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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

HAVE/HAD difference

What is the difference with these sentences and are the both right?

I have bought this recently.
I had bought this recently.

Does Has or Had make a difference?

Thank you.
  

Top answer

Only the first one can stand alone. You can use the second one if the context relates that statement to another, more recent, past event : I had bought this recently when it suddenly broke. Still, 'recently' is so closely tied to present perfect ('have bought') that it sounds a bit odd with 'had'.

— Mister Micawber

  • Only the first one can stand alone.
  • You can use the second one if the context relates that statement to another, more recent, past event : I had bought this recently when it suddenly broke.
  • Still, 'recently' is so closely tied to present perfect ('have bought') that it sounds a bit odd with 'had'.
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14 Answers
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Only the first one can stand alone. You can use the second one if the context relates that statement to another, more recent, past event: I had bought this recently when it suddenly broke.

Still, 'recently' is so closely tied to present perfect ('have bought') that it sounds a bit odd with 'had'.
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Mister MicawberOnly the first one can stand alone. You can use the second one if the context relates that statement to another, more recent, past event: I had bought this recently when it suddenly broke.
Still, 'recently' is so closely tied to present perfect ('have bought') that it sounds a bit odd with 'had'.
Is "I HAVE bought this recently when it sud
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No.

(I knew I shouldn't try to introduce you to past perfect yet.)
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Another question:

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.

So do you also say,
All I want for Christmas is shoes.
All I want for Christmas are shoes.

All I want for Christmas are books.
All I want for Christmas is books.

All I want for my birthday are jeans.
All I want for my birthday is jeans.

What's the rule here?
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You can choose, based on grammatical concord or notional concord.
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Mister Micawber I had bought this recently when it suddenly broke.

Still, 'recently' is so closely tied to present perfect ('have bought') that it sounds a bit odd with 'had'.
What I find difficult here is not so much the temporal conflict between "recently" and the past perfect, as trying to fit the prior event into the same sentence.
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Mr. Avangi, can you give your take on the "All I want....." question.

Thank you.
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I ran into a blog post which says,

I'd heard some decent things about Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush ($6.89) on the blush pages of our Product Reviews website, so I picked up two: one for my mom and one for me.

Shouldn't she have used HAVE heard?

Or is HAD HEARD correct because there's another action that happened which is the "picked up"?
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AnonymousHAD HEARD correct because there's another action that happened which is the "picked up"?
You're right.
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AnonymousI'd heard some decent things about Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush ($6.89) on the blush pages of our Product Reviews website, so I picked up two: one for my mom and one for me.

Shouldn't she have used HAVE heard?

Or is HAD HEARD correct because there's another action that happened which is the "picked up"?
The problem is endemic. Nea
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