1
00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:05,160
Speaker 1: Have you ever studied the present perfect in English and thought, Okay,

2
00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:10,080
I understand the rule, but nobody actually talks like this.

3
00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:14,960
Maybe your textbook says something like you must use the

4
00:00:15,039 --> 00:00:19,399
present perfect for actions that happened at an unspecified time

5
00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,519
in the past. Blah blah blah blah. The example sentence

6
00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:27,600
is something like I have eaten lunch, and technically that

7
00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,520
sentence is perfectly correct. But if you, you know, you're

8
00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:35,359
in an office in New York and someone asks you, hey,

9
00:00:35,759 --> 00:00:38,960
do you want to grab lunch? Most people are not

10
00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:43,159
going to say no, thank you, I have eaten lunch.

11
00:00:44,079 --> 00:00:47,439
They're going to say something like, uh, no, thanks, I

12
00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:52,840
already ate. So what happened to the present perfect? Well,

13
00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:59,200
here's the funny but true part. English textbooks often teach

14
00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:06,840
present perfect grammar, but in real conversations, Americans tend to

15
00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:12,599
use the simple past. And that's what today's podcast lesson

16
00:01:12,719 --> 00:01:16,280
is all about. Today we're going to look at several

17
00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:22,239
very practical situations where native speakers naturally use the simple

18
00:01:22,359 --> 00:01:29,120
past in everyday conversational American English, even in situations where

19
00:01:29,159 --> 00:01:33,319
a textbook might tell you to use the present perfect. Now,

20
00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,920
don't get me wrong, the present perfect is still correct,

21
00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:42,760
and native speakers definitely use it. By the way, if

22
00:01:42,799 --> 00:01:46,040
you'd like to learn more about the present perfect, check

23
00:01:46,079 --> 00:01:52,280
out episode seven fifty three. But in fact, in casual conversation,

24
00:01:52,799 --> 00:01:56,920
we often simplify things, and when we do that, the

25
00:01:57,079 --> 00:02:00,920
simple past shows up everywhere.

26
00:02:03,959 --> 00:02:07,680
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from

27
00:02:07,719 --> 00:02:11,479
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.

28
00:02:12,319 --> 00:02:17,039
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael

29
00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:21,919
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.

30
00:02:22,479 --> 00:02:28,080
And this is Happy English Podcast Episode one thousand and eight.

31
00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:36,719
Why Americans say I already ate simple past versus present perfect.

32
00:02:38,159 --> 00:02:42,159
Let's start with the most basic use of the simple past.

33
00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:47,599
We use the simple past to talk about completed actions

34
00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:53,319
in the past, and we generally mention when the action happened.

35
00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,719
For example, imagine you're talking to a friend about your

36
00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:02,960
recent trip. You might say, hey, check this out. Last weekend,

37
00:03:03,039 --> 00:03:08,439
I went to Seoul. We had a blast. Or maybe

38
00:03:08,439 --> 00:03:11,680
a coworker asks, hey, what did you do yesterday? You

39
00:03:11,759 --> 00:03:14,960
could say, oh, yesterday I had lunch with a client.

40
00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,560
Or maybe you're chatting with friends talking about the weekend.

41
00:03:20,479 --> 00:03:24,639
You know, last night we watched a really good movie.

42
00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,960
In situations like these, the actions started in the past

43
00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,960
and finished in the past, and we often include a

44
00:03:33,039 --> 00:03:39,479
time expression like yesterday, last weekend, or last night. That's

45
00:03:39,599 --> 00:03:44,479
the classic textbook use of the simple past. Another very

46
00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:49,360
common use of this simple past in conversational American English

47
00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,800
is with the word just. Imagine you walk into the

48
00:03:53,879 --> 00:03:58,599
office and someone is looking for the manager. You might say, oh,

49
00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,240
the boss just got back from the client's office and

50
00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,159
he wants to have a quick meeting. Or maybe a

51
00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,319
coworker asks if the report is ready to send to

52
00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:13,000
the client. You might reply, yeah, I just finished the report.

53
00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:17,040
I'm about to email it now. Here's another example. Let's

54
00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,480
say someone walks into the office looking for a colleague.

55
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,759
You might say, oh, she just left the building. If

56
00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,360
you hurry, you might catch her in the parking lot. Now,

57
00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:33,399
in more formal or textbook English, these sentences might use

58
00:04:33,439 --> 00:04:37,759
the present perfect, like the boss has just gotten back

59
00:04:37,879 --> 00:04:42,720
or I have just finished the report. But in everyday

60
00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:47,879
American conversation, most people say the boss just got back

61
00:04:48,079 --> 00:04:54,480
or I just finished it. It's shorter, faster, and very natural.

62
00:04:55,199 --> 00:04:59,720
Another situation where the simple past appears all the time

63
00:04:59,759 --> 00:05:06,600
in conversation is with the word already. Imagine your friend says, hey,

64
00:05:06,639 --> 00:05:10,319
I'm going to grab lunch, do you want anything? You

65
00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:15,839
could reply, oh, no, thanks, I already ate. Or maybe

66
00:05:15,879 --> 00:05:19,720
your coworker asks did you send that email to the client?

67
00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:24,800
You could answer, yeah, I already sent it. Here's another example.

68
00:05:25,439 --> 00:05:28,240
A friend might ask, hey, did you watch that new

69
00:05:28,319 --> 00:05:31,920
show on Netflix, and you might say, oh, yeah, I

70
00:05:32,079 --> 00:05:36,759
already saw it. It was great. Now again. In textbook grammar,

71
00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:41,879
you'll often see these sentences using already with a present

72
00:05:41,959 --> 00:05:47,079
perfect like I've already eaten or I've already sent it.

73
00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:53,160
Those are also correct, but in everyday conversation, many American

74
00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:58,319
speakers simply use this simple past. In fact, if your

75
00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:03,079
friend invites you to grabe and you reply with oh, no, thanks,

76
00:06:03,399 --> 00:06:07,439
I have already eaten, it might sound a little bit formal,

77
00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,639
almost like you're a character in a British TV drama.

78
00:06:11,959 --> 00:06:16,639
And here's one more interesting situation that happens in American English.

79
00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:21,639
Sometimes we use the simple past with the word yet,

80
00:06:22,399 --> 00:06:27,680
especially in negative sentences. Imagine you're waiting for a friend

81
00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,839
to arrive at the hotel. You might say, Jenny should

82
00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,639
have arrived two hours ago, but she didn't call yet,

83
00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,439
or maybe you're waiting for an email from the client.

84
00:06:39,959 --> 00:06:43,480
You check your inbox and say, I looked again, but

85
00:06:43,639 --> 00:06:49,240
he didn't reply yet. Here's another situation. A coworker asks,

86
00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,439
did the client send the contract? You might answer no,

87
00:06:53,759 --> 00:06:57,720
they didn't send it yet. Now again, if you check

88
00:06:57,759 --> 00:07:01,600
a grammar book, you'll probably see the present perfect tense

89
00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:06,759
used here, like she hasn't called yet, he hasn't replied yet,

90
00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:11,920
they haven't sent it yet. Those forms are absolutely correct,

91
00:07:12,439 --> 00:07:18,639
but in casual American conversation, many speakers naturally use the

92
00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:25,560
simple past instead. So let's recap. In everyday conversational American English,

93
00:07:25,959 --> 00:07:31,800
the simple past shows up in several practical situations. First,

94
00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,839
we use the simple past to talk about completed past

95
00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:42,680
actions with a time expression last weekend, I went to Seoul. Second,

96
00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,040
we often use the simple past with just like I

97
00:07:47,399 --> 00:07:51,959
just finished the report. Next, we commonly use the simple

98
00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:57,199
past with already like I already ate or I already

99
00:07:57,319 --> 00:08:04,160
sent it. Fourth, sometimes use the simple past with yet, ah,

100
00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,839
she didn't call me yet. Now, remember the present perfect

101
00:08:08,959 --> 00:08:14,639
is still correct and still important even in these situations. Now,

102
00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:19,439
remember the present perfect is still correct and still important.

103
00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:25,319
But in real conversation, especially in American English, native speakers

104
00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:31,160
often simplify things and use this simple past instead. So

105
00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:36,039
instead of focusing only on textbook grammar rules, I think

106
00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:40,919
it's helpful to understand how people actually speak. Here's your

107
00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:46,840
challenge this week. Listen carefully to conversations in English. Pay

108
00:08:46,879 --> 00:08:50,000
attention to how often you hear people say things like

109
00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:55,559
I already did it, or I just finished, or did

110
00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:59,759
you eat? Yeah, I already ate. You'll start to notice

111
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:04,039
that at the simple past appears in many places where

112
00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:08,919
a textbook or an English exam might expect the present perfect.

113
00:09:09,519 --> 00:09:12,519
And keep in mind the best way to remember English

114
00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,879
like this and any other word or phrase in English,

115
00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,159
is to take that word or phrase, write it in

116
00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:23,440
a sentence that's true for you or true in your world,

117
00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,840
and then memorize your sentences. Hey, thanks for listening, and

118
00:09:27,919 --> 00:09:32,600
remember learning another language is not easy, but it's not impossible,

119
00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:37,120
and I'm here to help you on your journey.

120
00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,200
Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please

121
00:09:41,279 --> 00:09:45,799
visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy

122
00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,600
English by leading us a review. Get English, Get Happy,

123
00:09:49,840 --> 00:10:01,320
Happy English. Yes