"Hey, I've found a sleeping bag!"

[B45]

I'm going on a camping trip with my family but didn't have a sleeping bag. The next day my friend called and told me he had one and could let me borrow it. I say to my family:

"Hey, I've found a sleeping bag!"

VS

"Hey, I found a sleeping bag!"

Are both acceptable and why is one more grammatical than the other? What would a native use?

 

[emsr2d2]

To be absolutely precise, you haven't "found" a sleeping bag at all. Someone has offered to lend you a sleeping bag. However, if only your two options were available, I would use "I have found a sleeping bag".

 

[B45]

To be absolutely precise, you haven't "found" a sleeping bag at all. Someone has offered to lend you a sleeping bag. However, if only your two options were available, I would use "I have found a sleeping bag".

Why would you use I have found a sleeping bag?

 

[emsr2d2]

I would use it if I had been looking for something (including a sleeping bag) and had actually physically located it.

I was looking around the attic and I found a sleeping bag, a box of toys and a lot of spiders.

Have you found your tent yet?
No, but I have found my sleeping bag.

 

[B45]

I would use it if I had been looking for something (including a sleeping bag) and had actually physically located it.

I was looking around the attic and I found a sleeping bag, a box of toys and a lot of spiders.

Have you found your tent yet?
No, but I have found my sleeping bag.

I should rephrase my question to: Why would you use the present perfect rather than the past tense in a situation like this?

 

[bhaisahab]

I would guess that emsr2d2 would use the present perfect for the same reason that I would. It's correct in British English and we are BrE speakers.

 

[B45]

I would guess that emsr2d2 would use the present perfect for the same reason that I would. It's correct in British English and we are BrE speakers.

Could you please let me know the reason behind it?

 

[Raymott]

Could you please let me know the reason behind it?

What does your grammar book say about the use of the present perfect, Batman? This is basic. Why don't you try to explain it first?

 

[B45]

What does your grammar book say about the use of the present perfect, Batman? This is basic. Why don't you try to explain it first?

I don't have a grammar book and I started to learn English very late, but I guess I get by with what I already know. For my children and family's sake, I'm trying to improve it so that they'll grow up speaking native English.

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

Well, I'm not a teacher nor a native speaker.
I'm going to try to explain to you why we should use the present perfect in this case.

If you've found something, you have it now. If you found something, it doesnt necessary mean that you have it now. You could lose what you had found in 5 seconds.


Probably I'm completely wrong, but I'd definetely use the present perfect, because I feel it's correct. ;-)

 

[emsr2d2]

Having it now doesn't necessarily lead only to the present perfect though. Consider the following exchange:

Have you found your sleeping bag?
Yes. I've found it.
Where did you find it?
I found it in the attic.
When did you find it?
I found it yesterday.

Although it appears that the person probably does still have their sleeping bag, having found it yesterday, that only leads to the present perfect being used in the first past of this exchange. For the other two exchanges, one which gives a location and one which gives a timing, the past simple is perfectly adequate.

However, in line (to a certain extent) with Boris' explanation involving the whereabouts of the item now, consider the following:

Have you found your sleeping bag?
Well, I found it but then I lost it again!
or
Well, I found it but now I've lost it again!

Advice for Batman 45 - we are happy to help where we can but as we say frequently, we are not here to replace dictionaries, grammar books/websites or your own study. Even though you came to English late, there is nothing to stop you studying it formally. I suggest you get a good grammar book with exercises and work through it in your own time. When you come across something that you still can't quite get your head around, feel free to ask us, giving details of what you've studied so far, what the exercise was and why you are confused.

 

[B45]

Thank you so much for your tutelage!

огромное спасибо!!!

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

огромное спасибо!!!

As a future interpreter I must translate it.

Batman45 says "thank you very much for your help". :-D

 

[Rover_KE]

Batman, there is no need to select 'Reply with Quote' every time you respond.

Ems's answer was indeed excellent, but we don't want to read it all again before we simply find you are thanking her for it.


`

 

[Raymott]

I don't have a grammar book and I started to learn English very late

The answer I was hoping you'd find is that the present perfect is the appropriate tense when you are emphasizing the present. The fact that you now have a sleeping bag (because you found one) is the important point. In the context, it's not important whether you found it, bought it, or was given it. The important thing is that you now have a sleeping bag. The means by which you got it (in the past) is secondary.
If the past was of primary importance (eg. "What did you do yesterday"; "I found a sleeping bag"), you use the past tense.

Boris and emsr2d2 have expressed this same priniciple in different ways.