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I always thought we should use present perfect tense while using the word "just". But recently I have come across people commenting, "What did I just see?" or, "What did I just watch?"

Being a student learning English and its grammar, when I saw those I was like, "What have I learned so far?" lol. English grammar seems to be changing always but but I want to be very fluent in it. Help me people.

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  • Why do you think "just" should be used in "present perfect tense"? Merriam-Webster has an example "very recently <the bell just rang>**. It doesn't say <the bell has just rung>.
    – user140086
    Oct 2, 2015 at 15:57
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    @Rathony ESL teachers often come up with some weird rules, but, like you, this is one I haven't encountered before. Lemme go do a quick search through ELL's questions and see if they've seen it before.
    – Dan Bron
    Oct 2, 2015 at 15:59
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    @DanBron Have you seen the recent post which appeared in a GMAT preparation book in Asian countries? You will be mega-surprised. Actually I am very sorry about this situation.
    – user140086
    Oct 2, 2015 at 16:03
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    @Vinay There is no short cut to leaning a foreign language. All those tips are written in a grammar book and a dictionary. Some people might emphasize, just and now are used with "present perfect" and just now should be with "past", not with "present perfect". But that doesn't mean "just" cannot be used with "past tense". You have to read much more examples.
    – user140086
    Oct 2, 2015 at 16:21
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    You have to play it by ear, that's all. Some locutions call for one, some for the other. This is pretty advanced English skill we're talking about now, though, which can only be achieved through years of practice.
    – Robusto
    Oct 2, 2015 at 16:21

1 Answer 1

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There is a transatlantic difference here—at least with respect to traditional grammar.

Very often US English uses simple present where UK English uses present perfect. For example, in a comment, Dan Bron says:

Both "I just did my homework" and "I just finished watching the movie" are grammatically correct and perfectly normal; yesterday someone said "Do you want lunch?" and I said "No, I just finished my breakfast".

I wouldn't use any of those expressions, I would say:

"I've just done my homework" "I've just finished watching the movie" and "Do you want lunch?" "No, I've just finished my breakfast"

Of course Britons are influenced by US English especially in the popular media so we understand it perfectly well but this form is usually a clear indicator that the writer is from North America. (My opinion)

P.S.

I can certainly imagine some Brits writing, WTF did I just see? as a comment after watching a Youtube video. It's shorter and, dare I say 'cooler', than WTF have I just seen? It would however be written knowingly and in imitation of a US-type comment.

A more British version would be, WTF have I just been watching?

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  • You say "Very often US English uses simple present where UK English uses present perfect." I think this sentence could be misleading ... most of the time US English uses present perfect where UK English uses present perfect. This is one of the main cases where they differ. Oct 2, 2015 at 17:22
  • I wish whole world was influenced by US English so that we wouldn't be having grammar lessons haha (just joking).
    – Vinay
    Oct 2, 2015 at 17:29
  • Interesting and instructive. This is one of those patterns of syntax that you don't recognize as non-universal until someone from outside your bubble of usage points it out it as such. I've lived in both the United States and Canada, and I believe that in both places most English speakers use the simple present (as described above) naturally and unconsciously.
    – Sven Yargs
    Oct 2, 2015 at 17:29

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