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kakaka
past simple vs present perfect
・I've lost my wallet since yesterday.
・I lost my wallet yesterday.
・I have been losing my wallet since yesterday.
Does the first sentence means "I lost my wallet yesterday" and " now I don't have my wallet"?
Or does it mean "I have a experience of losing my wallet before"?
I think the second sentence means "l lost my wallet yesterday" but "now I have my wallet or bought a new wallet or things like that", if there is just the sentence or no more following sentences.
Does the third sentence mean "I lost my wallet and since then I don't have the wallet and still am looking for it now or have influences of losing the wallet"?
this kind of topic,after doing google I thought, is related with if the verb is "telic" or "atelic".
If there are someone knows about telic and atelic verbs or its relating things,I would like to hear the explainations.
Or ,to those who undestand well about the difference past simple and the present perfect ,please give me the difference.
thank you in advance.
Aug 14, 2016 11:03 AM
Answers · 8
1
・I've lost my wallet since yesterday.
・I lost my wallet yesterday.
・I have been losing my wallet since yesterday.
1) I've lost my wallet since yesterday
If you want to say you have an experience of losing your wallet, you say "I've lost my wallet before" or "I've experienced losing my wallet before".
2) I lost my wallet yesterday.
It means you lost your wallet yesterday and you don't have it today.
3) I have been losing my wallet since yesterday. <-- Incorrect
This sentence means you're in a constant state of losing your wallet, it doesn't make sense.
hope it helped!
August 14, 2016
1
Even I had to look up the meaning of "telic", so your google search wasn't very helpful. Sorry!
It's a very simple distinction: past simple talks about the past, and present perfect talks about the present. "I lost my wallet yesterday" tells us nothing about the present situation.
The example of a lost wallet isn't very helpful, as "lose" usually happens once, and it is done. It doesn't make sense to make it an extended action.
August 14, 2016
To add to the other answers, you could say:
"My wallet has been lost since yesterday".
In this case, "lost" is used as an adjective to describe the status of the wallet.
August 14, 2016
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kakaka
Language Skills
English, Japanese
Learning Language
English
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