In the summer of 2021, I had the pleasure of attending a hybrid congress in Berlin: Die Grünen were kicking off their election campaign. The
Im Sommer 2021 hatte ich das Vergnügen, an einem Hybridkongress in Berlin teilzunehmen: Die Grünen starteten ihren Wahlkampf. Der Höhepunkt für mich an diesem Tag
Der Sommer geht zu Ende, wir sind zurück von den langen Tagen in der Sonne und auf dem Wasser, und es geht zurück in den
It’s the end of summer, we’re back home from long days in the sun and on the water, and it’s back to classes and many
Wie geht ein hybrider Kurs mit Cornelsen’s Basis for Business?Zusammenfassung Dieser 30-minütige Vortrag sollte Trainer:innen für Business Englisch einen Überblick über die Erfahrungen mit den
Which tense is correct here?
Why did you choose the one you chose?
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4 Responses
You give away the answer with your grammar logic tip. The second one doesn’t work in the present perfect, because it is still referring to a specific moment in the past. The pastness of that moment is only implied, but nonetheless real.
This sentence says nothing about a specific moment in time: “I have been to the zoo.” But this sentence implies a specific moment:: “I saw her at the zoo.”
Agree! Keywords are not enough to determine which tense is used. This is not always easy for English learners, though.
But does this ever happen to you:
I sometimes find myself changing tenses in mid-thought.
I might start responding to the question “Have you seen her recently?” – or even better: “Have you seen her lately?” with a “Yes in fact I have, it was at an event for new students.” And that might get condensed into what sounds like a present perfect sentence. “Yes in fact I have, at an event for new students.”
Sure. Your example sounds natural enough to me.
Of course, living in North America, as I am, I have to hear native speakers use the simple past when they should be using the present perfect. Classic example from a children’s song: “Did you ever see a whale with a polka-dot tale?” (Raffi)
Final count:
I saw Judith recently at an event held for new students. (85%, 11 votes)
I’ve seen Judith recently at an event held for new students. (15%, 2 votes)