I don’t agree. In the US many people use the simple present in questions with yet or sentences with already whereas in the UK more people use the present perfect for those situations. For example, in the US it’s perfectly OK to ask ‘Has the mail arrived yet’ although you won’t find this type of question in any of your grammar books.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: Leaving a message on the phone[YSaerTTEW443543]
Practical English Usage (by Michael Swan) deals with this grammar issue and can confirm that I’m not wrong because I was talking about British English usage as it applies to your area more than American English.
My area? What are you talking about? I communicate with people from more than 200 different countries? English-Team is an organization that provides language training to companies and individuals in Germany and about 80% of our trainers are from the US. So which grammar rule does apply to me?[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: A client wants to speak to his accountant on the phone[YSaerTTEW443543]
From a BrE point of view, I’d say this was common in the UK too!
As far as I know, Competent is from Canada where probably both forms are common. The interesting thing is that Americans seem to use the simple past much more than the British.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: An employee asks his co-worker to help him with the photo copier[YSaerTTEW443543]
Did the mail arrive yet?
Right or wrong, that’s what I hear a lot of natives say.
Claudia
‘Did the…’ sounds very ‘American’ to me.
I would use
‘has the mail arrived yet?’
but not
‘did the mail arrive yet?’
I would say it’s definitely right but it’s more used by Americans than by Brits. I bet if you ask an American what the difference is they just say that the simple past version is shorter but both sentence pretty much mean the same.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: Two business people meet at a conference[YSaerTTEW443543]
In the past I read materials dealing with differences between British English usage and American English. I have known for many years now that British people would say
“Has the post arrived yet?” more commonly, and most people in the USA would use “Did the mail arrive yet?” No need to argue so much which of those sentences is more correct. Let’s share information on publications and materials dealing with differences between British and American English.
I’m more interested in differences between Canadian and New Zealand English.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: A business executive gives a financial report at a meeting[YSaerTTEW443543]
Torsten,
Search on google.com for “Canadian English” and for “New Zealand English” if you need more material on this issue. Many more people use American and British English than other regional not widely spread varieties of English in the world such as Australian English, New Zealand English, etc. Canadian English is closer to American English than to British English.
What do you mean by ‘British English’? Received Pronunciation or the spelling? There is no such thing as ‘British English’ because there is Scottish English, Welsh English, Northern Irish English and a dozen other variations. We have discussed this topic so many times here on the forum and I don’t think reading some outdated books on it will help us much here.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: A woman tells her friend how busy she is with her work[YSaerTTEW443543]
There are differences in English usage in English-speaking countries in terms of spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. I know some specialised books dealing with British and American English differences.
I know a forum where native speakers from different countries discuss how their language changes and evolves. Much more interesting than reading those specialized books because they are already outdated when they are printed and shipped. What a waste of paper and resources.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC short conversations: An employee asks his co-worker for small change[YSaerTTEW443543]
I know websites and publications dealing with English usage in English speaking countries. There are also regional differences in English usage within English speaking countries, for example in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary (dialects, etc.). Just compare English usage in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Differences in English usage in various English speaking countries are not so significant for communication because the percentage of common English usage is highly prevalent.
Recently published books on these issues are not outdated so soon as English usage does not change in a short period of time. Besides, English Usage reference books are published by English language specialists after thorough exploration of issues and therefore contain more complete information than websites.
Publishing companies would not publish books the sales of which would not cover the expenditures (costs) for their publication. Potential proceeds from sales of publications are the major consideration for publishing companies which they duly take into account.
Therefore publishing books in this respect is not a waste of time and resources as you Torsten claim.