Hi Luca
Well, does the conversation take place on Valentine’s Day, then? (For example in the evening of Valentine’s Day?)
Or is Valentine’s Day still in the future? Are you sure you’ve written the dialogue down 100% correctly?
And did you understand my last post?
Amy
valentine’s day is in the future
Hi Luca
Well, then, I’ll have to say that your example doesn’t seem to be a typical one and therefore it is not really explainable by anyone here. Maybe the only person who could explain that short conversation would be the person who wrote the script for the movie.
It would be pretty unusual for someone to wish you a nice day and then to answer by beginning with the word “No”.
Sorry, I think you’re just going to have to live with the general explanations we’ve given you and live without an explanation for that particular scene from a movie.
Amy
but if i am talking to somebody and suddenly i say: “i broke up with my girlfriend” is right ,isn’t it?
but i could use even the present perfect right?
maybe what they meant to say is:
have a nice valentine’s day with your girlfriend.
no i won’t, i broke up with my girl friend
but who wrote “i’m new here and i like it?” i didn’t do it
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It’s programmed, Luca-- all newcomers display the same message at a certain post count. After you have posted a few more times, it will change to ‘You can meet me at English-test.net’ or ‘I’m here quite often’.
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and how about the dialogue?
could somebody explain something else?[/i]
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I think we have all explained about as much as we can about this dialogue, Luca. How about starting a new thread with a new topic or question that interests you?
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one thing i am interested to is knowing the time you would have used in that case…
Hi Luca
Let’s try a different question:
Why did you use the simple past tense in your question (above)?
Amy
here i got another example:
two friends are doing a travel, one is at an hotel while the other is parking the car but his car brakes down…whe he returns to the hotel how do he have to say to his friend that his car is broken?
i have broken down(have this an effect on the present?they can’t continue that journey)
or
i broke down
can i use both of them?
Hi Luca
In your example I can imagine either
The car broke down.
It would depend mainly on how you (the speaker) are looking at the situation. For example:
The car broke down (while I was parking it).
I personally would probably use the simple past tense.
What about my question :?:
Amy
Hi Luca,
I have written a short piece using the two tenses Past Simple and Present perfect Simple, which may help:
TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
A Have you heard about my accident?
B No, what happened?
A I crashed my car into a tree. As a result I’ve taken my car into a garage
B Oh dear, I hope you haven’t hurt yourself.
A I broke my wrist but apart from that I suppose I have been very lucky.
B Did you do a lot of damage to the car?
A The garage have looked at it and say it can be repaired…
B How did you manage to crash the car in the first place?
A No, I haven’t told you that, have I? Well the answer is I skidded on the corner of George St near the supermarket.
B I know that bit. I have driven there loads of times and once I too lost control of the car but didn’t hit anything.
A Anyhow I rang really to say that I can’t make it tonight.
B I understand. I’m really sorry you’ve injured yourself. It was fortunate I suppose that you have survived the accident. Take care
Alan
i used it why it is a fact happened in the past…why is it wrong? did i have to use the present perfect?
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No, Luca, it’s not wrong. You saw something simply as a finished event in the past and reacted accordingly. Right? There is nothing wrong with that.
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could i use even the present perfect there?
Hi Luca
Theoretically speaking, you also could have said
"But who has written “I’m new here and i like it?” because it was the very firt time you noticed that it was there.
But I probably would have asked the question the same way you did (in the simple past tense).
Amy
another question:if starting a dialogue i say to the listener that knows nothing about what i am going to say him and what happened before:“the court appointed me your public defender” would you consider it wrong?
It’s not really wrong, Luca, but I think particularly that sentence would be better in the present perfect. In that sentence it’s pretty clear there will be a direct effect on the present and the idea of exactly when the appointment happened is probably completely irrelevant.
Amy