Search results for 'tag:Simple past tag:Present perfect' matching tags 'Simple past' and 'Present perfect'

Re: have got, have, got: Is there any difference?

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:27:38 GMT

Hello
I am English teacher in Brazil ,the difference is in the grammar..as follows :
Have got = present perfect- which is have+ past participle , this relates something that started in the past with the present
have = present simple it indicated present meaning only and normally shows possesssion
got is the past of get so it is simple past
if you need more information please contact me on <email address removed by a mod. Please register and add it to your profile.>
Ala rebhi salim - Brazil

Re: Present Perfect Vs. Simple Past

Magic79 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:34:09 GMT

Thanks CalifJim and Avangi.
Special thanks for correcting my question as well. And thank you for explaining why the book preferred to use the simple past rather than the present perfect in the two questions cited above.

Re: find: in present perfect or simple past?

mbouti — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:28:17 GMT

my opinion is below.

âI found the book.â is right one. The verve âfindâ usually happen in the past when you talk on the phone conversation.

Re: find: in present perfect or simple past?

CalifJim — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:58:01 GMT

paul_h
I'd say

Philosophers of the nineteenth century contributed much to our understanding of consciousness.

Yes. You can use either tense. The point was that events distant in the past can be expressed with the present perfect. There's no rule that says present perfect is always recent and simple past is always long ago. But maybe you knew that already, in which case you can ignore my post on the subject.

Re: find: in present perfect or simple past?

CalifJim — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:55:36 GMT

paul_h
you wouldn't probably say "I have found a book I like one week ago" right?

Right. Present perfect is the 'indefinite past'. You can't contradict that by including a definite time (one week ago) in the same sentence.

Re: find: in present perfect or simple past?

paul_h — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:12:40 GMT

Actually, that doesn't make sense to me. I would understand why you would say

Philosophers have contributed much to our understanding of consciousness.

But that was clearly in the past, so I'd say

Philosophers of the nineteenth century contributed much to our understanding of consciousness.

or

Philosophers contributed much to our understanding of consciousness in the nineteenth century.

Re: find: in present perfect or simple past?

paul_h — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:20:06 GMT

Ok, I can follow your examples.

But you wouldn't probably say "I have found a book I like one week ago" right? If you would say that, please let me know when/under which circumstances. I think I haven't quite figured out the present perfect yet.

Paul

Re: find: in present perfect or simple past?

CalifJim — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:32:02 GMT

I don't understand why "I have found a book I like" would be wrong -- not as an isolated sentence, at least.

It must have been something else in the context of your phone conversation that caused your friend's reaction.

paul_h
to be correct after a week?

The amount of time that has passed rarely has an influence on the choice between those tenses.

I saw the strangest thing this morning.

Philosophers of the nineteenth century have contributed much to our understanding of consciousness.

find: in present perfect or simple past?

paul_h — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:18:43 GMT

Hi

my question arose when I was on the phone earlier. I told my friend:

I have found a book I like.

But she said "I found a book I like" is correct. I'm confused.

And now suppose I was to put this statement on Twitter or Facebook. From my point of view, I'd have written "Paul has found a book he likes". But one week later and you see "08/26: Paul has found a book he likes", wouldn't it have to be "Paul found a found he likes." to be correct after a week?

Thanks in advance
Paul

Re: Present Perfect Vs. Simple Past

CalifJim — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:51:55 GMT

Magic79
~~Will~~ Could any native speaker choose my answer without being frowned at on?

Yes. I see the present perfect as a possible alternative to the simple past for the verb sell. Nevertheless, once I start with a simple past, I think I tend to continue using the simple past through the rest of the sentence.