'I never heard of it' is not a construction used in standard English. It is correct in certain dialects.
'As I said before' suggests that the speaker is referring to a specific instance. 'As I've said before' suggests that the speaker has said it on more than one occasion.
Always be mindful of semantics when considering English grammar.
'I read that book' is correct grammatically, but 'I've read that book' is more usual. You would normally follow 'I read that book' with another statement, for example 'l read that book yesterday, in the bath.'
'I've eaten an apple at noon' is grammatically correct but does not follow the rules of English discourse.
Bob: "What did you have for lunch?"
Katie: "I've eaten an apple at noon."
No one would say this. They would say, "I ate an apple at noon." It's more likely they would just say "I had an apple."
'I've eaten an apple' is used in conjunction with a completed action. "I've eaten an apple every day at noon for the last three weeks."
Hope this was helpful
Danny x
Thanks for your help Danny.
The way I see it, and the trick that I often rely on to decide which tense to use, is that I ask myself if the verb/sentence has a significance in the present. The present perfect still has a present aspect to it, so I tend to see it a bit like a transition between past and present, where past actions still have an importance in the present.
For example, "I've read that book" illustrates that I read a certain book in the past, but it also implies a certain present status (ie. the fact that I read that book is still part of who I am today).
This is also similar in this example: "I always thought" vs "I've always thought". The past simple represents something that I'm done with: it doesn't apply to me anymore. The present perfect implies that something still affects me. So you could use these respective tenses as such:
"I always thought that leprechauns didn't exist, until someone proved me otherwise."
"I've always thought that leprechauns didn't exist, and still do."
But I'm still not sure about some specific instances. What about this:
"In my past sexual experiences, I found that most women enjoy dirty talk."
"In my past sexual experiences, I've found that most women enjoy dirty talk."
Which one would be the most appropriate here? Would each one hold a slightly different connotation? I'd tend to favor the present perfect (ie. this realization still affects me today), but I'm really not sure.
Also, am I correct in my previous examples?
I think you're beginning to understand the importance of semantics in English grammar.
When you say that the present perfect says something about who you are today, that's quite a profound statement.
Essentially the simple past just states a fact about an action that happened in the past. It is normally qualified by another statement.
"I read that book yesterday."
"I read that book when I was on holiday."
The present perfect allows the speaker or writer to add a more qualitative corollary to the statement.
"I've read that book. It was awful."
"I've read that book twice now."
Is that what you mean?
Your Leprechaun example is interesting. I think you got it right! What I would point out is that is that sometimes it might be better to use the past perfect to convey what you wrote in the simple past. It's simply more elegant.
"I had always thought that leprechauns didn't exist, until someone proved me otherwise."
Where you would use the simple past is if you wanted to make a point.
"I always thought leprechauns didn't exist! And I still do!"
To answer your question:
"In my past sexual experiences, I found that most women enjoy dirty talk."
"In my past sexual experiences, I've found that most women enjoy dirty talk."
These mean the same thing. The first version is effectively the pluperfect. It's most appropriate for writing. Basically you're talking about the past in the past.
The second version is a little informal. I'm open to opinions though. Interesting.
Danny x
Thanks again for your insight, it's always appreciated.
And yes, I try to make some sense out of this, but sometimes I just go with my instincts or by what seems right (ie. how I've heard others saying it in the past). See... I'm totally not sure about my last sentence, "I heard" vs "I've heard". Here I went by the 'unspecified in time' rule that favors the present perfect: I'm not relating to a specific instance, but a general recollection of instances.
I'm still not sure about the last example of my previous post however. I was thinking about it more in a casual context where I'd be talking to a friend, so I'm not sure about the 'talking about the past in the past' bit. Anyway, it's nice to see that even a native English speaker finds it a little ambiguous; I could use either tense and it wouldn't necessarily appear as a mistake, haha.
Verb tenses are very different in my own language. Basically, we almost never use the past simple, except in very literary/formal writings; it just sounds way too proper and old-fashioned in most cases, so we just use other past tenses. And there are no real equivalents either, the present perfect is similar to what we call the 'composite past', but it doesn't have exactly the same connotation.
Okay, well English at this nuts and bolts level isn't easy.
I'll try and come back with something more intelligible.
Take care
Danny x
I'm finding this conversation fascinating. As a native English speaker, its very helpful to have these issues pointed out since I would tend to speak/write automatically without really analysing these issues. Even looking over these verb tense examples from both of you, my choices were instinctive - what felt right rather than thinking with my grammar rules head switched on.
Danny you are so good at language deconstruction, and I look forward to your next post on this. And Serene Prodigy, I was really taken aback that English is not your first language. Puts me to shame!!
Spot on Danny! Great explanation and very clear. Again, I was looking at the examples as to what "felt" right rather than being as technically accurate as you. Just goes to prove that use of language is as much about context and the mood/meaning the speaker or writer wishes to convey as it is about obeying the rules of grammar.
