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Pastsimple Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
...that ever came out of...
Hi,
on the internet, I found this politically incorrect comment made by a native speaker of British English about a music video:
"The biggest load of s*** that ever came out of Somerset, makes me ashamed to have been born here!"
Why did she use the past simple (that ever came out of) instead of the present perfect (that has ever come out of)? She was talking about indefinite past (ever - up to now), wasn't she?
Thanks in advance for your comments!
on the internet, I found this politically incorrect comment made by a native speaker of British English about a music video:
"The biggest load of s*** that ever came out of Somerset, makes me ashamed to have been born here!"
Why did she use the past simple (that ever came out of) instead of the present perfect (that has ever come out of)? She was talking about indefinite past (ever - up to now), wasn't she?
Thanks in advance for your comments!
Top answer
that has ever come out is "more correct", but substituting the simple past in these clauses is often done in casual speech and writing. The native speaker who reads this will instinctively receive the correct meaning even if the phrasing is a bit inexact. CJ
- that has ever come out is "more correct", but substituting the simple past in these clauses is often done in casual speech and writing.
- The native speaker who reads this will instinctively receive the correct meaning even if the phrasing is a bit inexact.
- CJ
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3 Answers
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that has ever come outis "more correct", but substituting the simple past in these clauses is often done in casual speech and writing. The native speaker who reads this will instinctively receive the correct meaning even if the phrasing is a bit inexact.
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Thanks for the answer. So, if I say something like:
She's the smartest girl that I ever met.
native speakers won't have the urge to correct me to "that I have ever met" and will find my sentence natural?
She's the smartest girl that I ever met.
native speakers won't have the urge to correct me to "that I have ever met" and will find my sentence natural?
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PastsimpleSo, if I say something like:It's completely natural to me. I would not even notice that there was anything to correct unless you purposely drew my attention to it.
She's the smartest girl that I ever met.
native speakers won't have the urge to correct me to "that I have ever met" and will find my sentence natural?
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