Which one is more common and natural?

Cloud_9   Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:58 am GMT
Which one is more common and natural in spoken English?

#1. Sam: "Have a nice day!"
Jenna: "Thanks, yoo too." or "You too, thanks."

#2. A: "I am surprised too."
B: "I am surprised as well."
Guest   Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:08 am GMT
1. "Thanks, you too." is probably more common.

2. "I am surprised too." is more casual and thus more common in spoken English.
Guest   Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:56 am GMT
#2 would really be "I'm surprised, too."
Questions continued   Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:02 pm GMT
How are they different and which one is more commonly used in spoken English?

#1. (a) Have you seen the movie "Titanic"?
(b) Did you see the movie "Titanic"?

#2. (a) I haven't seen the movie.
(b) I didn't see the movie.
Uriel   Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:00 am GMT
Both are very common. I think (if I remember correctly) that in the American dialect each pair is considered roughly the same in meaning, while in British English they make more of a distinction between the two verb tenses. But that's just something I read -- I haven't checked it out in real British speech.

I guess if we are being very technical (and I'm American, so normally I wouldn't worry too much about this distiction, but I do understand it), the difference is this:

Have you (verb) refers to an indefinite past -- at any point before now. That's why you often see that phrase coupled with the vague and nebulous "ever" -- "Have you ever been to France?" Other indefinite time periods you could use with "have you ___" might be "yet", "already", or "never".

Did you (verb) tends to imply a more definite time period, which is why it is often coupled with concrete makers like "yesterday", "earlier today", "when you were in college", etc. -- "Did you go to the movies last night?"

The difference is small, and can be blurred by such common phrases as "Did you ever...." But your choice of wording (have vs. did) WILL have a limiting effect on what time periods you can tack onto that sentence: for instance, you can never say "Have you seen the movie 'Titanic' last night?" 'Last night' is too concrete a term; it sounds awkward and wrong there. Conversely, "Did you already see 'Titanic'?", while a common wording, is probably less grammatically correct than "Have you already seen 'Titanic'?", because "did" and "already" don't quite match well. Some people would let that slide, while others will have it as a pet peeve.

If you are a learner and are trying to decide which wording to use, try adding on some sort of time period to the end of your sentence (earlier, last week, ever, yesterday) and see which one fits your intended meaning best -- that will tell you which version to use.

So there -- that was a little long, but I hope it answers your question!