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Nina_Nia Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Recently, lately, the first time, the last time...

Hello,

In British English after the expressions recently, lately, the first time... the last time.... it was the first time, it was the last time do you use past simple or present perfect?

Thanks
  

Top answer

past simple

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7 Answers
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I forgot to add 'last'.
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With "lately", you should use the present perfect. The past simple doesn't sound right, but I don't know why.

With all the others that you listed, you could use either of those tenses. It really depends what you are trying to say.
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Nina, is there any particular example sentence, where you'd like me to suggest which one would be more appropriate?
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Yes, there are a few. Those below are my own 'corrections and 'suggestions'. Maybe in some of them both past simple and present perfect are possible?

I haven't seen him lately/recently. (I used present perfect, because of the 'lately' and 'recently')
It's the last time I ate caviar/I have eaten.(I used both)
It's the first time I saw her/I have seen her.(Both)
It was the f
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Here are my opinions. We'll see if DMW agrees.
Nina_NiaI haven't seen him lately/recently. (I used present perfect, because of the 'lately' and 'recently') The first time I met her she was dressed in red.(It refers to a situation in past so in this sentence and in the sentence below I used past simple.
The last time I met her she was dressed in red.(The same as above)
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