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LeicesterLad Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary

"Have you" vs "Did you"

I'm new to all this - but fascinated by different forms of English. So apologies if this has been covered before, but I've always been curious as to why the British use "have" where the US uses "did".

Let me illustrate with an example:

British: Have you done your homework?

American: Did you do your homework?

..or..

British: We've already done this

American: We did this already / we already did this

I'm sure we can quote examples where each would use the other's phrase, but this is definitely a difference between British and American English that I have not heard discussed before. Unfortunately I don't know enough to describe the technical difference between these, but I'm curious to know if anyone else has noticed this.
  

Top answer

Hi, I'm sure it must have been discussed before. Anyway, here's a thought. To me the simple past is more simple, forceful and direct.

— Clive

  • Hi, I'm sure it must have been discussed before.
  • Anyway, here's a thought.
  • To me the simple past is more simple, forceful and direct.
  • Very generally speaking, these are all qualities I would associate more with the USA's 'national character'.
  • I'm not making any value judgements.
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4 Answers
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Hi,

I'm sure it must have been discussed before. Anyway, here's a thought.

To me the simple past is more simple, forceful and direct. Very generally speaking, these are all qualities I would associate more with the USA's 'national character'.

I'm not making any value judgements. I'm not suggesting these are necessarily the most desirable qualities.

Best wishes,
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LeicesterLadAmerican: We did this already

I'm glad you brought this up, LL. This placing of "already" always intrigues me, in AmE speech. It seems to be stressless, too; and the voice drops. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on where this trailing "already" originated.

(Is it a feature of another US-immigrant language, perhaps?)
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Hi Mr. P,

I wonder whether this has an Irish origin.

You are teasing us by offering just this tidbit. Please explain.

Best wishes, Clive
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Well, I don't remember hearing it myself; but I seem to have seen it in the plays of Yeats and Synge.

I'll see if I can dig out an example or two.

MrP
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