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    Help/did you vs have you

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    Help/did you vs have you
    Message from saifali posted on 02-03-2013 at 20:40:27 (D | E | F)
    Hello,

    Could you help me please?

    did you meet him or have you met him
    which one is correct?
    Thank you for your answers.

    -------------------
    Edited by lucile83 on 02-03-2013 21:02



    Re: Help/did you vs have you from lucile83, posted on 02-03-2013 at 22:12:37 (D | E)
    Hello,

    It depends on the context.
    did you meet him ...needs a date
    have you met him ...doesn't need a date
    Can you give some more context?
    Regards.



    Re: Help/did you vs have you from djohrahocine, posted on 02-03-2013 at 22:27:38 (D | E)
    Hello!

    Did you meet him?=Past simple tense, but when we use this tense, time must be specified(the action is completed and finished in the past)
    We d'better say did you meet him (yesterday/ last week/this morning...)?
    Have you met him?=present perfect(here time is not specified)
    I recommend you to review the past simple and the present perfect in order to use them correctely.
    Best regards.

    -------------------
    Edited by lucile83 on 02-03-2013 22:33



    Re: Help/did you vs have you from gerondif, posted on 02-03-2013 at 22:52:22 (D | E)
    Hello,

    Both are correct, depending on what you want to say:

    a)"Brad Pitt was in town yesterday!"
    b) "Oh really ? Did you meet him ?"

    The preterite is used for a completed action in the past.
    When did you meet him? I met him yesterday, last week, two years ago.

    The present perfect is a tense used to point at the present consequences of something that happened in the past but the present consequences come first:

    I have repaired the car (it doesn't matter when I repaired it, what matters is that you can use it NOW)

    a)"Have you ever met the President ?"
    b)"Yes, I have often met him!!" You boast about it NOW!!
    b) "No, I have never met him !!" You regret it NOW!




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    Forum > English only