present perfect

Question

I would like to ask the following question. Suppose I meet my boss, who, upon seeing me, asks: Have you had lunch? This means he does not know whether i have had my lunch or not, so he uses a present perfect. I reply: Yes, I have. Then, what should he ask: What did you eat? or What have you eaten? My guess is that they are both correct, but the past tense must be used if one implies that the lunch took place some time ago, whereas the present perfect seems to relate to an indefinite one, recent maybe, implying that i am still full.

What do you think?

RandomGuy · Accepted Answer

What did you eat? is what a native would say, with for lunch (˜ at lunchtime) implied.

CalifJim · Answer

ruolandoSuppose I meet my boss, who, upon seeing me, asks: Have you had lunch? This means he does not know whether i have had my lunch or not, so he uses a present perfect.

Not exactly. The use of the present perfect doesn't mean that he doesn't know whether you have had lunch any more than his use of the simple past would have meant the same thing.

"Did you have lunch?" also means he doesn't know if you've had lunch. That's why he's asking!

The boss's use of the present perfect says that he wants a status report. He wants to know how things stand with you now regarding lunch. Already had lunch? Or still going to have lunch? In his mind there is a scenario in which you have lunch at approximately this time and he wants to know where in that series of events you are now located — before or after.

ruolandoI reply: Yes, I have. Then, what should he ask: What did you eat? or What have you eaten? My guess is that they are both correct

Not a good guess, unfortunately.

Once you have established the fact that the lunch occurred, your questions will be in the past, not the present perfect. This is because you now have a relatively definite time — lunch time — during which these things happened. What did you eat? Who was there with you? Was it expensive? How long did you stay at the restaurant? What did you talk about during lunch? All of these things took place and were finished during a particular block of time which does not extend to the time you are asking the questions. You are no longer asking about the current status of your listener with respect to an expected series of events. There is a gap in time between finishing lunch and the time when you began to ask questions about the lunch.

ruolandobut the past tense must be used if one implies that the lunch took place some time ago, whereas the present perfect seems to relate to an indefinite one, recent maybe, implying that i am still full.

No, no, no! Even if someone just finished lunch, you can ask, "What did you eat?" It doesn't have to be "some time ago".
______________________

Similarly,

First question: Have you finished your work on the DeTroit account? (boss to employee)
Answer: Yes.
Follow-up questions: How did you handle the problem we had with their investments? Did you speak with their product manager? How long did take to .... Etc.

First question: Have you played bridge lately?
Answer: Just last night.
Follow-up questions: Who did you play with? Was Jack there? Did you win?

First question: Have you seen that new movie The Life of Pi?
Answer: Yes.
Follow-up questions: How was it? Who did you go with? Which theater did you go to? Which actors were in it?

Note that in every case above, the first question is non-narrative. It asks only for a status report. After that the questions ask for the details of a narrative.

CJ

present perfect

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