EngLearner
Member
- Joined
- May 13, 2023
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Ukrainian
- Home Country
- Ukraine
- Current Location
- Ukraine
Peter and Sarah are a husband and wife. Consuela babysits their son, Billy, while they're at work. One day, Peter says to Sarah:
Sarah, call your mother and ask her if she can babysit Billy tomorrow. I've fired Consuela.
I made up the above example. Since Peter is talking about Consuela's current status, it should be "I've fired Consuela." (as I wrote), not "I fired Consuela." Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Now, I watched a movie called "The Sitter," and there was the following scene. There was a husband and a wife, and they had a babysitter, just like in my scenario. That babysitter turned out to be obsessed with the husband. At the end of the movie, there was a fight between the wife and the babysitter. The husband was tied up, so he couldn't help his wife. The wife managed to kill the babysitter, and right after that, she and her husband had the following conversation:
Husband: "Honey, are you alright?"
Wife: "I'm alright, but I fired the sitter."
Here's a link to that moment in the movie (timestamp: 01h25m57s).
Why did she use the simple past "I fired" rather than the present perfect "I've fired"? Is "I've fired" equally appropriate in this case?
Sarah, call your mother and ask her if she can babysit Billy tomorrow. I've fired Consuela.
I made up the above example. Since Peter is talking about Consuela's current status, it should be "I've fired Consuela." (as I wrote), not "I fired Consuela." Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Now, I watched a movie called "The Sitter," and there was the following scene. There was a husband and a wife, and they had a babysitter, just like in my scenario. That babysitter turned out to be obsessed with the husband. At the end of the movie, there was a fight between the wife and the babysitter. The husband was tied up, so he couldn't help his wife. The wife managed to kill the babysitter, and right after that, she and her husband had the following conversation:
Husband: "Honey, are you alright?"
Wife: "I'm alright, but I fired the sitter."
Here's a link to that moment in the movie (timestamp: 01h25m57s).
Why did she use the simple past "I fired" rather than the present perfect "I've fired"? Is "I've fired" equally appropriate in this case?