Television and the Present Perfect Tense

Television and the Present Perfect Tense Television and the Present Perfect Tense Television and the Present Perfect Tense By Maeve Maddox Autumn writes: Ive been wrestling with the title of a new Food Channel show called The Best Thing I Ever Ate.   I cant put my finger on it, but this sounds incorrect to me   . . . what is it thats throwing me off? Autumns grammatical instincts are correct. There is something not quite right with the name of this cooking show. The best thing I ever ate is idiomatic, but its not a formal English construction. The simple past, ate, is used to describe an action that took place at a specific time. For example: The best thing I ate while I was in Greece . . . Actions that occur at some unspecified time before the present are described with the present perfect: The best thing that I have ever eaten . . . The present perfect may be used with unspecific modifiers: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc. It may not be used with modifiers that indicate specific times: yesterday, last week, when I was young, etc. The formal version of The Best Thing I Ever Ate would be The Best Thing Ive Ever Eaten. But would it sell? Fuller descriptions of the uses of the simple past and present perfect can be found here: Simple Past Present Perfect Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Program vs. ProgrammeTelling a Good Poem from a Bad OneWhat is an Anagram?