0

I always thought we should use present perfect tense while using the word "just". But recently I have come across people commenting, "What did I just see?" or, "What did I just watch?"

Being a student learning English and its grammar, when I saw those I was like, "What have I learned so far?" lol. English grammar seems to be changing always but but I want to be very fluent in it. Help me people.

J.R.
  • 58,828
  • 5
  • 95
  • 196
Vinay
  • 55
  • Why do you think "just" should be used in "present perfect tense"? Merriam-Webster has an example "very recently **. It doesn't say . –  Oct 02 '15 at 15:57
  • 1
    @Rathony ESL teachers often come up with some weird rules, but, like you, this is one I haven't encountered before. Lemme go do a quick search through ELL's questions and see if they've seen it before. – Dan Bron Oct 02 '15 at 15:59
  • Just in WTH did I just see is perfectly valid. I just saw ___ means you saw something recently – John K Oct 02 '15 at 16:00
  • 1
    @DanBron Have you seen the recent post which appeared in a GMAT preparation book in Asian countries? You will be mega-surprised. Actually I am very sorry about this situation. –  Oct 02 '15 at 16:03
  • "Just" "Recently" these kind of words should be used in present perfect tense because to differentiate past simple and present perfect. Simple. We say "I have just done my homework/I have just completed watching the movie". Why it is grammatically incorrect to use "I just did my homework/I just completed watching the movie" ? – Vinay Oct 02 '15 at 16:03
  • @Vinay Both "I just did my homework" and "I just finished watching the movie" are grammatically correct and perfectly normal; yesterday someone said "Do you want lunch?" and I said "No, I just finished my breakfast". Also, if someone says "here's a way that a word may be used", it does not mean the word can't be used any other way. – Dan Bron Oct 02 '15 at 16:05
  • @Rathony Oh wow dude. I would not have expected that. – Dan Bron Oct 02 '15 at 16:06
  • @Vinay Those are some typical and exemplary sentences used when teaching about "present perfect tense." That doesn't necessarily mean you always have to use it for just. Make it your habit to look up the dictionary. There are many examples which use "past tense". –  Oct 02 '15 at 16:07
  • Thanks guys! but how can we differentiate past simple and present perfect ? Are the present perfect and past simple interchangeable in most of the cases? – Vinay Oct 02 '15 at 16:12
  • 1
    @Vinay There is no short cut to leaning a foreign language. All those tips are written in a grammar book and a dictionary. Some people might emphasize, just and now are used with "present perfect" and just now should be with "past", not with "present perfect". But that doesn't mean "just" cannot be used with "past tense". You have to read much more examples. –  Oct 02 '15 at 16:21
  • 1
    You have to play it by ear, that's all. Some locutions call for one, some for the other. This is pretty advanced English skill we're talking about now, though, which can only be achieved through years of practice. – Robusto Oct 02 '15 at 16:21
  • I can perfectly understand and write decent English for the most part but its just that when I try to speak, the phrases especially the complex ones dont come out of my mouth AUTOMATICALLY. Could you people give me some tips to overcome from this problem ? – Vinay Oct 02 '15 at 16:33
  • @Vinay I think Robusto has it all explained. –  Oct 02 '15 at 16:38
  • Please pay a visit to our site for [ell.se]. – Matt E. Эллен Oct 02 '15 at 19:34

1 Answers1

3

There is a transatlantic difference here—at least with respect to traditional grammar.

Very often US English uses simple present where UK English uses present perfect. For example, in a comment, Dan Bron says:

Both "I just did my homework" and "I just finished watching the movie" are grammatically correct and perfectly normal; yesterday someone said "Do you want lunch?" and I said "No, I just finished my breakfast".

I wouldn't use any of those expressions, I would say:

"I've just done my homework" "I've just finished watching the movie" and "Do you want lunch?" "No, I've just finished my breakfast"

Of course Britons are influenced by US English especially in the popular media so we understand it perfectly well but this form is usually a clear indicator that the writer is from North America. (My opinion)

P.S.

I can certainly imagine some Brits writing, WTF did I just see? as a comment after watching a Youtube video. It's shorter and, dare I say 'cooler', than WTF have I just seen? It would however be written knowingly and in imitation of a US-type comment.

A more British version would be, WTF have I just been watching?

chasly - supports Monica
  • 37,215
  • You say "Very often US English uses simple present where UK English uses present perfect." I think this sentence could be misleading ... most of the time US English uses present perfect where UK English uses present perfect. This is one of the main cases where they differ. – Peter Shor Oct 02 '15 at 17:22
  • I wish whole world was influenced by US English so that we wouldn't be having grammar lessons haha (just joking). – Vinay Oct 02 '15 at 17:29
  • Interesting and instructive. This is one of those patterns of syntax that you don't recognize as non-universal until someone from outside your bubble of usage points it out it as such. I've lived in both the United States and Canada, and I believe that in both places most English speakers use the simple present (as described above) naturally and unconsciously. – Sven Yargs Oct 02 '15 at 17:29