[etni] Re: a grammar question
- From: <Leo.Selivan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bnirenberg@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:22:05 -0000
Didn't think my reply would provoke such a debate :-)
Anyhow, as I said I would use the Past Simple and merely remarked that
there are many cases where both would be possible particularly in spoken
English.
Also, we often use the Past Simple even if there is a clear connection
to the present, e.g. "I told you so!" rather than "I've told you so!".
If you're interested, I blogged about spoken language and its own
grammar sometime ago:
http://leoxicon.blogspot.com/2011/11/spoken-grammar.html
LEO
________________________________
From: Bari Nirenberg [mailto:bnirenberg@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: 11 January 2012 18:40
To: Selivan, Leo (Israel)
Cc: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [etni] a grammar question
I disagree -- I don't think the present perfect would be correct here.
I read the article (on Tuesday) and then I put it on my desk. I'm sure
I put it on my desk, but it's not there now. The present perfect should
show some kind of connection to the present, but if the article isn't on
my desk now, then the act of putting it there some time in the past is
not relevant to the present. The "I'm sure" here is irrelevant to the
tense of the verb "put". It's clearer in this sentence: "I'm sure I
put the article on my desk yesterday, but it's not there today."
Bari
On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 16:05, <Leo.Selivan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I would use the Simple Past but if someone used the Present Perfect it
would not be considered a mistake. There are many cases when either can
be used and attempts to find cut and dried rules would often be futile.
Where does this come from anyway?
LEO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: ETNI list <etni.list@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 14:00:40 +0200
Subject: [etni] Fwd: a grammar question
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: lura dosa <luradsa@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: a grammar question
Hello..
I have a question about the Present Perfect and I hope someone will help
me.
I know that when the time of the past action is specified, the Past
Simple is used. But what about this:
" On Tuesday, I _____________ (read) an article which I _____________
(think) would be suitable for my biology paper. I'm sure I
_______________ (put) the article on my desk. I ______________ for it
all over the house but ____________ it yet."
Should 3 be Present Perfect or Past Simple? I know from the context
that the putting happened on Tuesday, but also the effect "I'm sure"
is present, so what to choose?
Thanks for your help:)
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educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are a registered charity;
209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). We create international
opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust
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This message is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only. If you have
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