"I've eaten/ate too much."

Question

I would probably say "I ate too much"  simply because of the immediacy of the scenario. If I'm still sitting  at the table, this means that I've just finished eating. I lean back,  loosen my belt and groan "Oooh, I ate too much".   Conversely, if I leave the restaurant, get in my car and head home, I'd probably say "Oooh, I've eaten too much" as I head to the couch for a nap. This probably sounds odd but time seems to play a factorThis quote is a response to the question "what's the difference between "I've eaten too much" or "I ate too much"?The poster is AmEn speaker. I don't know the mechanism working in his mind. How should we understand how it works?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Interesting. It seems to be reversed, doesn't it? His utterances are both common and possible, but I think he has not analyzed them accurately. And we shouldn't think of the two utterances as being related; they are two distinct instances of verb use.

At the table, he is really considering the finished repast (not the immediacy)-- the stomachache is of course a present result, but the speaker isn't connecting them grammatically; he is reflecting back on the cause: all that food he ate.

In the second, on the other hand, he is connecting the finished meal with his current drowsiness and desire to sleep-- this is our usual understanding of one function of the present perfect, and again the time element is a red herring for your AmE friend.

His observations of use are correct, but I don't think he has come up with the appropriate reasoning.

Teleostomi · Answer

[H]It greatly helps to have a disciplined member like you!

"I've eaten/ate too much."

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