We became/have become friends.

[diamondcutter]

Tom: Mom, we had a new student in my class today/we have a new student in my class. And we became/have become friends.
Mom: Great. What’s his name and where does he live?
Tom: His name is Mike and he told me he lives/lived near the Wuyi Park.
(Written by me)

I’d like to ask several questions.
1. We had a new student in my class today/we have a new student in my class.Are both sentences appropriate here?

1. We became/have become friends.
I want to know whether both “became” and “have become” are correct here. If so, which is more common?

2. He told me he lives/lived near the Wuyi Park.
Could I also use two tenses here: lives or lived? And I also want to know if so, which is more common.

 

[Tarheel]

Tom: Mom, we had a new student in my class today/we have a new student in my class. And we became/have become friends.
Mom: Great. What’s his name and where does he live?
Tom: His name is Mike and he told me he lives/lived near the Wuyi Park.
(Written by me)

I’d like to ask several questions.
1. We had a new student in my class today/we have a new student in my class.Are both sentences appropriate here?

You can use either one.

1. We became/have become friends.
I want to know whether both “became” and “have become” are correct here. If so, which is more common?


I would only use have become there. (You are talking the present, not the past.


2. He told me he lives/lived near the Wuyi Park.
Could I also use two tenses here: lives or lived? And I also want to know if so, which is more common.

No, you can't use two tenses; you have to choose one. Also, choose lives as you are talking about the present, not the past.

OK.

 

[Tdol]

He told me he lives/lived near the Wuyi Park.
Could I also use two tenses here: lives or lived? And I also want to know if so, which is more common.

You could use the past, but there's no need as it is still where he lives, so the present sounds more natural to me.

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks for your replies.

In a year, a family like ours uses about 4,800 kWh for watching television, taking showers, using the dishwasher and the washing machine, and more. This is a lot. To produce this much energy, a lot of pollution is created. This pollution can cause health problems and global warming.
Because of all this, we decided to do something to save electricity. We watch less TV and use low energy light bulbs now. We stopped using the dishwasher. Mum also tries to save energy while cooking.
(From an English textbook for junior high school students in China, published by Pearson Education and Beijing Normal University Press)

Because of all this, we decided to do something to save electricity.

In the sentence above, the writer used “decided” not “have decided”, but in this context, “decided” has the same meaning as “have decided”, which shows the effect of deciding still exists. And I think it's the same for the using of "stopped".

For the context in the OP, I think using “became” can also mean the effect of becoming friends still exists. That is to say, “became” has the same meaning as “have become” in the context.

What do you say?

 

[tedmc]

If the decision was made recently, then the present perfect is more appropriate. It implies the deciding is still current. "Decided" implies something done in the past, which could be recent or some time back, connoting some ambiguity. Note that the text started with the present tense describing the high electricity consumption, which ought to be reduced. It suggests the electrical bill is current.

The same applies to "have stopped" and "have become.

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks, Tedmc.

This is the whole passage.

We hear a lot about how we should change our lives to help save our planet. Jim Barnes, 15, from Oxford, talks about what his family does every day to save the planet.

A common UK family produces more than one ton of rubbish a year. Some of this waste takes hundreds of years to decay. It also costs lots of money to keep buying new things to replace the things we throw away.

So to help save the planet and save money, our family has decided ① to recycle everything. We collect used things, such as paper and bottles, and put them into different bins. After they are treated in the recycling place they can be used again. This will help reduce a lot of waste. We're also going to grow our own vegetables and we already keep hens. Soon, we can eat our own eggs for breakfast.

In a year, a family like ours uses about 4,800 kWh for watching television, taking showers, using the dishwasher and the washing machine, and more. This is a lot. To produce this much energy, a lot of pollution is created. This pollution can cause health problems and global warming.

Because of all this, we decided ② to do something to save electricity. We watch less TV and use low energy light bulbs now. We stopped ③ using the dishwasher. Mum also tries to save energy while cooking.

What's more, we try to use our car less to cut down on air pollution. My dad organises a car pool with our neighbours and they take turns driving to work. And I ride my bicycle to school. How cool is that?!

I asked similar questions on this topic two years ago on this forum and I tried my best to find my thread but failed. Luckily, I stored the replies on my computer. This is Piscean’s reply.

All three forms (has decided, decided and stopped) are acceptable as they are. I might use the past simple in the first example. I’d probably use the past simple in the second and third.

This is a choice between seeing things as past-time events or thinking of the present-time result.

I’d add here that the explanations in many grammars and course books of how tenses and aspects are used in English are usually very helpful, but most of them are descriptions of how most native speakers use them, not absolute rules on how they must be used.

According to what Piscean said, I think “became” is acceptable and more common in OP.

I’d like to read your comments.

 

[tedmc]

If you consider "decide" and "stop" strictly as a one-off, non-continuous action made in an instant, as opposed to an on-going thing, then the simple past tense would be appropriate. I'd say it is a moot point, a grey area. The point here is that the decision has a bearing on the present.

 

[jutfrank]

According to what Piscean said, I think “became” is acceptable and more common in OP.

This not a question of what is acceptable or more common. Look again at what Piscean said here:

This is a choice between seeing things as past-time events or thinking of the present-time result.

 

[diamondcutter]

This not a question of what is acceptable or more common. Look again at what Piscean said here:

This is a choice between seeing things as past-time events or thinking of the present-time result.

Could I take what you said to mean "became" is also correct in the OP?

 

[tedmc]

[STRIKE]Could[/STRIKE] Can I take what you said to mean "became" is also correct in the OP?

You have two options, depending on what you mean to say.

 

[diamondcutter]

You have two options, depending on what you mean to say.

If I choose "became", I'd like to know whether it can also mean that we are still friends in the context in the OP like the second and third examples in #6. In the second example in #6, I think "decided" has the same meaning as "has decided" because the writer says "We watch less TV and use low energy light bulbs now", which is the result of deciding to save electricity. That is to say, after the decision, they have a new lifestyle. The decision still affects their present life, although the simple past tense of decide is used, not the present perfect.

Let me give another example to express what I want to say.
It has been two weeks since Tom came here.
From this sentence, we know Tom is still here. That is to say, in this sentence Tom came here means Tom has come here.
Do you think so?

 

[5jj]

If I choose "became", I'd like to know whether it can also mean that we are still friends in the context

It does not in itself mean that.

. In the second example in #6, I think "decided" has the same meaning as "has decided"

It doesn't. Different tenses/aspects give different meanings. It is context and co-text that may show that the resultant situations are the same.

It has been two weeks since Tom came here.
From this sentence, we know Tom is still here.

No, we don't.

You are trying to read too much meaning into just the tense/aspect.

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks, 5jj.

Do you mean that “It has been two weeks since Tom came here” just tells us Tom came here two weeks ago and it doesn’t tell us where he is?

What about this sentence?

It has been five years since Tom smoked.

This sentence tells us Tom doesn’t smoke any more. Is that right?

 

[5jj]

Do you mean that “It has been two weeks since Tom came here” just tells us Tom came here two weeks ago and it doesn’t tell us where he is?

Yes.

It has been five years since Tom smoked.
This sentence tells us Tom doesn’t smoke any more. Is that right?

That is the probable implication.

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks again, 5jj.

It has been five years since Tom was a teacher.
Probably Tom is not a teacher any more. Is that right?

What about this sentence?
It has been five years since Tom became a teacher.
Does this sentence indicate Tom is still a teacher or not?

 

[5jj]

Not in itself.

 

[diamondcutter]

I’m sorry I didn’t see your reply when I edited my post, 5jj. Would you please reply to my questions in #15 again?

 

[5jj]

It has been five years since Tom was a teacher.
Probably Tom is not a teacher any more. Is that right?

It has been five years since Tom became a teacher.
Does this sentence indicate Tom is still a teacher or not?

Probably.
Not in itself.

 

[diamondcutter]

This is what I read in some English grammar books in Chinese.
The simple past tense tells a fact which is not true now. For example, if you say “Tom was a teacher years ago”, you mean that he is not a teacher any more.

What the books say is not right. Tom was a teacher years ago doesn’t necessarily tell if Tom is a teacher or not. He may be a teacher again or may be not.

The same is to the second example in #6. If the writer says we decided to do something to save electricity, we don’t know if they do these things or not. They may do or they may not. It depends on the following context. If the writer says we have decided to do something to save electricity, the sentence itself shows they do the things without further context.

Am I right?

 

[5jj]

What the books say is not right. Tom was a teacher years ago doesn’t necessarily tell if Tom is a teacher or not. He may be a teacher again or may be not.

Correct.[/QUOTE]
If the writer says we have decided to do something to save electricity, the sentence itself shows they do the things without further context.[/QUOTE]
No, it doesn't.