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Lost vs have lost

Hi, could anyone please tell me what's the difference of
"John lost a lot of weight" and "John has lost a lot of weight"?

Which one is more appropriate to use in exchange? Thanks!

Reply 1

Recont

Studied English quite a while ago but first case John lost weight but he might be big now so it is ?past simple?. Has lost is to present i.e right now. Native English speakers correct me if I'm wrong.

Reply 2

Vesl

John has.

Jon lost a lot of weight is like a 3rd person perspective, although is more of a past tense thing, wouldn't be said as frequently as John has.

John has lost a lot of weight is more of a comment.

Eg if John was a dog and you wre talking to its owner, you would say "John has lost a lot of weight, hasn't he?" Etc

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 3

rheoreo

What about this exchange:

"Is John ill? He's lost a lot of weight?"
"Yes, he is rather slender these days, isn't he?"

Can you help me indicate what is the error part of that exchange?

Reply 4

So if the time expression is in the past, you have to use past simple.
Example: John lost a lot of weight a year ago.
Also, past simple emphasizes more the action, whereas present perfect simple emphasizes the result. A finished action with no result in the present is represented by past simple.

Present perfect simple is used with just, already, until now / till now, yet, so far, lately / recently.
Example: John has lost a lot of wight recently.
It means that John continued to lose weight until now and maybe still doing it. It can also be a finished action with a result in the present.

Reply 5

Original post by rheoreo

What about this exchange:

"Is John ill? He's lost a lot of weight?"
"Yes, he is rather slender these days, isn't he?"

Can you help me indicate what is the error part of that exchange?

There's no error, the result of him losing weight is making him look sick in the present.
But it should be: Has he lost a lot of weight?

Reply 6

Lit teacher

Original post by rheoreo

What about this exchange:

"Is John ill? He's lost a lot of weight?"
"Yes, he is rather slender these days, isn't he?"

Can you help me indicate what is the error part of that exchange?

The only change I would make is to 'slender'. This adjective isn't usually used for people. If the speaker was being polite they might use 'he is rather thin these days'. Less polite would be 'skinny'.

'Slender' is usually used for things that cannot be seen. E.g. 'My team has only a slender chance of winning'. Or 'Time was so short, there was only a slender opportunity to make changes'.

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Lost vs have lost

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