Dear friends:
Would you tell me which sentence is correct? why?
1: Do you ever allow pleasure to interfere with duty.
2: Did you ever allow pleasure to interfere with duty.
3: Have you ever allowed pleasure to interfere with duty.
thank you in advance
"Do you ever" or "Have you ever"
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Re: "Do you ever" or "Have you ever"
3
Only the present perfect covers the period of time since you have been born to now.
With the simple past a definite adverb of time like "in the past" (i.e. Did you ever allow something in the past..?) must be used but even that way it wouldn't cover the present, I mean the time of speaking, but the past only.
The simple past can be used without a definite adverb of time in a sentence but only in context when the past is already mentioned (defined) in the previous sentence.
Have you ever allowed pleasure to interfere with duty?
Yes.
When?
Now.
Only the present perfect covers the period of time since you have been born to now.
With the simple past a definite adverb of time like "in the past" (i.e. Did you ever allow something in the past..?) must be used but even that way it wouldn't cover the present, I mean the time of speaking, but the past only.
The simple past can be used without a definite adverb of time in a sentence but only in context when the past is already mentioned (defined) in the previous sentence.
Have you ever allowed pleasure to interfere with duty?
Yes.
When?
Now.