[Grammar] Present Perfect vs Past Simple

[Checkmate]

James: What happened to my cookies?

John:

"I ate them."

"I have eaten them."

Which one should John say? Why?

I think "I ate them" is correct because John just wants to tell James what he did in the past.

 

[emsr2d2]

They're both perfectly acceptable to me.

 

[Tarheel]

James: What happened to my cookies?
John: I ate them.
James: So, are you going to get some more?

:-o

 

[Checkmate]

They're both perfectly acceptable to me.

Are there any differences in meaning?

 

[Matthew Wai]

'I ate them yesterday.'
'I have eaten them today.'
Not a teacher.

 

[tedmc]

'I ate them yesterday.'
'I have eaten them today.'
Not a teacher.

You can also say 'I ate them this morning'.

The past tense is used as a statement of the past action/task.
The prefect tense is used as a statement that the action/task has been completed/accomplished.

not a teacher

 

[Matthew Wai]

'I ate them minutes ago.'
'I have just eaten them.'
Not a teacher.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Matthew, those work for me.