Speaker 1: Have you ever studied the present perfect in English and thought, Okay,
I understand the rule, but nobody actually talks like this.
Maybe your textbook says something like you must use the
present perfect for actions that happened at an unspecified time
in the past. Blah blah blah blah. The example sentence
is something like I have eaten lunch, and technically that
sentence is perfectly correct. But if you, you know, you're
in an office in New York and someone asks you, hey,
do you want to grab lunch? Most people are not
going to say no, thank you, I have eaten lunch.
They're going to say something like, uh, no, thanks, I
already ate. So what happened to the present perfect? Well,
here's the funny but true part. English textbooks often teach
present perfect grammar, but in real conversations, Americans tend to
use the simple past. And that's what today's podcast lesson
is all about. Today we're going to look at several
very practical situations where native speakers naturally use the simple
past in everyday conversational American English, even in situations where
a textbook might tell you to use the present perfect. Now,
don't get me wrong, the present perfect is still correct,
and native speakers definitely use it. By the way, if
you'd like to learn more about the present perfect, check
out episode seven fifty three. But in fact, in casual conversation,
we often simplify things, and when we do that, the
simple past shows up everywhere.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast Episode one thousand and eight.
Why Americans say I already ate simple past versus present perfect.
Let's start with the most basic use of the simple past.
We use the simple past to talk about completed actions
in the past, and we generally mention when the action happened.
For example, imagine you're talking to a friend about your
recent trip. You might say, hey, check this out. Last weekend,
I went to Seoul. We had a blast. Or maybe
a coworker asks, hey, what did you do yesterday? You
could say, oh, yesterday I had lunch with a client.
Or maybe you're chatting with friends talking about the weekend.
You know, last night we watched a really good movie.
In situations like these, the actions started in the past
and finished in the past, and we often include a
time expression like yesterday, last weekend, or last night. That's
the classic textbook use of the simple past. Another very
common use of this simple past in conversational American English
is with the word just. Imagine you walk into the
office and someone is looking for the manager. You might say, oh,
the boss just got back from the client's office and
he wants to have a quick meeting. Or maybe a
coworker asks if the report is ready to send to
the client. You might reply, yeah, I just finished the report.
I'm about to email it now. Here's another example. Let's
say someone walks into the office looking for a colleague.
You might say, oh, she just left the building. If
you hurry, you might catch her in the parking lot. Now,
in more formal or textbook English, these sentences might use
the present perfect, like the boss has just gotten back
or I have just finished the report. But in everyday
American conversation, most people say the boss just got back
or I just finished it. It's shorter, faster, and very natural.
Another situation where the simple past appears all the time
in conversation is with the word already. Imagine your friend says, hey,
I'm going to grab lunch, do you want anything? You
could reply, oh, no, thanks, I already ate. Or maybe
your coworker asks did you send that email to the client?
You could answer, yeah, I already sent it. Here's another example.
A friend might ask, hey, did you watch that new
show on Netflix, and you might say, oh, yeah, I
already saw it. It was great. Now again. In textbook grammar,
you'll often see these sentences using already with a present
perfect like I've already eaten or I've already sent it.
Those are also correct, but in everyday conversation, many American
speakers simply use this simple past. In fact, if your
friend invites you to grabe and you reply with oh, no, thanks,
I have already eaten, it might sound a little bit formal,
almost like you're a character in a British TV drama.
And here's one more interesting situation that happens in American English.
Sometimes we use the simple past with the word yet,
especially in negative sentences. Imagine you're waiting for a friend
to arrive at the hotel. You might say, Jenny should
have arrived two hours ago, but she didn't call yet,
or maybe you're waiting for an email from the client.
You check your inbox and say, I looked again, but
he didn't reply yet. Here's another situation. A coworker asks,
did the client send the contract? You might answer no,
they didn't send it yet. Now again, if you check
a grammar book, you'll probably see the present perfect tense
used here, like she hasn't called yet, he hasn't replied yet,
they haven't sent it yet. Those forms are absolutely correct,
but in casual American conversation, many speakers naturally use the
simple past instead. So let's recap. In everyday conversational American English,
the simple past shows up in several practical situations. First,
we use the simple past to talk about completed past
actions with a time expression last weekend, I went to Seoul. Second,
we often use the simple past with just like I
just finished the report. Next, we commonly use the simple
past with already like I already ate or I already
sent it. Fourth, sometimes use the simple past with yet, ah,
she didn't call me yet. Now, remember the present perfect
is still correct and still important even in these situations. Now,
remember the present perfect is still correct and still important.
But in real conversation, especially in American English, native speakers
often simplify things and use this simple past instead. So
instead of focusing only on textbook grammar rules, I think
it's helpful to understand how people actually speak. Here's your
challenge this week. Listen carefully to conversations in English. Pay
attention to how often you hear people say things like
I already did it, or I just finished, or did
you eat? Yeah, I already ate. You'll start to notice
that at the simple past appears in many places where
a textbook or an English exam might expect the present perfect.
And keep in mind the best way to remember English
like this and any other word or phrase in English,
is to take that word or phrase, write it in
a sentence that's true for you or true in your world,
and then memorize your sentences. Hey, thanks for listening, and
remember learning another language is not easy, but it's not impossible,
and I'm here to help you on your journey.
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