cubezero3
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2009
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Chinese
- Home Country
- China
- Current Location
- China
He tore his shirt on a nail.
To me, this sentence sounds like this man tore his shirt, at least partially, on his own will, since it's written in first person. Then, its Chinese translation shows this sentence only tells what happened. Presumbly, the translators of dictionaries must have a much better understanding of both languages. It's also the same translators, however, who don't differentiate the simple past and the present perfect tenses in their translations on many occasions. Could you please tell me what kind of meaning this sentences actually conveys.
Many thanks
Richard
Many thanks
Richard