"Do you ever" or "Have you ever"

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rrock
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Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:19 pm
Location: taipei, taiwan

"Do you ever" or "Have you ever"

Post by rrock »

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
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Tukanja
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Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:47 pm
Status: Learner of English

Re: "Do you ever" or "Have you ever"

Post by Tukanja »

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. ;-)
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