h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What do Americans call a trailer - the sort you tow behind your car with rubbish/unwanted things for the dump/recyling ammenity site?

a trailer

I like the way they call mobile phones cell phones.
It's better.

However, I don't like the way they use simple past where present perfect is required. It spoils the language.

Eg. "Did you visit the Picasso exhibition?"
That's fine if it has finished, but if it hasn't yet finished, you should say, "Have you visited the Picasso exhibition?"

To start a question with 'Did' implies that it is finished and in the past. To say, "Did you visit the Picasso exhibition yet?" is to do violence to the English language.

i can't agree with that at all.

does this mean i cannot say 'did you go to the zoo today' unless the zoo is now defunct?

That's a very good question...

To which the answer is: No.

It's all to do with "time windows".
You wouldn't say, "Dickens has written many books", because the time window for that is closed. Dickens is dead. So you'd say, "Dickens wrote many books."

But Stephen King is alive, so it's fine to say "Stephen King has written many books".

However, if you were talking about when he was in his thirties, you'd have to say "wrote", not "has written" because that time window is closed. He's no longer in his thirties.

But - if he were still in his thirties you should then say "has written".

Stephen King has written many books in his thirties.
Stephen King wrote many books in his thirties.

Similarly, if Keith is dead, you'd say, "Did you ever meet Keith?" (the opportunity for meeting him has gone - the time window is closed).

If he's alive you'd normally say, "Have you ever met Keith?" (the opportunity for meeting him is still there)
If he were visiting from New Zealand, and had gone back, then you might ask, "Did you meet Keith?" as the opportunity has gone.

If you are at a party where Keith is present in the room, you should definitely ask someone, "Have you ever met Keith?" and not "Did you ever meet Keith?"



The English language has this resource for conveying more information than, say, spoken French can in this way.

Who's Keith?

You've not meeten him yet then Icy?

Not unless he's the bloke with the trailer.

>> What do Americans call a trailer...<<

The kind for hauling rubbish or bringing home DIY supplies are called utility trailers.
http://www.sportutilitytrailers.com/img/Don't-overload-your-trailer.jpg

The kind Brits call 'caravans' are called travel trailers.
http://www.bayerrv.com/common/images/makes/mak642_4.jpg
(Although the collapsible/pop-up type are called 'tent trailers'.)
http://www.mitchellmotorhomes.com/ext_2100_pony_up_0199%20copy.jpg

Car haulers for transporting race cars or antiques or old wrecks are called car-trailers.
They can be open:
http://www.crisbrady.net/images/opentrailer/opentrl014.jpg
Or closed:
http://www.racer-net.com/trlen0b5.jpg


~jwf~

Keith: U1287143

?


az

<>

Excellent. This is present perfect, so we know he's not dead or anything like that as far as SWL knows.

See how cool English is here? We know he's not dead. If we were speaking French or Russian, we couldn't be sure.

Is this Keith? http://www.keithonline.com/

Or is this Keith? http://www.tourofkeith.co.uk/

(No disrespect to those languages. I like them, too. I just don't want English to lose the assets it has due to laziness/ignorance)

Thanks Bel/SWL I understand it now

>> Is this Keith? http://www.keithonline.com/ <<

I've seen them play.

They're rubbish.

RF

Now is that "They are rubbish" or "They were rubbish"?

Yes.

RF