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I ______ my key yesterday, so I couldn't get into the house. Eventually, I found it in my jacket pocket.For the above question, either "lost" or "had lost" can be applied, right?Remedy said in a statement in July 2009 &lt;--- Is this correct? Or should we write it as:Remedy has said in a statement in July 2009 orRemedy said in a statement July 2009.Since, as I know, "in the last year" is not seen as a specific time and therefore not compatible with past tense, and that notion connects me to "in July 2009". So I wonder.

Luqmans · Accepted Answer

<img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/84.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/84.gif' alt='Emotion: ninja'/> I had lost my key - is the right way...........Cheers

Clive · Answer

Hi,

I __ my key yesterday, so I couldn't get into the house. Eventually, I found it in my jacket pocket.

For the above question, either "lost" or "had lost" can be applied, right? Yes. I advise the Simple Past, unless you have some particular need to stress the sequence of events.

Remedy said in a statement in July 2009 <--- Is this correct? Yes. ( It's not a complete sentence, as you no doubt realize. )

Or should we write it as:

Remedy has said in a statement in July 2009 This reads a bit awkwardly, but I woudn't say that it's wrong. The Present Perfect keeps the listener focused on the presnt situation.

or

Remedy said in a statement July 2009. This is just a case where the 'in' is omitted by the speaker. American English speakers do that a lot, I believe.

the

Since, as I know, "in the last year" is not seen as a specific time and therefore not compatible with past tense,

You seem to have the wrong idea.

There's nothng wrong or unusual about saying

eg She bought a car last March.

eg He went to Montreal in 2007.

eg He died last year.

eg He went to Montreal in July 2008.

and that notion connects me to "in July 2009". So I wonder.

Best wishes, Clive

LoveCZ · Answer

Oh thanks for your reply. But please visit this link, my idea was taken from the "Notice" of that page:

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html

It mentions:

NOTICE
"Last year" and "in the last year" are very different in meaning. "Last year" means the year before now, and it is considered a specific time which requires Simple Past. "In the last year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is not considered a specific time, so it requires Present Perfect.

Examples:

I went to Mexico last year.
I went to Mexico in the calendar year before this one.
I have been to Mexico in the last year.
I have been to Mexico at least once at some point between 365 days ago and now.

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