ESL Discussion

Has taken or took

Posted by nooon on April 3, 2011 in English HELP

Hi everybody

Where's my wallet? It was on the table. Somebody has taken it.

Where's my wallet? It was on the table. Somebody took it.

what is the difference btween them in the meaning?

Which is more correct grammatically?

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Replies

mulya rachmatoellah May 27, 2011 9:03

the explanation is very clear..thank you
Homero May 19, 2011 3:01

It is very important know when use taken and took
baty May 16, 2011 15:17

Thank you Nafis , Ravi and Josef for your clear explanation.

and thank you Noon for you topic
hanneh May 3, 2011 19:38

Iwill thank you very much because this is what I need
Khaliqur Rahman April 20, 2011 3:15
In both the tenses, simple past and present perfect, we talk about past action. In simple past, we tell the time and in present perfect the present position of the same past action. The choice of one tense and not the other depends on what we want to say.Would you read my blog TIME TENSE AND MEANING?
Nafis April 18, 2011 17:16

Thank you so much my friends. I'm glad that explanation was helpful. And, thank you so much dear Josef for the information.
nooon April 15, 2011 3:08

Thanks Nafis
Robbie April 11, 2011 8:07

Thanks Josef, I learned something here...
Robbie April 11, 2011 8:04

Hello. Regarding to your question, the second sentence is more appropriate. The action was and took happened entirely in the past. The first sentence could be correct if you want the action still occurring in the present. The words "has taken" in the first sentence means that the action is happened in the past but still occurring at the present. That's why it is referred as the present perfect tense.

Thank you Nafis for the great explanation. I'm sure a lot of members are delighted to hear your response.
Josef Essberger April 10, 2011 19:36

The explanation given by Nafis is indeed excellent.

Please also note that there is some difference in usage between British English (which favours the present perfect) and American English (which favours the past simple). Nafis's explanation applies particularly to British English. So for the example given...

Where's my wallet? It was on the table. Somebody has taken it. <--- typically British English

Where's my wallet? It was on the table. Somebody took it. <--- typically American English