How many mushrooms you to gather

How many mushrooms did you gather? vs How many mushrooms have you gathered?

From an exercise book: How many mushrooms did you gather? vs How many mushrooms have you gathered? How is one to know without any context, that it should only be Present Perfect and not Past Simple?

I’m yet to hear a clear explanation on how to choose Present Perfect or Past Simple in some situations. My understanding is sometimes it’s like with modal verbs, depends on the speaker, and not even a situation.

1 Answer 1

This is a complex question because there are subtleties, but ignoring those, the present perfect has a «perfected aspect.»

both relate to the past, but the first indicates completed («perfected» in an old-fashioned sense) action, whereas the second does not indicate completion.

The primary distinctions between simple past and past perfect relate to recency, current relevance, and specificity.

If there is a specific marker of time, you must use the simple past.

I did my homework more than an hour ago.

indicates completion in the past: it has perfected aspect, but it is specific about time.

I have already done my homework

indicates completion in the past: it too has perfected aspect, but it is vague about time although it implies that it is relatively recent.

You can also use the these two tenses to indicate continuing relevance or its absence.

I lost my car keys and wasted an hour looking for them

I have lost my car keys and need a ride home.

In the first sentence, the simple past is used because there is no current relevance to that loss. In the second sentence, current relevance is the whole point.

Finally, there is an implication of relative recency when using the present perfect; that is the «present» dimension.

I have finished my term paper

implies that you finished it recently.

implies that you finished it some time ago. Unfortunately, «recency» is not a strictly defined term. It primarily depends on context. For more on that issue, this may help.

Раскрывая скобки, напишите каждое предложение три раза, используя условные предложения 1,2 или 3 типов

1. If you (to be) busy, i (to have) you alone.
1 TYPE. IF YOU’RE BUSY, I WILL LEAVE YOU ALONE
2 TYPE. IF YOU WERE BUSY, I WOULD LEFT YOU ALONE
3 TYPE. IF YOU HAD BEEN BUSY, I WOULD HAVE LEFT YOU ALONE

2. If i (to have) in Moscow, i (to visit) the Tretyakov Gallery every year.
1 TYPE. IF I AM IN MOSCOW, I WILL VISIT THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY EVERY YEAR
2 TYPE. IF I WERE IN MOSCOW, I WOULD VISIT THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY EVERY YEAR
3 TYPE. IF I HAD BEEN IN MOSCOW, I WOULD HAVE VISITED THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY EVERY YEAR

3. If i (to get) a ticket, i (to go) to the Philharmonic.
1 TYPE. IF I GET A TICKET, I WILL GO TO THE PHILARMONIC
2 TYPE. IF I GOT A TICKET, I WOULD GO TO THE PHILARMONIC
3 TYPE. IF I HAD GOT A TICKET, I WOULD HAVE GONE TO THE PHILARMONIC

4. If i (to live) near a wood, i (to gather) a lot of mushrooms.
1 TYPE. IF I LIVE NEAR A WOOD, I WILL GATHER A LOT OF MUSHROOMS
2 TYPE. IF I LIVED NEAR A WOOD, I WOULD GATHER A LOT OF MUSHROOMS
3 TYPE. IF I HAD LIVED NEAR A WOOD, I WOULD HAVE GATHERED A LOT OF MUSHROOMS

5. If my father (to return) early, we (to watch) TV together.
1 TYPE. IF MY FATHER RETURNS EARLY, WE WILL WATCH TV TOGETHER.
2 TYPE. IF MY FATHER RETURNED EARLY, WE WOULD WATCH TV TOGETHER
3 TYPE. IF MY FATHER HAD RETURNED EARLY, WE WOULD HAVE WATCHED TV TOGETHER

6. If she (to know) English, she (to try) to enter the university.
1 TYPE. IF SHE KNOWS ENGLISH, SHE WILL TRY TO ENTER THE UNIVERSITY
2 TYPE. IF SHE KNEW ENGLISH, SHE WOULD TRY TO ENTER THE UNIVERSITY
3 TYPE. IF SHE HAD KNOWN ENGLISH, SHE WOULD HAVE TRIED TO ENTER THE UNIVERSITY

7. If my friend (to come) to see me, i (to be) very glad.
1 TYPE. IF MY FRIEND COMES TO SEE ME, I WILL BE VERY GLAD
2 TYPE. IF MY FRIEND CAME TO SEE ME, I WOULD BE VERY GLAD
3 TYPE. IF MY FRIEND HAD COME TO SEE ME, I WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY GLAD

8. If mother (to buy) a cake, we (to have) a very nice teaparty.
1 TYPE. IF MOTHER BUYS A CAKE, WE WILL HAVE A VERY NICE TEAPARTY
2 TYPE. IF MOTHER BOUGHT A CAKE, WE WOULD HAVE A VERY NICE TEAPARTY
3 TYPE. IF MOTHER HAD BOUGHT A CAKE, WE WOULD HAVE HAD A VERY NICE TEAPARTY

9. If we (to receive) a telegram from him, we (not to worry).
1 TYPE. IF WE RECEIVE A TELEGRAM FROM HIM, WE WILL NOT WORRY
2 TYPE. IF WE RECEIVED A TELEGRAM FROM HIM, WE WOULDN’T WORRY
3 TYPE. IF WE HAD RECEIVED A TELEGRAM FROM HIM, WE WOULD HAVEN’T WORRIED

10. If you (not to work) systematically, you (to fail) at the examination.
1 TYPE. IF YOU DONT WORK SYSTEMATICALLY, YOU WILL FAIL THE EXAMINATION
2 TYPE. IF YOU DIDNT WORK SYSTEMATICALLY, YOU WOULD FAIL THE EXAMINATION
3 TYPE. IF YOU HADN’T WORKED SYSTEMATICALLY, YOU WOULD HAVE FAILED EXAMINATION