I told you

Question

1. I don't know if I told you this or not but I hurt myself cooking. Or

I'm not sure if I told yout his or not but I hurt myself cooking. Or

I don't remember if I told you this or not but I hurt myself cooking.

Are all three acceptable to say to a friend? I'm telling her right this instant so should I change it to the present perfect tense?

Thank you.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

All three are acceptable.

PreciousJones I'm telling her right this instant so should I change it to the present perfect tense?

No. That's not necessary. The cooking accident happened in the past. The not knowing, being sure, or remembering takes place in the present. So you have used the appropriate tenses for each.

CJ

PreciousJones · Answer

Hello CJ,

What if I said this:

I don't know if I've told you this or not but I've hurt myself cooking. What's the difference between this sentence and the one above?

Would the difference be that in this sentence, I hurt myself recently? What if I said this:

I don't know if I've told you this or not but I hurt myself cooking. Or this:

I don't know if I told you this or not but I've hurt myself cooking. - This sentence is constructed incorrectly?

Thanks again.

CalifJim · Answer

PreciousJonesI don't know if I've told you this or not but I've hurt myself cooking. What's the difference between this sentence and the one above? ... Would the difference be that in this sentence, I hurt myself recently?

There's no significant difference between the two, or between these and the next two that you wrote later in your post. I sense very little difference between if I told and if I've told. To my ear it makes very little difference which you use, though I slightly prefer if I've told. I also prefer I hurt over I've hurt.

The slight preferences that I have can be explained by the principle of "current relevance". My telling you is relevant to the current situation. I'm actually talking to you at the time. But the cooking accident need not be considered relevant to the current situation. You're just telling what happened, and it isn't anything that personally involves the person you're talking to.

Similarly, you may substitute anything that you did using the past tense:

I don't know if I've told you this or not, but ...

... I went shopping today.
... I went to the movies.
... I finally paid my income taxes.

CJ

PreciousJones · Answer

What about:

I don't know if I told you this or not, bu I've hurt myself cooking. Would this sentence work?

CalifJim · Answer

Yes, yes, yes. As I said, all of those combinations work. There's not really a lot of difference between them. You can use any of them. What I explained is which one I would use, and that explanation is based on very slight differences between them.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Excuse me,

I looked in dictionary if you can say

I don't remember if she said she was married or not.

Thanks

I told you

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