Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Crisi]

Hello,

Could anyone explain to me why it is :
It's the best broomstick I ever had.

And not : It's the best broomstick I've ever had. ?

Maybe you also know a good link that explains this rule?

Thank you so much in advance.

[2006]

If you say "It's the best broomstick I (have)('ve) ever had.", (have) ('ve) is a useless adddition that adds nothing of value to the sentence.

My rule is that a sentence should be as simple as it can be and still correctly express the intended meaning. Perfect tense is often unnecessarily used by English learners, maybe because many English teachers who are not native English speakers don't understand the role of perfect tense very well.

Start with the simplest grammar, and if someone tells you that you need more complicated grammar, ask that person to tell you why something more complicated is better.

[Mary W. Ng]

[redset]

[2006]

Mary:
"I ever had" very adequately "links the past with the present". "ever" means in my whole life.
've adds nothing of value.

redset:
What shortcut are you talking about here? Omitting a useless word or contraction is not a shortcut; it is good English.
I invite you to tell me what necessary function 've has.

[Crisi]

I think when it comes to the 'present perfect' there are considerable differences between American English and British English.

And I need the British version. - Maybe anyone British knows a good link that tells me about the rules of 'present perfect - informal usage or American English usage'.

Thank you very much in advance.

Crisi