Finally we found someone who can do the job.
Finally we‘ve found someone who can do the job.
Do these two sentences mean the same thing?
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2 Answers
They do essentially mean the same thing as statements on their own.
The subtle difference is that using "have" ("we've") focuses on the present state of having found someone, whereas using just "we found" focuses more on the actual past event of finding someone.
So the second one is a statement about our current position, whereas the first one has more of storytelling effect, i.e. "First this happened, then that happened, and then finally we found someone." (Notice that "we've" wouldn't make sense in that last example.)
As a single statement, the second one feels more proper and correct to me, though once again, it depends on what one is trying to describe and the desired effect.
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The distinction is particularly marked in British English. Americans often say, for example "I just did X" where I would say "I have just done X". Jan 6, 2020 at 13:08
- refers to past (we found someone some years, months, days ago). You would use it in a report about a search of suitable employees some time ago.
- refers to present resp. to past that is very close to present (we've found someone just now) You would use it in a report about a search of suitable employees which is a current event.
