have not / did not?

Question

Hi,

I asked about the sentence below several minutes ago

I am sorry that I haven't / didn't / had not / wiritten to you for a long time as I have been very busy.

Some answers suggested that I can use either "have not" or "did not". Both are correct but I would like to know

Under what context should i use "have not" and under what context should I use "did not" ??

Thanks

Answer 1

Have is used with participles ... I haven't written.
Did is used with the infinitive ... I didn't write.

Answer 2

'Have not' is the present perfect tense.
'I'm sorry I haven't written'
This is used for an action occurring before now where the exact time is not mentioned because it is obvious, not known or doesn't need to be known. However you can use 'for' to indicate a period of time for the action or 'since' to show at what specific time the action began. Usually there is a result of the action in the present time.

'Did not' is past simple. It refers to a specific tiime in the past. It usually needs a time when the action occurred. It is not used with the third form of the verb but the second form (if positive or the first form (if negative) so the correct usage would be:
'I'm sorry I didn't write' However you shouldn't use 'for such a long time'. You need to use a more specific time such as 'when I got your last letter' as for such a long time implies that the action continued whereas past simple starts and ends at a specific time or times in the past.

To compare:
Past simple. 'John broke his arm yesterday.' Action started and finished at a specific time in the past.

Present perfect. 'Jack has broken his arm.' We aren't bothered when it happened. We are more interested in the result of the action.

Answer 3

Use haven't when talking in general terms and this would be followed by 'a long time'. If you use 'didn't' then it would have to be about something specific. e.g.

I'm sorry I haven't written to you for a long time.

I'm sorry I didn't write to you in response to your last letter.
I'm sorry I didn't write to you when I returned from ...

You cannot say 'I'm sorry I didn't write to you for a long time'. You would need to qualify the statement with more information. It is not correct English. I've taught this a lot in EFL classes.

Answer 4

There's a difference between American English and British English in the frequency of use of these two tenses.

In America it would be acceptable to use "did not", in Britain "have not" is more appropriate.

As far as the British usage is concerned:

Have + past participle (written/seen/been/gone etc) is the present perfect tense and we use this for an unspecified time in the past (eg "Have you ever been to Egypt?" "Yes, I've been twice"), for something that began in the past and continues now (eg "How long have you lived in London?" "I've lived here for ten years") and for something which has only very recently finished (eg "I've just finished my homework" and "I haven't written to you for a long time" - but I am writing now).

In contrast, "did not" is used in the simple past tense for something which relates to a known (even if unspecified) finished past time. (eg "Did you write to John?" yesterday/last week/lastmonth etc, "No, I didn't")

Hope that helps!

Answer 5

Even if you write 'have not' it is still a passive statement and incorrect. Write "I've been very busy lately and have not had a chance to write you." This sentence is in the present tense and the verbs must be in agreement (must agree with the "I have been very busy lately...") ----Had not would be used in the third person (if you were reporting to another person that you had not written the first person in a long time, "I had not written to Margaret in a long time.") or in the past tense.

Hope this helps!

Answer 6

Have not - means that you have taken no action as yet and there is no implied obligation that you should have done.

Did not - means that the other party who you were communicating with were expecting that you would - therefore there was an implied obligation to do so.

That is broadly the difference - although to be candid I doubt wither anyone would particularly mind which way you phrased it!!

Answer 7

It is either:

I'm sorry I have not written....for a long time

I'm sorry I did not write.....to you last week

Can you see the difference... it is quite subtle.

Answer 8

I have not done that yet.
I did not do that.

Those two sentences mean something different..
"did not" sounds like its more of past tense.

Answer 9

have not, is more related to the present. some time in the past is irrelevant.