Which one is right and why?
Have you seen her today
Or
Did you see her today
I think the latter, because the day isn't over yet.
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@SovereignSun probably not, hence the question.– mplungjanOct 7, 2017 at 16:38
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Both are acceptable but are different. I hope you can tell the difference between Past Simple and Present Perfect?– SovereignSunOct 8, 2017 at 16:42
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2 Answers
I would generally use "Have you seen her today?".
However, if I were expecting that the person might have seen her at a particular time or in a particular place or at a certain event or function - for example, perhaps they have a class together - then I might be more likely to ask "Did you see her today?".
If I knew that the two were planning to see each other, or if the person I'm asking about was giving a performance (for example), then again "Did you see her today?" might seem appropriate.
Also, towards the end of the day (for example, when I'm about to go to bed), I might find "Did you see her today?" appropriate because the day is effectively at an end.
Neither of them is "wrong" or "right"; they are both grammatically correct. But to this US English speaker, Have you seen her today? sounds much better.
We use present perfect to talk about past events that relate to the present, or our experience up to the present, and the simple past to talk about events entirely in the past.
Because the question includes today, and today is not yet over, the appropriate question is whether as of right now you have seen her today. If it was about yesterday, then the simple past "Did you see her" would be more appropriate.
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