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Vince Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
How come you haven't let me know?
Hi all,
I'm back from a loooong holiday :-) Now I'm teaching English again, and I'm running into trouble... At the school I teach (Dutch school) we use a book that's not always as clear as it should be. Even I don't always know the answer
So, we have the following sentence:
How come you didn't let / haven't let me know about her accident?
The pupils have to choose whether to use the past simple or present perfect. Honestly: I have no clue what to do with this sentence. To me, it sounds wrong, no matter which one I choose. I'd say: How come you didn't tell / haven't told me about her accident? But then, which one is right, or are they both right?
Hope you can help...
Vince
I'm back from a loooong holiday :-) Now I'm teaching English again, and I'm running into trouble... At the school I teach (Dutch school) we use a book that's not always as clear as it should be. Even I don't always know the answer
So, we have the following sentence:
How come you didn't let / haven't let me know about her accident?
The pupils have to choose whether to use the past simple or present perfect. Honestly: I have no clue what to do with this sentence. To me, it sounds wrong, no matter which one I choose. I'd say: How come you didn't tell / haven't told me about her accident? But then, which one is right, or are they both right?
Hope you can help...
Vince
Top answer
They are both fine. It would depend on context or what the speaker is thinking to make the verb choice. I agree that your sentence/s are a commoner way of saying it, but the originals are grammatically OK, too.
- They are both fine.
- It would depend on context or what the speaker is thinking to make the verb choice.
- I agree that your sentence/s are a commoner way of saying it, but the originals are grammatically OK, too.
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1 Answers
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They are both fine. It would depend on context or what the speaker is thinking to make the verb choice. I agree that your sentence/s are a commoner way of saying it, but the originals are grammatically OK, too.
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