Which is grammatically more correct?

Question

Whenever my answer is chosen as the best, I get the following message from Yahoo:

“Your answer to the following question really hit the spot and has been chosen as the best answer”

I think it is grammatically wrong and that it should be corrected as follows: Your answer to the following question HAS really hit the spot and WAS chosen as the best answer”

What do you think? And Why?

Present Perfect Tense is used to describe an event that took place in the past without specifying the exact time it took place.

Eg: I HAVE READ the book “Da Vinci Code”

Past Tense is used to describe an event that took place in the past. Here the time it took place is indicated.

Eg: I READ the “Da Vinci Code” last week.

When describing an event that took place in the past without specifying when exactly it took place, we use Present Perfect Tense for the first verb and past tense for the subsequent verbs.

Eg: I HAVE READ “Da Vinci Code”. I LIKED it very much.

What do you think? And Why?

Answer 1

I think I'm sleepy and your question is very long and blurred.

Answer 2

I think Yahoo's version is better than yours.

You say "When describing an event that took place in the past without specifying when exactly it took place, we use Present Perfect Tense for the first verb and past tense for the subsequent verbs" but that's only true if the actions/states described by those verbs are concurrent. You already started liking Da Vinci Code while you were reading it, but the asker only chose the Best Answer AFTER your answer hit the spot.

Answer 3

Both Yahoo's version and your version are correct. In this particular context, especially in American English, it does not matter whether you use (simple) past or present perfect. A hybrid answer, "...question really hit the spot and was chosen.." sounds perfectly fine as well. This is because the time at which it happened is not stated and is utterly irrelevant to the statement's meaning.

American English is slowly moving towards using past simple where British English uses present perfect (not always, it depends on context).

Answer 4

Grammatically correct..

Answer 5

You're concentrating on the order of the sentences, which I think is your problem.

Present Perfect is used to speak about past actions with present effects. "Your answer has been chosen as best answer" is perfectly logical, because the choosing was in the past but the effects of the choosing are still current (it is still 'best answer'). Additionally, Present Perfect is often used to report news, and being chosen as best answer is the news they want to convey.

I don't really know what 'hit the spot' is supposed to mean in this context, but I guess it means that your answer filled the void in information that the asker had had. So, because you filled him/her in, he chose you. The 'hitting the spot' here is relevant only in explaining why the asker chose you. The present effects of 'hitting the spot' aren't relevant here.

Some corollaries:

"I really enjoyed Ibiza, so I've decided to go back next year."
"The evidence was conclusive, so we've found the suspect guilty."
"The man broke his watch and has come to us to have it repaired."

Answer 6

i think Yahoo! version is more correct.
it uses the simple past tense for "hit", because your answer hit the spot and this action is concluded, it was a moment in the past which is concluded. it uses present perfect tense for "have been chosen" because this is the action which still has effects in the present.
i have to say that i speak English with my father, who's English, not American therefore maybe I speak English in a different way than you.

Answer 7

in your version, has and was together wouldn't be correct...

has would be present and was would be past tense...

your answer hit the spot (already did = past tense) and (as a result) has been chosen best answer
(as a result of your amazing answer, this happened)

this shows progression:
you answered > it was great > you won best answer

you can't get to best answer without first hitting the spot and you can't hit the spot without first answering...


so bottom line, time has to agree or show logical progression, your correction does neither.

Answer 8

I think it is better if it is . . .

Your answer to the following question really hits the spot and has been chosen as the best answer.

but your answer:
Your answer to the following question HAS really hit the spot

is quite okay.

I don't know, but the 'has been chosen' is okay for me. Because the message was sent to you when the person chose it, so it is really a present perfect tense.

But that is just the way I see it.

Answer 9

Well, if you said 'has really hit the spot',wouldn't it mean it doesn't hit the spot anymore?Since Yahoo said 'really hits the spot',wouldn't it mean your answer is still effective and still hits the spot?
I also feel that 'has been' is more gramatically correct.

I'm feeling rather confused.......

Answer 10

All the big companies market themselves very well.
since, they may not have been sure about the time, when u'll be seeing that message, they want you to feel that it has just arrived and they create a "nowness".
i hope u got me.

Answer 11

i think youre right yahoo doesnt use the past tense