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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > present perfect or past tense?
present perfect or past tense?
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nemomen
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present perfect or past tense?
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Please help me decide whether I should use present perfect or past tense:
"I haven �t seen/didn �t see him today but the others have gone/went to the cinema, perhaps he has gone/went with them"
What do you think? Please help. Hugs
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3 May 2012
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cunliffe
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I would go for the present perfect. If you were talking about yesterday, you would use past simple. |
3 May 2012
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nemomen
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Thank you, it makes perfect sense
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3 May 2012
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rafed1988
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it known that when you are talking about a definite time in the past we should use the past simple, while if we are talikng about an indefinite time in the past we use the present perfect:
I broke my leg last year. (past simple)
I have broken my leg. (perfect) |
3 May 2012
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yanogator
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I �ll add a little to cunliffe �s excellent answer. If it is the end of the day, you might use the simple past, because you �re just reporting the activity of the past. However, the most reasonable situation is that someone is looking for him, now, so the present perfect is the best choice.
Bruce |
3 May 2012
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