The Use of the Present Perfect and Simple Past in New Zealand English

Abstract

A sample of speakers of New Zealand English was surveyed regarding metalinguistic perceptions of how the simple past (e.g., went) and the present perfect (e.g., have/has gone) can be used. All sections of the survey received at least 60 responses. Participants were exposed to a range of sentences, both in isolation and in context, and including a mixture of adverbials designed to examine recent, remote, and general temporal relationships. The study presents both paired and graded grammaticality judgements, and the effect on perceived grammaticality of contracting the auxiliary has/have. The results for each sample sentence are discussed, and an analysis of variation by demographic factors is also performed. The simple past was found to be favoured more often and in a broader range of contexts, with the perfect being restricted to particular situations, often those that could be interpreted as falling within the 'extended now'. Contracted perfects were found to be favoured over uncontracted perfects, pointing to an ongoing grammaticalization effect. Taken in its totality, the data demonstrates that New Zealand English usage is largely consistent with other global varieties of English. However, the data shows that younger speakers often favour the simple past in contexts where older speakers prefer the perfect, suggesting a generational shift in favour of the simple past in contemporary New Zealand English.