I have given up vs I gave up

Question

Hi all.I have a question about a sentence.Which one is correct if I had an idea but I gave it up?A: I have given up my ideaorB: I gave up my idea?Gramatically if my teacher's right A should be the correct, but I have never heard the sentence that way. So which one is correct?

Hrsanei · Accepted Answer

Hi. Grammatically speaking, both are correct depending on how you look at it, but the past simple version is more common.
Hamid

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for the answer.
Could you tell me what is the difference between the two?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousI have given up my idea.

This portrays the situation as having some relevance for the present. It's almost like saying, I tried and tried, and my idea didn't work, so I am now finished with it. I'm not going to work on the basis of that idea anymore.

AnonymousI gave up my idea

This portrays the situation as the end of a narrative, all of which happened in the past. I tried and tried, and my idea didn't work, so I was then finished with it. Maybe I then went on to try a new idea.
_____________

Without further context your teacher can't possibly say that one is correct and the other is wrong.
_____________

Note the following two:

1) I gave up my idea, and then I developed a new idea.
2) I have given up my idea, and then I developed a new idea.

1) makes sense. It's a sequence of events in the past.
2) is nonsense. It's a statement of how things stand now followed by an event that happened earlier, but expressed with "then", which makes it later. This one sounds illogical because it uses the past (developed) to talk about what happens after the present moment!

CJ

I have given up vs I gave up

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