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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Past simple or present perfect? Or both?
Past simple or present perfect? Or both?
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LenkaW
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Past simple or present perfect? Or both?
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Dear colleagues, which of these sentences is correct? I see a friend with a leg in plaster and I ask: What happened (to you)? or What has happened (to you)? Or are both questions possible and gramatically correct? I can´t know what the answer will be: The friend can answer: I broke my leg yesterday. / I´ve broken my leg. Is it different in British and in American English? Thank you for your help. Lenka |
21 May 2017
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ninon100
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If you �re British, you �ll probably ask "What �s happened?" If you �re American, "What happened?" In the modern International English both are fine. |
21 May 2017
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FrauSue
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I think that the nuance is slightly different in each. What happened to you? --> an event in the past. Answer: I fell off my motorbike. What �s happened to you? --> consequence in the present. Answer: I�ve shattered my tibia.
So I suppose it depends if you want to know how the injury occurred or what the injury is more precisely.
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21 May 2017
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yanogator
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To add more to two good answers: If there was obviously a single incident that caused the question, then "What happened to you?" is best, although I think the British might still say "What �s happened to you?" If it has been a while since you saw the person, and he or she is visibly very changed, you would definitely say, "What has happened to you?", because it wasn �t a single event that caused the change. Bruce |
21 May 2017
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LenkaW
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Thank you all very much for your help :) Lenka |
23 May 2017
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