# I've eaten pizza



## stephenlearner

Tom is eating pizza for the first time in a pizza restaurant. He's not finished. He says to his friend while he is eating, 

_I've eaten pizza. _

Is this sentence valid? 

I read a thread long ago, which explained a similar topic. But I can't find it now. 

According to my vague memory, that thread seems to say, 

1. If you regard your first bite as "eat", you can say that. 
2. If you regard your finishing the meal as "eat", you can't say that. You can say it only after you finish eating. 

Is this opinion correct? 

Thank you.


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## elroy

stephenlearner said:


> Tom is eating pizza for the first time in a pizza restaurant. He's not finished. He says to his friend while he is eating,
> 
> _I've eaten pizza. _
> 
> Is this sentence valid?


The sentence makes no sense in that context.


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## dojibear

stephenlearner said:


> Tom is eating pizza for the first time in a pizza restaurant. He's not finished. He says to his friend while he is eating,
> 
> _I've eaten pizza. _


Nobody says this. If somebody said this, I would not understand.


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## stephenlearner

So, when I say "I have eaten a pizza", the last possible time that I ate a pizza for the first time can't be now. Is that right? It could be ten years ago. It could be yesterday. It could be 1 second ago (suppose I finished it 1 second ago). But it can't be now when I'm eating it.


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## dojibear

stephenlearner said:


> I've eaten pizza.





stephenlearner said:


> I have eaten a pizza


Those are different sentences.

"A pizza" is an entire pizza pie. Usually those serve 3 people. Usually they are cut into 8 slices, and each person eats 2 or 3 slices. But at some places there are small ones, for one person.

"Pizza" is the generic substance that makes up "a pizza pie".


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## zhg

I had a pizza for lunch today. 
I had pizza for lunch today.
I've had pizza for lunch today.
or I've had a pizza for lunch today.

Which one would you normally say?


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## Elle Paris

stephenlearner said:


> Tom is eating pizza for the first time in a pizza restaurant. He's not finished. He says to his friend while he is eating,
> 
> _I've eaten pizza. _
> 
> Is this sentence valid?
> 
> I read a thread long ago, which explained a similar topic. But I can't find it now.
> 
> According to my vague memory, that thread seems to say,
> 
> 1. If you regard your first bite as "eat", you can say that.
> 2. If you regard your finishing the meal as "eat", you can't say that. You can say it only after you finish eating.
> 
> Is this opinion correct?
> 
> Thank you.


I've eaten pizza with an exclamation mark would mean "Wow! I've just eaten pizza...me!"


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## stephenlearner

dojibear said:


> "A pizza" is an entire pizza pie.


OK. Thank you for pointing it out. Actually, when I wrote my last post, I was puzzled about whether to add the "a".

Let's come back to "I've eaten pizza"

_So, when I say "I've eaten pizza", the last possible time that I ate it for the first time can't be now. Is that right? It could be ten years ago. It could be yesterday. It could be 1 second ago (suppose I finished it 1 second ago). But it can't be now when I'm eating it._

Do you think so? Thanks.


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## dojibear

zhg said:


> I had a pizza for lunch today.
> I had pizza for lunch today.
> I've had pizza for lunch today.
> I've had a pizza for lunch today.
> 
> Which one would you normally say?


Normally for lunch I would eat 1 or 2 slices of pizza, not an entire pizza.


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## Elle Paris

Well the rule (which many people don't follow) is that when the moment of the action is unknown or vague, not connected to the past (not over) and connected to the present, you would use the Present Perfect so: I have (just) eaten pizza (the plate is still in front of me, the taste still in my mouth and I'm digesting it), I have eaten pizza before (now), I have eaten pizza many times (before now), I have eaten pizza today, this week/month/year (because today, this week/month/year are not finished).  That is the PRESENT PERFECT.
BUT I ate pizza a few minutes ago, yesterday, at week/month/year because those time periods are finished and in the PAST. That is the SIMPLE PAST/preterite.


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## dojibear

stephenlearner said:


> Let's come back to "I have eaten pizza"
> 
> _So, when I say "I have eaten pizza", the last possible time that I ate it for the first time can't be now. Is that right? It could be ten years ago. It could be yesterday. It could be 1 second ago (suppose I finished it 1 second ago). But it can't be now when I'm eating it._


Past perfect talks about a time frame starting in the past (in this case, at birth) and ending now. So it isn't now. And it is a completed action that happened one or more times in that time frame.

So the grammar has a meaning. The issue is when to say this, and what it expresses when you say it.

Example 1, a friend suggests eating pizza to "try something new". You reply "I have eaten pizza before."

Example 2, you are eating pizza with a friend, and he makes a comment that implies this is a new experience for you.
You correct him by saying "I have eaten pizza before."


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## dojibear

If you want to remove "before", it gets a little silly. 

The king of Potamia says he must taste pizza before he dies. A cook is imported from Rome. The dish is made. He eats it. The he says "I have eaten pizza. Now I can die in peace".


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## stephenlearner

dojibear said:


> Past perfect talks about a time frame starting in the past (in this case, at birth) and ending now. So it isn't now.


I'm puzzled. What does "ending now" mean? 

For example, we are watching a movie starting one hour ago and _ending now_. 

Its meaning would seem very vague.


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## dojibear

"Now" = "the present". The time period covered by past perfect does not include the present.



stephenlearner said:


> For example, we are watching a movie starting one hour ago and _ending now_.


That is not past perfect. That is present continuous.


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## stephenlearner

dojibear said:


> If you want to remove "before", it gets a little silly.


You seemed to refer back to the examples in #11:


dojibear said:


> Example 1, a friend suggests eating pizza to "try something new". You reply "I have eaten pizza before."
> 
> Example 2, you are eating pizza with a friend, and he makes a comment that implies this is a new experience for you.
> You correct him by saying "I have eaten pizza before."



I tend to think "I have eaten pizza" in these examples have the same meaning as "I have eaten pizza _before_". "Before", to me, just emphasizes this is not your new experience. Is it really necessary?


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## stephenlearner

Sorry for keeping bugging you.



dojibear said:


> "Now" = "the present". The time period covered by past perfect does not include the present.



_I've lived in Beijing for ten years_, for example. The present is included. I'm still living in here.

If now I'm at the airport, leaving Beijing forever, I suppose I can't say it. Can I? Imagine that I have just accosted a passenger at the airport. We begin to talk. I tell him, "I'm leaving Beijing forever. I've lived here for ten years. I'll move to a new city." I don't think I can say it.

So, can we say that the present perfect sometimes excludes the present, but other times it doesn't, depending on which type it is?


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## dojibear

stephenlearner said:


> Is it really necessary?


Yes. "I have eaten pizza." is not said by itself. Here "before" means "before this instance". So it doesn't matter whether you just finished eating pizza, or are eating it now, or are considering eating it soon. This instance doesn't count.

If you want to talk about this instance, add "now". _I have never eaten pizza, until now."_


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## dojibear

stephenlearner said:


> "I'm leaving Beijing forever. I've lived here for ten years. Now I'm moving to a new city."


Yes, you can say this. It's fine.


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## TGW

dojibear said:


> I have never eaten pizza, until now.


I never ate pizza until now.

It seems different tenses make some differences, huh?


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## Elle Paris

If you are vague and don't say when... it is before now so present perfect, if you SAY last year, it is not.


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## sound shift

TGW said:


> I never ate pizza until now.


This is not a sentence that I could produce. "Until now" doesn't go with the simple past tense in my usage.


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## stephenlearner

dojibear said:


> Yes. "I have eaten pizza." is _not said by itself. _


I don't understand it. Could you explain it, especially the italicized part?


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## Elle Paris

I disagree.  In the context:  I am eating some salad and I see half of a worm. I exclaim, "I have eaten half of a worm."
"I have arrived!" Is another example for an implied context.


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## Wordy McWordface

I also disagree. You could certainly say "I have eaten pizza" or "I've eaten pizza" as a standalone utterance if you're talking about your life experiences.  For example, if someone asks you the question "Have you ever eaten Italian food?", you could answer "I've eaten pizza".


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## london calling

dojibear said:


> Normally for lunch I would eat 1 or 2 slices of pizza, not an entire pizza.


In Italy we often eat entire pizzas. 😊

In any case, getting back to post one only the present continuous (I'm eating pizza) works,  but even then only from the viewpoint of the grammar. Stephenlearner's friend is with him and can see what he's doing: he doesn't need to have it explained to him. 

Of course he could always say 'I haven't eaten all my pizza because it's too much for me' or 'I've never eaten pizza before /until now' (as was said above), but 'I've eaten pizza' is not an appropriate comment to make in this context. 


stephenlearner said:


> Tom is eating pizza for the first time in a pizza restaurant. He's not finished. He says to his friend while he is eating,
> 
> _I've eaten pizza. _
> 
> Is this sentence valid?


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## se16teddy

stephenlearner said:


> 1. If you regard your first bite as "eat", you can say that.


Yes, this makes sense to me. I have been living all my life in a land where pizza does not exist. Now it has touched my lips for the first time. I have eaten pizza. 
I fear that pizza is so ubiquitous that other contributors cannot imagine this experience ever happening.


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## TGW

se16teddy said:


> I fear that pizza is so ubiquitous that other contributors cannot imagine this experience ever happening.


I think many people in rural areas here in China haven’t tasted or even seen a real pizza yet. 

I can imagine a little child who is proud of having eaten pizza in town with his parents is showing off in front of his little friends and saying this “I have eaten pizza” or “I have ridden bullet trains” like “been there, done that” that every adult would say to show off what they have experienced.


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## dojibear

The examples in #26 and #27 match my example in #12. So it isn't "silly". It is a valid use.


stephenlearner said:


> _I've lived in Beijing for ten years_, for example. The present is included. I'm still living in here.


Within the time frame there are 2 different kinds of verbs:
(1) verbs whose action covers the entire time frame (like "have lived in Beijing")
(2) verbs whose completed action has occured one or more times during the time frame (like "have jumped in a river").

"To eat" is a verb with multiple meanings. Is each mouthful a completed action? Or is the entire meal a completed action? Does "to eat" mean one mouthful or an entire meal? It can have either meaning. So we get endless confusion about "present perfect" and about "past vs. present". Any statement one makes (that applies to most verbs), has a counter-example in "to eat".

Most verbs don't work this way. If I say "I have jumped in a river many times." the listener doesn't ask "Do you mean you departed dry land, or touched the water surface, or became immersed in the river water?" There is general agreement about what the completed action means, and when the action is complete.


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## Elle Paris

london calling said:


> In Italy we often eat entire pizzas. 😊
> 
> In any case, getting back to post one only the present continuous (I'm eating pizza) works,  but even then only from the viewpoint of the grammar. Stephenlearner's friend is with him and can see what he's doing: he doesn't need to have it explained to him.
> 
> Of course he could always say 'I haven't eaten all my pizza because it's too much for me' or 'I've never eaten pizza before /until now' (as was said above), but 'I've eaten pizza' is not an appropriate comment to make in this context.


I still disagree. The context is unspoken but "I've eaten pizza" can mean that he can cross that off his bucket list (he has just done it- "just" being implied, or off a mental list of things he's never done or something that has never been done to him. Either it's an out-loud declaration to oneself or an exclamation to his entourage. "I've killed someone.", "I've been poisoned.", "I've eaten snails.", "I've decided to ask her to marry me.".


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## Chasint

dojibear said:


> Past perfect talks about a time frame starting in the past (in this case, at birth) and ending now. ...


Do you mean present perfect?


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## dojibear

Duh! I meant present perfect. Thanks for catching this mistake!


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## london calling

Ok, but we weren't told that by the OP.


Elle Paris said:


> I still disagree. The context is unspoken but "I've eaten pizza" can mean that he can cross that off his bucket list (he has just done it- "just" being implied, or off a mental list of things he's never done or something that has never been done to him. Either it's an out-loud declaration to oneself or an exclamation to his entourage. "I've killed someone.", "I've been poisoned.", "I've eaten snails.", "I've decided to ask her to marry me.".


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## stephenlearner

Actually, I wanted to find the answer to this question:

In order to make this sentence "I have eaten pizza" a valid sentence to say, what is the last possible time of finishing eating pizza for the first time? 




Elle Paris said:


> I still disagree. The context is unspoken but "I've eaten pizza" can mean that he can cross that off his bucket list (he has just done it- "just" being implied, or off a mental list of things he's never done or something that has never been done to him. Either it's an out-loud declaration to oneself or an exclamation to his entourage. "I've killed someone.", "I've been poisoned.", "I've eaten snails.", "I've decided to ask her to marry me."



Do you mean in this scenario this sentence is possible to use? If I have a mental list of things I have never done, I can say "I have eaten pizza" when I've just finished eating it. Is that right?


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## Wordy McWordface

zhg said:


> I had a pizza for lunch today.






Can I just point out that Dojibear's rejection of _I had a pizza for lunch today _with a big red cross in #9 is a cultural issue, not a linguistic one? If you live in a region of the world where pizzas are so enormous that people only ever eat a few slices, it may well be more appropriate to say "I had pizza" rather than "I had a pizza" - but this has nothing to do with language. While Dojibear might not say _I had a pizza for lunch today _personally, there is no grammatical reason why the rest of us can't say this_. _Above is a photo of a pizza. In pizzerias the world over (including Italy!), people order their own individual pizzas - a countable noun - and eat them in their entirety. If you do that, _I had a pizza for lunch today _is entirely correct.


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## dojibear

I agree with post #34 about the sentence. Some restaurants (even in the US) offer one-person-serving pizzas. I have eaten them. If that is the intended meaning, then "had a pizza" is correct.


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## imperes

hello


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## stephenlearner

Visting the Easter Island is on my bucket list. Last year, I finally set foot on this island.

Can I say "I'_ve been_ to the Easter Island" as soon as I arrived here?

I am suspecting that you might say no.

You might reply that I can say it only after I leave this place.

But we can say "_This is the first/second time that *I've been to* xxx_", in response to a question "_Is this the first time you have been to xxx _", even though you are still in xxx.


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## a little edgy

Your suspicions are correct. You wouldn't say "I've been to Easter Island" while you're still there in most contexts. There are situations when you could use that phrasing, but it would have to be in specific, narrow circumstances.

However, you _can_ say "this is the first time I've been to Easter Island" while you're still on the island. In fact, that's the only time you can say it because once you left, you would have to say "*that was* the first time I *had* been to Easter Island" or a similar sentence indicating that the visit was over.


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## Uncle Jack

stephenlearner said:


> Actually, I wanted to find the answer to this question:
> 
> In order to make this sentence "I have eaten pizza" a valid sentence to say, what is the last possible time of finishing eating pizza for the first time?



I think your first post is fine and that both options are possible, depending on how the speaker views the word "eat":


stephenlearner said:


> Tom is eating pizza for the first time in a pizza restaurant. He's not finished. He says to his friend while he is eating,
> 
> _I've eaten pizza. _
> 
> Is this sentence valid?
> 
> I read a thread long ago, which explained a similar topic. But I can't find it now.
> 
> According to my vague memory, that thread seems to say,
> 
> 1. If you regard your first bite as "eat", you can say that.
> 2. If you regard your finishing the meal as "eat", you can't say that. You can say it only after you finish eating.



The problem with your first post is that "I've eaten pizza" is too bland to fit the situation you are trying to describe. It seems to need at least an explanation mark, as some other people have mentioned. Alternatively, you could add something like "finally": "I've finally eaten pizza."

Most likely, I think you would wait till you had finished the pizza (which in my mind I imagine to be a whole pizza rather than just a slice or two) before saying this sentence, and that if you wanted to say something prior to finishing, then "taste" would be a better verb to use.


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## dojibear

stephenlearner said:


> Can I say "I'_ve been_ to the Easter Island" as soon as I arrived here?
> 
> I am suspecting that you might say no.


I agree, because the past tense verb "been to" is a special idiom meaning "visited", and that includes:
a) going to the place
b) spending some time at the place
c) leaving the place 

You can only say you have done all three, after you have done all three. So you can say "been to" on the return air trip.


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## pachanga7

stephenlearner said:


> So, can we say that the present perfect sometimes excludes the present, but other times it doesn't, depending on which type it is?


I think of the present perfect as describing something that happened in the past _that still has validity or impact_ in the present.

I've been hurt. I've been told so. I've lived a long life.

However, as dojibear says, "been to" mean "visited". So if you're still on Easter Island then the phrase doesn't apply, but I _can_ imagine someone stepping foot on the island and saying "_Now_ I've been to Easter Island!" Or taking a few bites and saying "_Now_ I've eaten pizza!" Here it's a special case, as you'd be distinguishing between the prior state of being pizza-naive and island-naive (never having experienced them before) and the present state of having experienced them. The mere act of setting foot or taking a bite has achieved the goal, which is still relevant to the present, yet doesn't preclude nor require  further exploration of either cuisine or terrain.

Otherwise, as others have pointed out, it would be rather puzzling of you to sit down to a meal at a pizzeria and say in the middle of the meal "I've eaten pizza". Your friends will be confused. But you could say:

I've eaten better pizza than this (before).
I've eaten pizza three times this week. (Includes the present time, because you're counting)
I've eaten pizza three times already this week, this is the fourth.
_Now_ I've (finally) eaten pizza. (I never had it before.)

My two cents (or two slices as the case may be....)


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