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I just spoke with the Samsung Representative.

Is this the simple past, or perfect tense?

I think it's the perfect tense, but doesn't the perfect tense have "have" in the sentence? I'm confused because there is the word "just"

James K
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Nadya
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2 Answers2

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This is simple past tense.

There is only one clause in this sentence and the verb in this clause is "spoke". That is the past tense form of "speak"

Present perfect would be "have spoken".

The adverb "just" doesn't indicate tense or aspect, but it does mean that the action happened in the very recent past. Don't confuse "tense" with other ways of indicating time in a sentence. Tense is a purely grammatical construction. Look at these examples

I leave tomorrow (present tense. But the word "tomorrow indicates future.)

If I became president, I would cut taxes. (Past tense "became" but in a conditional structure that refers to a future hypothetical)

I have spoken to a representative. (Present perfect, but talking about a past event)

James K
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It's present perfect tense.

'Just' is generally understood to mean the period that spans from a short time in the past (typically only a few minutes) until now. As it includes 'now', you can use it in the present perfect tense.

For example, you can say "I'm just doing it!" which means you are presently doing it.

When you say "I just did it", the inference is that, although it has been done, the present is still part of that time period.

Astralbee
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  • If you compare the sentences I just spoke with the SR and I have just spoken with the SR, the latter has an auxiliary verb have and uses the form spoken with an -n. The latter is the present perfect tense. The sentence from the question is not. It may be true that the two sentences have similar meaning, but the tense is something more formal, about the conjugation (inflection of the verb). – Jeppe Stig Nielsen Apr 15 '23 at 07:05