Asmaa Samir
What is the difference? Please, tell me. It has not rained yesterday or It did not rain yesterday sorry, I'm bit confused, because I can't differentiate and don't know when I use the past simple and when I use the present perfect? it seems to me that they have the same meaning!
Feb 27, 2017 2:04 AM
Answers · 7
2
To be on the safe side, use "It did not rain yesterday" to indicate past action or the lack of it. Use "It has not rained yet" to indicate you are waiting for the rain to fall and it hasn't fallen yet. You may also use adverbs like "recently" , "for two days", "for a week now", and something similar for present perfect tense.
February 27, 2017
1
Hi, Asmaa! Brett gave a very good answer, so I'm only going to answer your question based on your specific examples. In this case, the correct answer should be "it did not rain yesterday." "It has not rained" is present tense, so "yesterday" wouldn't fit. "Has" should be "had." Now, assuming that's what you meant, it's technically correct to say "it had not rained yesterday." However, out of habit, English speakers usually don't say that unless we follow up with something else. For example: "It had not rained yesterday until I went outside; then, it started raining cats and dogs" ("raining cats and dogs" is an English idiom that means "raining heavily"). I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any more questions.
February 27, 2017
1
This is the topic of my PhD thesis, and unfortunately I have to tell you that it's something even English speaking linguists debate and argue about! If you wanted a simple rule, then you can just try to remember that the perfect will often sound a bit strange with certain adverbs, including "yesterday". Very, very generally, the further back into the past you go (especially beyond the current day), the stranger the perfect will often sound.
February 27, 2017
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