Simple Past vs. Present Perfect

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Joe - 17 Jan 2004 13:04 GMT

Hi everybody,

what do you think of the following sentence I've heard on stage in
London (all native speakers of British English).
Situation: A guest has just finished his soup, and the waiters takes
the plate asking him:
"Did you enjoy the soup?"

Shouln't it read "Have you enjoyed the soup?" according to the
grammatical rules.

-There is no reference to a special time given, and the result of the
"action" is important not the time when the action was performed.

Thanks.
Joe

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Don Phillipson - 17 Jan 2004 13:28 GMT

> "Did you enjoy the soup?"
>
> Shouln't it read "Have you enjoyed the soup?" according to the
> grammatical rules.

No and no.
1. English is so rich and varied that the
rules almost never dictate a singe way to
say a particular thing.
2. In this British context, "have . . . enjoyed"
suggests a more distant time in the past
than "did . . . enjoy:" and so would not be
used while the plate is still on the table.

Current idiom is such that, if people were
discussing a special restaurant famous for
its soup, people would "did you enjoy the soup?"

Contrast:
A. Have you climbed Mont Blanc?
B. Did you climb Mont Blanc?
Case A inquires about a lifetime of mountaineering
Case B is what you would ask when discussing
one recent expedition.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004

Simple Past vs. Present Perfect