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I have tried Russian cuisine & I liked it.

Why do we use Past Simple in the "I liked it" part, if

1) there's no indication of when it happened,

2) I liked it at the same time when i tried it, so if we use Present Perfect for "I have tried", then this tense should refer to "I liked" too.

But for no logical reason, I'm sure I should say "I liked it".

Could you please help me explain this usage to my student?

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  • Well, you can't say that you've tried it if it hasn't happened in the past, unless you can see into the future... so the very fact that you're talking about an experience tells you that it was in the past... you're not using the present tense - "I'm trying Russian food and I like it" - so it must be in the past.
    – Catija
    Commented Mar 31, 2017 at 22:31
  • I'm not sure I understand your point #1. There's no reason you can't use the simple past with things that occurred at an indefinite point in the past.
    – stangdon
    Commented Apr 1, 2017 at 0:06
  • Is it correct "Russian cuisine" and not "russian cuisine"?
    – i486
    Commented Jan 1, 2018 at 11:20
  • Past simple without a time is very common due to English's lack of a right now sense. Present simple being a fact or habit leaves a big gap.
    – user2617804
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 14:44

2 Answers 2

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Using the simple past

I liked it.

without further context, means you liked it when you tried it and you probably still like it. You could also use the present tense to express the same meaning

I tried it and I like it.

If you would say (past perfect)

I had liked it.

it would be understood that you once liked it but no longer like it.

Past perfect is used to place something in the more distant past than simple past. If you used past perfect, the listener will expect something else to have happened in the more recent simple past.

If you would say (present perfect)

I have liked it.

it would be understood that you liked it under certain circumstances in the past, which may or may not be present at the current time, so you may or may not like it now.

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  • Even I liked it slightly suggests it may not still be true.
    – user2617804
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 14:45
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The following sentence is actually not perfectly idiomatic. It is slightly off.

I have tried Russian cuisine and I liked it.

If we are referring to a particular incident in the past, as you are indeed doing here ("and liked it"), we use the simple past. Idiomatic would be

I tried Russian cuisine and liked it.

However, if someone asks you

Have you ever tried Russian cuisine?

you could reply:

Yes, I have tried Russian cuisine. full stop I liked it.

or

Yes, I have tried Russian cuisine and I like it.

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  • very good explanation.
    – Yunus
    Commented Jan 9 at 13:41

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