OttoJ Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Did
Assume John is an undergraduate, and he replies to a question:
-He never __ well in linguistics.
Do you think it's correct to use did? John is not referring to primary or high school studies or anything specific about a particular period in the past, so I think only 'have done' is correct, because you are talking about the past up to now, at least in UK English. The problem is: Americans use the past tense much more frequently, such as with already/yet, so I am not so sure as I usually would be when we are talking about tense usage. Do you think did is correct in American English?
-He never __ well in linguistics.
Do you think it's correct to use did? John is not referring to primary or high school studies or anything specific about a particular period in the past, so I think only 'have done' is correct, because you are talking about the past up to now, at least in UK English. The problem is: Americans use the past tense much more frequently, such as with already/yet, so I am not so sure as I usually would be when we are talking about tense usage. Do you think did is correct in American English?
Top answer
There is no context to make that decision upon. To me it is unlikely that he will have had many linguistic courses while still an undergraduate, so I choose simple past.
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There is no context to make that decision upon. To me it is unlikely that he will have had many linguistic courses while still an undergraduate, so I choose simple past.
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