So I've stopped/I stopped

[EngLearner]

Peter knows that John and Rick work together. So when Peter bumps into John on the street, he, among other things, asks John: "How's your work with Rick?" To which John replies with the following.

He promised me a bonus for hard work, but he didn't keep his promise, so [I've stopped]/[I've now stopped]/[I stopped] working for him.

I think that the first two options are more appropriate in the above example than the third one because the present consequence in this case is that John no longer works for Rick. Am I right, or is the third option also natural and conveys the same thing?

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, the present perfect versions are appropriate for the reason you give. Yes, the past simple version is also natural. No, of course it doesn't convey the same thing.

 

[EngLearner]

Yes, the past simple version is also natural. No. it doesn't convey the same thing.

If John uses the simple past, will it be clear to Peter that he no longer works for Rick, or will it mean something else to Peter?

 

[emsr2d2]

Peter knows that John and Rick work together* no full stop here so when Peter bumps into John on the street, he asks John, among other things, asks John: "How's your work with Rick?**", to which John replies with the following:

He promised me a bonus for hard work, but he didn't keep his promise, so I've stopped/I've now stopped/I stopped working for him.

I think that the first two options are more appropriate in the above example than the third one because the present consequence in this case is that John no longer works for Rick. Am I right, or is the third option also natural and conveys does it convey the same thing?

*If Rick promised John a bonus, then Rick's the boss so I wouldn't say they "work together". I'd open with "Peter knows that John works for Rick".

**I don't find the wording of Peter's question natural. He'd be more likely to say "How's it going working for Rick?" or just "How's your job going?"

All three options lead to a grammatical sentence and they all mean he no longer works for Rick.