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Let's suppose my manager asks (via email) me to talk to our vendor representative and sort out some issues:

  • Please, contact him and try to sort the issues out.

After scheduling a meeting with the vendor representative, I want to make my manager informed about this:

  • OK, I have scheduled a meeting with him on Monday.

I'm using the present perfect here because I want to demonstrate that this agreement about the meeting is valid, it isn't cancelled - I planned it and it is an active, scheduled event.

Is it correct to use the present perfect tense here, or should I use the simple past? Could you explain why?

I also know there's a difference in usage of the present perfect in AE (American English) and BE (British English). Could you please explain which tense is correct in AE and in BE?

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  • I would say it is the correct usage, because the meeting is not yet over, it is to be started at a later point of time (in future/on Monday).
    – Dhanishtha Ghosh
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 13:03
  • Either is correct but as @chasly says replacing on with for would be much better. Incidentally your manager did not need to add out at the end, solve the issues is correct.
    – mdewey
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 16:09
  • @mdewey If both are correct, then how do we choose which one to use? What is the difference?
    – Daniel
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 17:38
  • I think @chasly has already answered that.
    – mdewey
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 18:09
  • @mdewey Sorry, I want to know are both simple past and present perfect correct in this context?
    – Daniel
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 19:18

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OK, I have scheduled a meeting with him on Monday.

I will answer from a BE point of view.

Many people will use that form but it is ambiguous. Did you do the scheduling on Monday or is the meeting to be on Monday? You are the one who knows which you mean so you have to make it clear.

You can remove ambiguity by saying

OK, I have scheduled a meeting with him for Monday, if that is what you mean.

This becomes even more important if you decide to use the simple past.

OK, I scheduled a meeting with him on Monday.

This means that last Monday you scheduled a meeting. It does not say when the meeting will take place. This is fine if it is what you mean to say.

This sort of mistake can (and sometimes does) cause real problems in timetabling. When there is ambiguity people will interpret the meaning that first occurs to them.

Conclusion

If you did the scheduling on Monday then use "on". Also use simple past.

If the meeting is to be on Monday then use "for". Also use present perfect.

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    I meant that the meeting will happen on Monday. So I made a mistake, It had to write "I have scheduled a meeting with him for Monday" - this is what I need.
    – Daniel
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 13:26
  • Thank you, @chasly - supports Monica! In BE, are both "scheduled" and "have scheduled" correct? What is the difference in this context?
    – Daniel
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 13:30
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    The original sentence is not ambiguous, because we do not specify a time when using present perfect. "I scheduled a meeting on Monday" means that at some time on Monday I arranged the meeting. In the sentence "I have scheduled a meeting on Monday", "on Monday cannot apply to the present perfect verb: the sentence can only mean that, at an unspecified time, I arranged a meeting that will take place on Monday.
    – JavaLatte
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 13:49
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    @JavaLatte - You are right. However I still advocate using "for" to specify the date of the meeting, regardless of the verb tense. It's a good habit to get into and it avoids misinterpretation by lazy readers.
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 14:11

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