# When do AmE speakers use the simple past instead of the present perfect?



## Henryk

Hi,

I don't know if this has been discussed before, I didn't find anything on my search. If there's been one, I'd be grateful to get a link to it. I'd like to know in what situations AE speakers use the simple past when BE speakers would use the present perfect.   Apart from one year in which I was taught by a native speaker of AE, I've always been taught BE and have therefore no clue. I hope this question is not too general.

Many thanks in advance.


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## dn88

Hi, maybe you'll find IT useful (I didn't browse through them, but you may want to try). 

dn88


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## TrentinaNE

dn88, searches expire after about 30 minutes, so your link above takes the readers nowhere. 

Henryk, here is one thread that might help you get started. 

Elisabetta


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## dn88

TrentinaNE said:


> dn88, searches expire after about 30 minutes, so your link above takes the readers nowhere.
> 
> Henryk, here is one thread that might help you get started.
> 
> Elisabetta



Gee... good to know, thanks... If you're still interested, I did an advanced search on the phrase _*present perfect simple* _(without any quotation marks, only thread titles).

dn88


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## JamesM

> American Standard English tends to avoid the present prefect tense.


I've seen this stated here before by others (note the use of present perfect by an American  ) and I don't quite agree with it. 

I think we do have a tendency to use the simple past more than those who speak British English, but I think "avoid" is a very strong characterization of the tendency to replace _some_ uses of the present perfect in BE with the simple past in AE. One hears the present perfect in everyday conversations in the U.S. on a daily basis. If we were avoiding it, that would not be the case.


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## ienne

American Standard English tends to avoid the present prefect tense. It is rather a characteristic of British Standard English. _*In cases where the simple past tense is used on a daily basis as a part of its Standard AmE variety. *_
Of course nobody can forbid people to speak the variety they prefer. I am sure that you could also hear the Australian Standard English in the US.


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## JamesM

ienne said:


> American Standard English tends to avoid the present prefect tense. It is rather a characteristic of British Standard English. _*In cases where the simple past tense is used on a daily basis as a part of its Standard AmE variety. *_
> Of course nobody can forbid people to speak the variety they prefer. I am sure that you could also hear the Australian Standard English in the US.


[edit]There is a thread for this topic.  Let's discuss it there:

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=545418&highlight=simple+past


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## AWordLover

Hi,

There have been many threads here in the English Only forum describing/documenting the difference between AE/BE usage with regard to the simple past and present perfect.

My reading of them is that AE speakers are comfortable using the simple past in situations where a BE speaker would require the present perfect.

This is not the same as saying that AE speakers avoid the present perfect.

Can't we all just get along.


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## ienne

Exaclty, AWordLover. 
Have I ever claimed that the Americans tend to avoid it?


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## JamesM

To continue a discussion that was off-topic for another thread:



ienne said:


> American Standard English tends to avoid the present prefect tense. It is rather a characteristic of British Standard English. _*In cases where the simple past tense is used on a daily basis as a part of its Standard AmE variety. *_
> Of course nobody can forbid people to speak the variety they prefer. I am sure that you could also hear the Australian Standard English in the US.


 
I don't know where this idea that AE avoids the present perfect came up. We do tend to use the simple past in some cases where BE would use the present perfect but I think it's a small number of cases.

To answer your question, Henryk, or rather, to not answer your question,  I don't know of any rule or guideline that indicates when AE would tend to use the simple past over the present perfect. A Wikipedia article on the subject of differences between British English and American English states that AE uses the simple past when describing a recently completed action, especially with words like "just", "already", where British English would use the present perfect.

For example:

AE - I just ate.
BE - I've just eaten.

AE - I already saw that film.
BE - I've already seen that film.

I agree with the first example, but the second is mixed in AE, in my experience. Some people would say, "I've already seen that film" and others would says, "I already saw that film". If the person had seen it multiple times, I think the present perfect would be more likely than the simple past: "I've already seen that film three times!" vs. "I already saw that film three times!" 

It will be interesting to see if some rules or guidelines are uncovered or discovered as a result of this thread, but I do want to state, for the record, that I think "AE avoids the present perfect" is much too broad a generalization to be considered accurate.  I think the differences are more specific, and more subtle, than simple avoidance.


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## AWordLover

Hi,

Here is one of the many related threads, that I searched up using have done.


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## ienne

James, why not try consulting some English grammar book, not Wikipedia, and see for yourself ''where this idea that AE avoids the present perfect came up''. That is all I can say.


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## JamesM

Thanks, AWordLover. That's a fine thread and very pertinent.


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## JamesM

ienne said:


> James, why not try consulting some English grammar book, not Wikipedia, and see for yourself ''where this idea that AE avoids the present perfect came up''. That is all I can say.


 
Do you have a specific book you would recommend that states this rule?


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## Cagey

JamesM said:


> To continue a discussion that was off-topic for another thread:
> 
> For example:
> 
> AE - I just ate.
> BE - I've just eaten.
> 
> AE - I already saw that film.
> BE - I've already seen that film.
> 
> I agree with the first example, but the second is mixed in AE, in my experience. Some people would say, "I've already seen that film" and others would says, "I already saw that film". If the person had seen it multiple times, I think the present perfect would be more likely than the simple past: "I've already seen that film three times!" vs. "I already saw that film three times!"



I agree with JamesM's observations, and with the other comments about the difficulty of identifying rules. 

I just want to add, as a speaker of AE,  that there is a distinction in usage between spoken and written AE.  In spoken AE, the simple past is often used, as in the above examples.  In schools and in formal writing, the perfect is used more frequently.  I can almost hear a school teacher scolding a child: "Don't say 'just ate'.  Say 'I have eaten'!"  If you are writing, or speaking in a formal or academic setting, I think the rules of BE would serve you well.

On the other hand, among certain groups, the perfect construction "I have just eaten" will sound pretentious.   The use of the simple past in casual speech in AE may be greater than in BE.  You would want to take your cues from the others in the group.


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## ienne

Just so happens that I do, James, although I think it might be more useful to read a book that deals with the American Standard variety of English language or varieties of English language in general. 

Greenbaum, Sidney, _A Student's Grammar of the English Language_, Longman, 1990, p. 52 ( _Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language_),  1985)

Swan, Michael, _Practical English Usage_, Oxford University Press, 1995., p. 50


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## JamesM

Thanks for the recommendations, ienne. I could use some brushing up on my grammar knowledge, there's no doubt about that. Do these books actually state that American English "avoids" the present perfect?

Here's an interesting simple summary I found on a university website in British Columbia.  I think all the guidelines offered here work in American English.  Are there any differences between these guidelines and BE use of the simple past, BE speakers?

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/ppvpast.htm


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## ienne

James, yes, the former paraphrases it by saying that _the past simple is often used in place of the present perfect especially in AmE _instead of  _*tends* to avoid_ it. Please do bear in  mind that I never claimed that it _avoids_ but _*tends*__ to avoid_. The latter states it as one of the most important differences between BrE and AmE, which is, in my opinion, even a stronger assertion than the mild euphemism  _tendency to avoid_ that I used to illustrate the above-mentioned discrepancy of the two varieties and that seems to divert your attention from the purpose of our discussion.
what I sincerely hope now is that we shall not have to digress from the subject again and start a new pedantry thread dealing with the nuances of these two more or less synonymous expressions (avoid and not use)


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## JamesM

I wouldn't say it's diverting my attention from this discussion, ienne. It's the very heart of this topic: "When do AmE speakers use the simple past instead of the present perfect?" 

I think it's clear from the discussion on this thread and the linked thread that there are more cases than not where AE and BE speakers both use the present perfect, at least in the experience of participants here. I'd say that the BE use of "have you got" vs. AE "do you have" is a more consistent and distinct difference between the two variants, but that truly is another topic.

From the articles I've read, it seems to me that the place where variation is most likely to occur is in recently completed actions. Perhaps that's why the "already" and "just" words are good warning flags for a possible difference in the way the thought would be expressed.

Another question for BE speakers:

Let's say someone was looking for someone else in your office and he popped his head into your cubicle (or office) to ask if you've seen the person. Would you say "I've just seen her walk past here a minute ago" or "I just saw her walk past here a minute ago"? In AE, I think we would tend to say the latter.


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## ienne

James, I see that I shall have to quote myself all over again and finish my sentence so as to explain it better again since you do not seem to see what I meant by it. 
 American Standard English tends to avoid the present prefect tense. It is rather a characteristic of British Standard English.
*As opposed to British Standard English which does not avoid the usage of the present perfect tense in certain situations such as the ones you introduced just now. *


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## JamesM

ienne said:
			
		

> American Standard English tends to avoid the present prefect tense. It is rather a characteristic of British Standard English.
> *As opposed to British Standard English which does not avoid the usage of the present perfect tense in certain situations such as the ones you introduced just now*


I understand. I simply disagree with the first and second of the three sentences. Actually, I disagree with all three sentences.  Disagreement does not necessarily spring from a lack of understanding.

The present perfect is not a characteristic of British Standard English; it is a tense used both in American Standard English and British Standard English. 

This is how I would state it:

In certain cases, not yet clearly defined, American Standard English prefers the simple past over the present perfect, although both are used, while British Standard English apparently uses the present perfect consistently in these same cases. It is not a hard-and-fast rule in American English that the simple past will always be used in these instances. This does not amount to an avoidance of an entire tense by one variant, even in particular cases. To say "American English tends to avoid the present perfect tense full stop", as my BE friends would say, implies, to me, that it is a blanket condition. 

I think we are saying similar things and simply have a disagreement over semantics, connotations, and scope.

I'm perfectly content to agree to disagree on the way it is stated. Repeating your statement will not convince me otherwise.


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## cuchuflete

I find the idea that American English either avoids or tends to avoid the present perfect tense absurd.  AE uses the simple past for some, not all, statements in which BE regularly uses the present perfect.  That lesser frequency of usage of the present perfect tense is neither an avoidance of the tense nor a tendency towards avoidance of the tense.  

American standard English frequently does use the present perfect tense.  That is not avoidance.  
In some of the many threads here which have discussed this topic, and attempted, generally unsuccessfully, to identify patterns of difference between AE and BE usage,  BE speakers have given many examples of circumstances in which they would normally use the simple past.  Such BE usage is consistent with AE usage.
There are other circumstances in which most BE speakers would prefer the present perfect, while AE speakers will use the simple past.  

Both BE and AE use the simple past tense.
Both BE and AE use the present perfect tense.
BE uses the present perfect tense with greater frequency than AE to describe past events.  

I won't argue with Quirk, Swann and friends about BE usage, but if they stated or implied that AE does anything like avoid the present perfect, then I will take them with a grain of salt and a wry smile. Just before sitting down at the computer, I asked a companion, "Have you seen that large vise-grip?"  I didn't ask, "Did you see that..." because it would have been strange, unidiomatic, and atypical of AE. 

As to patterns and trends, I have been able to locate one good AE grammar work that tries to identify when AE does, or at least should, use the present perfect in place of the simple past.  Garner, Bryan A, A Dictionary of Modern American Usage, OUP, NY,Oxford, 1998, ISBN 0-19-507853-5

Garner proposes that the present perfect should be used when,
1) indefiniteness of past time, or
2) a continuation to the present.

"This tense sometimes represents an action as having been completed at some indefinite time in the past—e.g.,I have played more than 1,000 rounds of golf.
They have seen Ely Cathedral before.  "
​I would be surprised if that usage were not the same in BE.  There should be no argument about actions continuing into the present.  AE and BE sometimes overlap, and sometimes diverge, for actions completed in a definite past.  BE uses the present perfect routinely for many such actions, while AE uses both the simple past and the present perfect, with the former being more frequent.

Evans & Evans, in A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage, state,"The simple past tense is used in speaking of any kind of action in the past.  It is used in speaking of completed action, as in _after he wrote the letter, _and of action that is in progress, as in _as he walked home.  _The perfect and progressive tenses are merely refinements of the past tense and express these ideas without the help of additional words such as _after_ and _as_.  They are generally preferred to the simple past because tthey express these ideas more efficiently."​


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## ienne

A _characteristic_ is a feature or quality characteristic of a person, place or thing. _Characteristic_ is an adjective with the meaning of _typical of a person, place or a thing_. 
Now, the phenomenon of the *exclusive *usage of the present perfect tense when it comes to the situations such as the ones you introduced ( accompanied by the adverbs such as _just_ and _already_ ) is something typical or characteristic of BrE, don't you agree? The AmE variety is not so exclusive when it comes to that. _Exclusive_ is an adjective meaning excluding or not admitting other things. If AmE does not use a certain tense in certain situations as exclusively and as much as BrE does, one can be so casual as to afford to say that AmE omits it or in other words rather *tends * to avoid it (or has a tendency to avoid it)  in places where BrE would not, can't we?  
The purpose of my repeating the statement is to specify and particularize it by treating it in detail so as to explain what I had in mind, when I left it so abstractly not based on a particular instance, and not to convince you otherwise. You are the only one who could do that.


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## mjscott

I have heard that Americans have a tendency to avoid present perfect and have tended to use simple past tense instead. I have found these tendencies unfounded. I have also heard that using present perfect tense over past tense has been seen by some forer@s as pretentious. I would like to have seen the quotes being spoken about cited letter for page, as well as an ISBN number of the book cited. I have not found there to be any such pretention; neither have I noted such tendencies. I think the question might have been better asked in a cultural forum, where background of each person's language could have been further explored.


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## JamesM

> If AmE does not use a certain tense in certain situations as exclusively and as much as BrE does, one can be so casual as to afford to say that AmE omits it or in other words rather *tends *to avoid it (or has a tendency to avoid it) in places where BrE would not, can't we?


 
If I have two cars and I drive both cars but tend to drive one more than the other for certain errands, am I avoiding one of the cars? I think there is a great deal of difference between "includes both but prefers one in certain circumstances" and "avoids one". 

In other words, the reverse of your statement would be easier for me to agree with: "In certain cases British English uses the present perfect and avoids the simple past while American English allows the use of both the present perfect and simple past in those same cases." I think BE speakers find the use of the simple past in certain circumstances much stranger to their ears than the way the present perfect sounds to AE speakers in those same circumstances.


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## ienne

Sure, James. Yes, you are. 
AVOID has three meanings. 
1) to prevent something bad from happening
*2)** to stay away from someone or something, or not use something *
3) to deliberately not do something, especially something wrong, dangerous or harmful
LONGMAN, Dictionary of Contemporary English, New Edition, 2003 

*And again I never claimed AmE does not use both tenses. *


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## JamesM

mjscott said:


> I think the question might have been better asked in a cultural forum, where background of each person's language could have been further explored.


 
That's an interesting thought. 

I do think that there are circumstances where it might sound a little formal to use the present perfect in AE, even though still very acceptable.

A: Hi, mj! I didn't expect to see you today.
B: I've just come over to drop off the casserole dish you brought to the party last night.

This is perfectly acceptable in AE. "I've just come over" seems a little unusual, a little formal, but not wrong or completely strange at all. It could also be:

B: I just came over to drop off the casserole dish you brought to the party last night.

I think BE speakers would have a problem with the second variation. I may be wrong.

(I really think this idea that "just" and "already" do tend to pair up with the simple past in spoken AE is a good general guideline. It's not required, but it does seem like a natural pairing in a lot of cases.)


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## JamesM

ienne said:


> Sure, James. Yes, you are.
> AVOID has three meanings.
> 1) to prevent something bad from happening
> *2)** to stay away from someone or something, or not use something *
> 3) to deliberately not do something, especially something wrong, dangerous or harmful
> LONGMAN, Dictionary of Contemporary English, New Edition, 2003


 

Under that interpretation of the definition, I am avoiding one car every time I drive the other one.  

I don't think that's the general understanding of avoiding, as in to "stay away from someone or something, or not use something."  Just because I'm having coffee right now does not mean I'm avoiding alcohol.


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## ienne

JamesM said:


> I think there is a great deal of difference between "includes both but prefers one in certain circumstances" and "avoids one''.



Doesn't the preference for the one exclude the other and by not using it thus by definition avoid the other?


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## Dimcl

JamesM said:


> If I have two cars and I drive both cars but tend to drive one more than the other for certain errands, am I avoiding one of the cars?


 
No, you're not.  "Avoidance" is a deliberate action taken to not use or come into contact with something/someone, as Ienne's highlighted definition states (*to stay away from someone or something, or not use something*).  It also implies an aversion to that someone or something.  Which car you use at any given time is simply a matter of choice depending on the set of circumstances surrounding your requirement for a car.  As a result, to say that you "tend to avoid" Car B because you drive Car A more often isn't valid - you have your reasons for driving each one given certain scenarios.  The more cars you have, the more choices you must make on which to drive on any given day.  You can't drive more than one at a time but that doesn't mean that you are "avoiding" the others.

Similarly, use of the simple past and present perfect by AE-speakers is dependent on circumstances, scenarios and contexts.  Raised in BE and exposed for many years to AE, I hear both all the time and agree that simple past is most often used with a recent-past connotation/definition.  Many of my friends would say:  "I've just eaten lunch so I can't go swimming" but they might also say "I just ate lunch an hour ago so I can't go swimming".  The short time span of "an hour ago" lends itself to the simple past whereas the previous sentence does not.


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## JamesM

ienne said:


> Doesn't the preference for the one exclude the other and by not using it thus by definition avoid the other?


 
No, as dimcl so eloquently explained above.

I could use either car and have used either car for the same type of errand, so I am not avoiding one at all. I might tend to pick one over the other in certain circumstances (using the station wagon rather than the Honda Civic to pick up my son, for example, if I don't know how many kids he might have offered a ride to without telling me), but I could use the other just as easily and have actually done so.

Avoidance is a very strong term. It means that you will not approach the thing you are avoiding unless you are forced to. It is a deliberate distancing of oneself from a person or thing. It does not fit the behavior of AE speakers in relation to the use of the simple past rather than the present perfect in any circumstance I know.


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## ienne

Again you are digressing James. I thought I have told you two times already that the subject of my statement was not the AE speakers but the AmE variety.


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## cuchuflete

ienne said:


> Again you are digressing James. I thought I have told you two times already that the subject of my statement was not the AE speakers but the AmE variety.



Please remind me to avoid AE speakers when trying to understand the AmE variety of English.


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## TrentinaNE

Dimcl said:


> Many of my friends would say: "I've just eaten lunch so I can't go swimming" but they might also say "I just ate lunch an hour ago so I can't go swimming". The short time span of "an hour ago" lends itself to the simple past whereas the previous sentence does not.


 
Maybe it's regional, but the simple past works for me in both sentences. In my experience, the qualifiers *just* and *already* are almost always accompanied by the simple past in AmE. I remember being stunned upon reading here quite some time ago that some English learners were being taught that the present perfect must be used with those words. They just seem like emphasizers to me: I went, I just went; I already went.

Do I deliberately avoid the use of present perfect when I say "I just went to the store"? If it never *occurs* to me to use it, can I be avoiding it? 

Elisabetta


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## cuchuflete

Results 1 - 20 of about 1,990,000 for  "have you heard" -site:.uk.
Results 1 - 20 of about 1,700,000 for  "did you hear" -site:.uk.

Those results do not include .UK sites, which I have intentionally avoided.  I also queried for other phrases for which AE usage shows a strong preference for the simple past, as opposed to an avoidance of the present perfect.


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## JamesM

TrentinaNE said:


> Maybe it's regional, but the simple past works for me in both sentences. In my experience, the qualifiers *just* and *already* are almost always accompanied by the simple past in AmE. I remember being stunned upon reading here quite some time ago that some English learners were being taught that the present perfect must be used with those words. They just seem like emphasizers to me: I went, I just went; I already went.
> 
> Do I deliberately avoid the use of present perfect when I say "I just went to the store"? If it never *occurs* to me to use it, can I be avoiding it?
> 
> Elisabetta


 
I think the circumstances might change the choice, though. 

If my wife has just arrived home and my son asks for a ride somewhere , I can easily hear her saying, "But I've just gotten home! Give me a minute." ("gotten" being an AE peculiarity  ) She could also say, "But I just got home!" 

Another example: There's a knock at the door. It's the plumber. He says, "Hi, I'm from Tidy Pipes. Sorry for my messy trousers. I've just come from another job where I had to crawl under the house to find a leak." He could also say, "I just came from a job where I had to crawl under the house to find a leak."


As you said, maybe it's a regional thing, but where I am, at least, it's almost as likely that you'll hear one as the other in many cases.

There are a few cases where it sounds a little unusual to me:

A: How long have you been here?
B: I just arrived.

("I've just arrived" sounds a little unusual to me.)


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## ienne

cuchuflete said:


> Please remind me to avoid AE speakers when trying to understand the AmE variety of English.



I hereby remind you to avoid AmE speakers when trying to understand the AmE variety.


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## JamesM

ienne said:


> Again you are digressing James. I thought I have told you two times already that the subject of my statement was not the AE speakers but the AmE variety.


 
  What would American English speakers be speaking besides the American English variety of the language?


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## ienne

JamesM said:


> What would American English speakers be speaking besides the American English variety of the language?



I do not know James. You surely should know better than I do. It says in your profile: Location: California, Native of English, USA. 

But let me conjecture some of the possible answers to your question. 

In Louisiana they could probably be speaking Franglais, in Florida and NYC Spanglish, in Pennsylvania maybe Angleutsch. 

Standard Australian English perhaps?  Standard British English? Standard Irish English? Standard Scottish English? Standard English English? 

They could be speaking in tongues. They could be speaking Morse code characters.  

Then they could be speaking foreign languages. The immigrants could be speaking their native languages. I will not enumerate them here because there are so many, so I do not find it appropriate. 

When I come to think of it they could be speaking whatever they prefer in addition to Standard American English.


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## cuchuflete

That was a masterful display of avoiding a question.

_Correction_: You have masterfully avoided a straight answer.


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## ienne

The question was answered in full.


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## modus.irrealis

How about saying "British English tends to avoid the simple past tense?" . That seems to be just as true as "American English tends to avoid the present perfect tense" and as informative about when the two varieties actually use which tense.


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## ienne

modus.irrealis said:


> How about saying "British English tends to avoid the simple past tense?" . That seems to be just as true as "American English tends to avoid the present perfect tense" and as informative about when the two varieties actually use which tense.



You are right. In my opinion, the two avoidances would be interchangeable from a nonlinear perspective.

However taking into consideration that the use of English in the United States was inherited from British colonization, and not the other way round, I cannot help but respect the chronology and thusly exclude the possibility of the BrE variety of English language of omitting, avoiding or not using the past simple tense in the given _just,already_ linguistical context. 

The original aim of the above-distorted generalization, extracted from its original contextual thread and not meant nor intended for the topic of this thread here, but dragged in here not of my own accord, and continued to be quoted and commented on excessively, modus.irrealis, however was not an instructional one, but rather a casual, unconcerned and nonchalant one, that I only later on explained in full detail, especially for this thread, whose topic, to start with, I was not even particularly interested in. Nor am I now.


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## sunyaer

JamesM said:


> Another example: There's a knock at the door. It's the plumber. He says, "Hi, I'm from Tidy Pipes. Sorry for my messy trousers. I've just come from another job where I had to crawl under the house to find a leak." He could also say, "I just came from a job where I had to crawl under the house to find a leak."



Could he use present progressive saying "I am coming from a job where I had to crawl under the house to find a leak."?


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## wandle

> Could he use present progressive saying "I am coming from a job where I had to crawl under the house to find a leak."?


No. He might say that if he was phoning, _while he was on the way between jobs_, as an advance warning.
But that's not the question of this thread.


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## wandle

JamesM said:


> A: Hi, mj! I didn't expect to see you today.
> B: I've just come over to drop off the casserole dish you brought to the party last night.
> This is perfectly acceptable in AE. "I've just come over" seems a little unusual, a little formal, but not wrong or completely strange at all. It could also be:
> B: I just came over to drop off the casserole dish you brought to the party last night.
> I think BE speakers would have a problem with the second variation. I may be wrong.



I would expect B in this case to use the perfect ('I've just popped round...').
However, suppose A and B have been chatting for a few minutes and C turns up, and is surprised to see B.
Then B would say 'Oh, I just popped round to return A's dish'.


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## sunyaer

wandle said:


> Could he use present progressive saying "I am coming from a job where I had to crawl under the house to find a leak."?
> 
> No. He might say that if he was phoning, _while he was on the way between jobs_, as an advance warning.
> But that's not the question of this thread.



As the questions are all regarding the use of "come", I would like to ask another question involving "come".
In a bus, could someone tell a friend who he/she is coming across like this:"I am coming back from work."? (present progressive)


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## wandle

This is a question about 'come' (present progressive or continuous), so it does seem different from the thread's original question about the perfect versus the simple past.
Unfortunately, your example is not a natural one, and it raises another problem (reference of 'come') still more remote from the thread.
If you are talking to someone on the bus, you would say, 'I'm going home'.
If you are on the bus, speaking on the phone to someone at your home, you would say, 'I'm coming home'.


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