ok. Too little time has passed to use "used to". I think it's OK, but not very natural.

Any advice? Thank you in advance

I hope this helps.

Until recently

Kooyeen — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:14:45 GMT

Hi,
which verb tenses can be used with "until recently"? I thought only the simple past or the past continuous could be used, but I've also seen some perfect tenses... Is there any difference?
American English, as always:

He worked in NY until recently. <-- ok, I think
He has worked in NY until recently. <--- I don't know. And if it's ok, is he still working there. or is that possible?
He has been working in NY until recently. <--- I don't know. And if it's ok, is he still working there. or is that possible?
He used to work in NY until recently. <--- I don't think it's ok. Too little time has passed to use "used to".

Any advice? Thank you in advance

Re: When to use "Have you...? " or "Did you..? "

Kooyeen — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 22:03:31 GMT

Hi,
welcome to Englishforums.
You can also use the search function to search the forum for interesting threads (there's a search button in the top right corner of every page).

I would use "did", not "have". The simple past focus on something that happened and keeps that action separate from "now". So I would say:
What was that (noise)? Did you knock on the door?

The present perfect can be used with words like "yet", "already", "ever", etc., and it does not give the idea of "separate from now" as much as the simple past. It can also be used to report news or other information, when you don't want to focus on the past moment:
President Buch has died. He died this morning at 7, etc.
Notice the first verb is a present perfect (focus on the news, the fact, not the past), and the second is a simple past, because you are pointing out the time he died (focus on the past, "sepatateness from now").

The difference between these two verbs is one of the most difficult things to learn for every learner, so don't worry, it just takes time. There are also some slight differences in usage between American English and British English. You might want to search this forum for info about this (there are a lot of threads), or read something in a good ESL grammar.

And as you can see, I'm not a native speaker of English, so you'd better wait for some better advice.

Re: Pucca's expressions - I understood it now

Yankee — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:55:48 GMT

Yankee wrote:
Well, in American English people probably wouldn't have much of a problem putting now together with the simple past tense.
For example, if you were trying to pay for some things in a store and the cashier had made a string of errors (rang up wrong prices, dropped and broke one of your items, etc.) and finally topped the whole thing off by giving you the wrong change, I definitely can imagine hearing an American customer say: "Now you gave me the wrong change!"

Hi Pucca

There is also a difference in the "Now you gave me the wrong change" example I gave in the post above. In that example, there were a list of "wrong" things that the cashier did wrong, and you might say that the "wrong change" is viewed as the most current one and is also a mix of past and present: the incorrect change is in my hand now, but the cashier gave me the wrong change in the past. This is a situation for which you have probably been taught to use the present perfect. (Now you've given me the wrong change.) But, I would not find it unusual for an American to use the simple past tense in everyday speech in such a situation.

However, what you will definitely not hear the customer say to the accident-prone cashier in this situation is this:
Now I had the wrong change.

Instead, the customer would say this:
Now I have the wrong change.

I hope that helps a bit.

Re: Pucca's expressions - I understood it now

Yankee — Wed, 30 May 2007 00:59:42 GMT

Well, in American English people probably wouldn't have much of a problem putting now together with the simple past tense.
For example, if you were trying to pay for some things in a store and the cashier had made a string of errors (rang up wrong prices, dropped and broke one of your items, etc.) and finally topped the whole thing off by giving you the wrong change, I definitely can imagine hearing an American customer say: "Now you gave me the wrong change!"

Re: since 10 am.

Yankee — Sun, 27 May 2007 12:04:25 GMT

Hi Bokeh and Trex

Yes, I agree that a sentence such as "I lost my job" would be the most likely or typical. I also found the original sentence odd. My focus was on the use of the present perfect in this case. What do you think of the first half as a stand-alone sentence? "My job has gone." That part sounded especially odd to me.

The present perfect would certainly be used with "since 10 a.m." in the US, too. However in informal spoken American English, it wouldn't surprise me to also hear the simple past tense used.