have or past simple

Question

Could you please help me in this case?[ I am talking about something ]Which one is correct? And why?I mentioned that ....I've mentioned that ...

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

RJI mentioned that ....I've mentioned that ...

They are both correct. They are just different tenses of 'mention'.

Your question is like this one:

Bird
Cat

Which one is correct?

In other words, you'll have to provide more context with complete sentences or no one can say which tense is more appropriate for the meaning you have in mind. It's even possible that it doesn't matter which tense you use. In some situations both forms are appropriate.

CJ

Visnja · Answer

Often when you use Past Simple Tense, you talk about some finished action in the certain time in the past. For example, I mentioned that to my brother two months ago. So I mentioned something back then.

And when you use Present Perfect Tense, it usually shows that something from the past is important in the present. So for example, I've mentioned that just a minute ago, but you obviously were not paying attention whatsoever, and now you're expecting me to repeat it.

Fivejedjon · Answer

VisnjaAnd when you use Present Perfect Tense, it usually shows that something from the past is important in the present. So for example, I've mentioned that just a minute ago,

"I've just mentioned it " is fine in BrE, but if we use a past-time expression such as 'a minute ago', then we have anchored the situation in the past, albeit the very recent past; we'd normally use a past simple form there.

Visnja · Answer

That's new for me, and I really appreciate for pointing this out, because we've learnt at the university only the way I wrote above. Thank you.

Anonymous · Answer

"I have mentioned" is a general statement - somewhere unspecified in the past, you mentioned something.

"I mentioned" is when you are talking about a specific point in time. (You don't have to actually SAY the point in time, but you are referring to a specific occurrence).

COMPARE:
"I have mentioned to you all before how important it is to be on time."

"Last week, I mentioned to you all how important it is to be on time."

RJ · Answer

Thank you all.

CalifJimIn other words, you'll have to provide more context with complete sentences or no one can say which tense is more appropriate for the meaning you have in mind. It's even possible that it doesn't matter which tense you use. In some situations both forms are appropriate

For instance, this post itself is a good example.
If hypothetically I had given what you need to answer in my question, how should I express that?

A: Dear CJ, I mentioned that in the first post.
B: Dear CJ, I've mentioned that in the first post.

Grammarfreak · Answer

The experts already elaborated on the topic. To me the distinction between mention and talk is that when two people are talking about something, the conversation is purposeful; for example: I talked to Mike this morning about the logistics of the upcoming company party. He said it is going well. "Talk" is a higher register word.

However, the meaning of "mention" is a casual and brief conversation. Continuing with the last example, " I mentioned the company party when I saw Mike this morning but he didn't have much to say". Simply, mention - is a words uttered in passing whether with purpose or not. That's how I see it.

CalifJim · Answer

RJFor instance, this post itself is a good example.

Yes. I believe it is.

RJA: Dear CJ, I mentioned that in the first post.B: Dear CJ, I've mentioned that in the first post.

The phrase 'in the first post' is not a temporal expression, but it alludes to the time that you first posted, so I would say this case is a case of talking about something that happened at a specific time. Therefore, the simple past is the one that makes most sense to me. Thus,

I mentioned that in the first post.

You might say that the simple past is used to "isolate" an action -- to place it in time as an event in a series of events that could be a story of things that happened. It cuts that action off from any other time except the time when that action occurred.
____

If you had mentioned something over a period of several months, however, and not just "in the first post", you might say

I have mentioned that in many of my posts over the past several months.

Here the action is not cut off from the present. The mentioning extends from the past into the present.
____

Also, even if you had mentioned it only once, but it is something important to what we are talking about now, you might have this exchange:

-- The difference is that it's 'labour' in British English and 'labor' in American English. Your students should know that.
-- Yes, I know. I have already mentioned that difference.

Here, the story -- the narrative (and the simple past is a narrative tense) -- is that you mentioned the difference (at some specific time in the past). But that's not the point you are making in the little dialog above. You are not telling a story. You are updating your listener -- telling him your current status. The point is that as things stand now, you are now prepared with regard to telling your students about that spelling difference. Your current status is that you "have" something to your credit. You have mentioned the differences that you should have mentioned.

So you could say that we use the present perfect to alert our listeners to how things stand now with regard to the situation currently before us. You might say that you are catching your listener up -- making him aware of the latest information available on the subject.
_______________

In summary:

1. Use the past to tell someone the events of a story. (Think of 'story' loosely. It can just be the ordinary things you did today. It doesn't have to be an adventure story!) Always use the past if you say when the event occurred. (Using a time clause with 'when', 'before', 'after', etc., counts as saying when the event occurred.)

I accidentally broke the lamp in the bedroom.
Laura met Bob at a party last Tuesday.
They all screamed when the lights went out.

Always use the simple past to tell the accomplishments of historical figures.

Tolstoy wrote War and Peace.
Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded.
Newton worked out the equations that describe gravity.

2. Use the present perfect to tell someone things that have been happening starting in the past and continuing in the present. You can specify the beginning of the period with a for phrase or a since phrase or not specify it at all. You cannot specify the end of the period because that is always at least "until now" and often is still continuing.

I have lived in Chicago for 20 years.
Henry has wanted to join the army since he was 12 years old.
Mr. Lin has been fixing watches since 1982.

3. Use the present perfect to make an update on "current status" (based on things done or experienced in the past). Never say when the associated event occurred. Note that the paraphrases are not good English, but just a fanciful way of portraying an approximate feel for the meaning.

I have visited China. (I am (now) a "visitor-to-China" kind of person.)
Karen has decided to quit school. (Karen is (now) a prospective "quit-school" kind of person.)
Robert has written two novels. (Robert is (now) a "two-novel" kind of person.)

Special note: You can't give an update of current status about a dead person. Their current status is "dead". Therefore, we don't use the present perfect when telling the accomplishments of historical figures. We don't say, "Lincoln has been elected president" or "Shakespeare has written Romeo and Juliet" or "Edison has invented the light bulb".

CJ

USF · Answer

This is a CJ answer. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/21.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/21.gif' alt='Emotion: yes'/>

RJ · Answer

Thank you all, again.
To CJ:
It should taken considerable time to write that, and I should say that before joining EnglishForward, I've been Googling for specific questions, which I found most of them in EnglishForward and with the sign of CJ. So you are very important for people even out of EnglishForward. Thanks for your answer, and putting yourself in my place and filling every corner of the answer.

But I need to ask you a question. You mentioned the post that has a specific time, which makes me a bit unsure about other situations, and below the second answer -- the "labor" and the "labour" -- (Did I used "--" correctly? or Have I used "--" correctly) that when you are updating status of something in a conversation. What would you use, when you actually are not telling a story, and you aren't exactly updating a status? Just giving a hint, from unknown time in the past.

Could you please tell me which one is correct? Or there are situations that we use both of them?

As I mentioned before ...
As I've mentioned before ...

have or past simple

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