[Grammar] Past Simple Vs. Present Perfect
- Thread starter saloom2
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- Nov 13, 2002
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It's impossible to say without more context. Both could occur without a time phrase- the wider context would give the answer. Thinking about decontextualised sentences will not lead to any great understanding- all real language occurs in a context. Time is one key to distinguishing these verb forms, so removing the time does nothing except make things unclear.
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- Jul 28, 2009
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- English Teacher
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- British English
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- UK
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- UK
Just because there is no time expression in the sentence containing the information, doesn't mean there isn't some kind of time frame somewhere.
What did you do yesterday?
I played tennis.
What did you do last Wednesday?
I played tennis.
What have you done this week?
I have played tennis.
What did you do yesterday?
I played tennis.
What did you do last Wednesday?
I played tennis.
What have you done this week?
I have played tennis.
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