Re: "Laura adore ces bonbons. Tu les as goûtés?"

Question

"Respectfully submit that the English translation is wrong here...shouldn't it say "Have you tasted them?" (present perfect)...not "Did you taste them?"?

Accepted Answer

Bonjour tout le monde, 
While I don't think "did you taste ..." is wrong per se (I can think of scenarios where it would be the preferred answer), without context "have you tasted..." is the obvious choice, so we've updated the kwiz accordingly. Bon courage !

Answer

The usage of present perfect and imperfect tenses in English does not parallel their correspondimg use in French. Normally, when relating single occurrences in the past, you use the imperfect in English and the passé composé in French. Hence the apparent discrepancy in the example you cite.

-- Chris (not a native speaker)

Answer

Sorry but the above can only be translated in the head of an educated native speaker as "have you tasted them?" Simple past is used in English to describe single events (that have finished) in the past. Present Perfect is NOT used in this way-Present perfect connects the present to the past-that is, the event hasn't  finished.-you certainly don't use imperfect in English for single occurrences as you do with passé  composé. I am an educated native speaker who has taught ESL for a long, long time.

Answer

Hi Stephen,
I agree that the strict translation should be "Have you tasted them" but "Did you taste them" is the only correct answer of those offered, as I see it.
I suggest that " Did you____" is equivalent to "Have you____" in this context.
Do you not agree?
Regards,
Alan ( Non-native speaker)