In my local language (Bahasa Indonesia) there are no verb-2 or past tense form as time tracker. So, I often forget to use the past form of verb when speaking english. I saw him last night (correct) I see him last night ...
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Because non-native speakers use English differently as compared to native speakers. It’s… it’s as simple as that. I can also usually tell within the first few moments of talking to somebody on the internet whether they are from a native English-speaking country or not. They’ll use slightly differentRead more
Because non-native speakers use English differently as compared to native speakers. It’s… it’s as simple as that.
I can also usually tell within the first few moments of talking to somebody on the internet whether they are from a native English-speaking country or not. They’ll use slightly different phrasing. Use of idioms is also a dead giveaway.
I dunno. It’s usually patently obvious. This doesn’t make a non-native English speaker’s English bad by any stretch; just different.
I can also generally tell where native English speakers are from as well, at least in a general sense. Canadians tend to sound like Americans (even in writing) but spell more like the Brits. British persons obviously use British English and will use British colloquiums and the word ‘whilst’ often will pop up. Australians lean heavy on the word ‘mate’ a lot of the time. Americans use American spellings and sound like Americans.
And so on.
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You are correct that both are understandable. The only other possible everyday meaning I could think of would be ‘I see him [in my mind’s eye] last night’; that is, I am, at this very moment, imagining him last night. But it should almost always be clear from context which one is intended. ‘Correct’Read more
You are correct that both are understandable.
The only other possible everyday meaning I could think of would be ‘I see him [in my mind’s eye] last night’; that is, I am, at this very moment, imagining him last night. But it should almost always be clear from context which one is intended.
‘Correct’ doesn’t mean ‘understandable’, though. If I say ‘Me want have fooding’ it’s pretty clear what to understand from that, but it’s not anywhere near correct Standard English grammar. If you lived somewhere where you spoke a dialect of English in which this was acceptable grammar, however, then it would be correct for that dialect.
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