'Have you eaten?' and 'Did you eat?'

[Ralph Cleminson]

In the abstract, I would be inclined to agree: Вы звонили домой? = Did
you phone home [ever]?, but Вы позвонили домой? = Have you phoned home
[just now]?  However, this is one of those occasions when it all depends
on context.  If one is speaking about a specific occasion in the past,
then Вы позвонили домой? is certainly Did you phone home [then]?,
whereas if you want to know whether the action has been performed at
all, but in the immediate past, then Have you phoned home? is Вы звонили
домой [вообще]?  In other words, the perfect illustration of what we
always tell our students, that aspect is not the same as tense.

But surely the name of the aspect is не/совершенный, not не/совершённый,
the latter being only the p.p.p. of совершить?




>>> <xmas at UKR.NET> 08/09/08 7:15 PM >>>
Dear John,    Can you check you examples?     If I were asked I would
translate them quite to the opposite --      Вы звонили домой? [Vy
zvonili domoj?] (nesovershonny, imperfect, ) =  Did you phone home?    
 Вы позвонили домой? [Vy pozvonili domoj?] (sovershonny, perfective) =
Have you phoned home?    > The distinction between 'Have you eaten?' and
'Did you eat?' is very much alive and well in most varieties > of
British English. Indeed, I used to refer to this distinction when
teaching the difference between    > imperfective and perfective
questions in Russian:    
    
> Вы звонили домой? [Vy zvonili domoj?] = Have you phoned home?    
> Вы позвонили домой? [Vy pozvonili domoj?] = Did you phone home?    
    
> John Dunn.    
    
With best regards,    
Maria    
    
--    
Mariya M. Dmytriyeva    
Fulbright Scholar,    
California State University, Northridge    
Linguistics Program, 2007-2009    
   

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