“My boss was furious with me and I have been fired” vs. “My boss was furious with me and I was fired”





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}







6















I have a question and I hope you can help me. I've been learning english for many years but I'm still struggling with the difference between simple past and present perfect.



For example this sentence here:



"By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) had already begun without me. My boss (be) was furious with me and I (be) was fired."



Can I also say "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired."?



I lately read an article in the business insider with the topic "What to do right after you've been fired?". Could I say "What to do right after you go fired?" too?



My native language is german and for me both sounds perfectly fine when I just dont seem to get the difference. Are both sentences right and if so what exactly is the difference?



Help would be very much appreciated.



Thank you!









share









New contributor




Heda is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 1





    Did you mean "What to do right after you got fired" ?

    – jonathanjo
    6 hours ago








  • 1





    Yes indeed that’s what I meant. The „t“ probably got lost. :D

    – Heda
    5 hours ago











  • What to do right after you get fired ( advice for a future eventuality, in general) or what did you do right after you got fired ( a specific person in the past)

    – anouk
    4 hours ago




















6















I have a question and I hope you can help me. I've been learning english for many years but I'm still struggling with the difference between simple past and present perfect.



For example this sentence here:



"By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) had already begun without me. My boss (be) was furious with me and I (be) was fired."



Can I also say "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired."?



I lately read an article in the business insider with the topic "What to do right after you've been fired?". Could I say "What to do right after you go fired?" too?



My native language is german and for me both sounds perfectly fine when I just dont seem to get the difference. Are both sentences right and if so what exactly is the difference?



Help would be very much appreciated.



Thank you!









share









New contributor




Heda is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 1





    Did you mean "What to do right after you got fired" ?

    – jonathanjo
    6 hours ago








  • 1





    Yes indeed that’s what I meant. The „t“ probably got lost. :D

    – Heda
    5 hours ago











  • What to do right after you get fired ( advice for a future eventuality, in general) or what did you do right after you got fired ( a specific person in the past)

    – anouk
    4 hours ago
















6












6








6








I have a question and I hope you can help me. I've been learning english for many years but I'm still struggling with the difference between simple past and present perfect.



For example this sentence here:



"By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) had already begun without me. My boss (be) was furious with me and I (be) was fired."



Can I also say "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired."?



I lately read an article in the business insider with the topic "What to do right after you've been fired?". Could I say "What to do right after you go fired?" too?



My native language is german and for me both sounds perfectly fine when I just dont seem to get the difference. Are both sentences right and if so what exactly is the difference?



Help would be very much appreciated.



Thank you!









share









New contributor




Heda is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












I have a question and I hope you can help me. I've been learning english for many years but I'm still struggling with the difference between simple past and present perfect.



For example this sentence here:



"By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) had already begun without me. My boss (be) was furious with me and I (be) was fired."



Can I also say "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired."?



I lately read an article in the business insider with the topic "What to do right after you've been fired?". Could I say "What to do right after you go fired?" too?



My native language is german and for me both sounds perfectly fine when I just dont seem to get the difference. Are both sentences right and if so what exactly is the difference?



Help would be very much appreciated.



Thank you!







grammar past-tense perfect-constructions





share









New contributor




Heda is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.










share









New contributor




Heda is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








share



share








edited 5 hours ago









CowperKettle

29.9k1094177




29.9k1094177






New contributor




Heda is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 8 hours ago









HedaHeda

334




334




New contributor




Heda is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





Heda is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






Heda is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 1





    Did you mean "What to do right after you got fired" ?

    – jonathanjo
    6 hours ago








  • 1





    Yes indeed that’s what I meant. The „t“ probably got lost. :D

    – Heda
    5 hours ago











  • What to do right after you get fired ( advice for a future eventuality, in general) or what did you do right after you got fired ( a specific person in the past)

    – anouk
    4 hours ago
















  • 1





    Did you mean "What to do right after you got fired" ?

    – jonathanjo
    6 hours ago








  • 1





    Yes indeed that’s what I meant. The „t“ probably got lost. :D

    – Heda
    5 hours ago











  • What to do right after you get fired ( advice for a future eventuality, in general) or what did you do right after you got fired ( a specific person in the past)

    – anouk
    4 hours ago










1




1





Did you mean "What to do right after you got fired" ?

– jonathanjo
6 hours ago







Did you mean "What to do right after you got fired" ?

– jonathanjo
6 hours ago






1




1





Yes indeed that’s what I meant. The „t“ probably got lost. :D

– Heda
5 hours ago





Yes indeed that’s what I meant. The „t“ probably got lost. :D

– Heda
5 hours ago













What to do right after you get fired ( advice for a future eventuality, in general) or what did you do right after you got fired ( a specific person in the past)

– anouk
4 hours ago







What to do right after you get fired ( advice for a future eventuality, in general) or what did you do right after you got fired ( a specific person in the past)

– anouk
4 hours ago












5 Answers
5






active

oldest

votes


















5















Can I also say "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired."?




That's an error, but it's not a grammatical error, more of a style error. "My boss was furious" is simple past. "I have been fired" is present perfect. Present perfect is a mixture of past and present; it discusses things that happened in the past, but does so with respect to the current situation. "I have been fired" means "My current state is fired". While the firing happened in the past, the focus is on the current state of unemployment. Thus, this breaks up the connection between the two clauses. "My boss was furious with me and I was fired" presents the two clauses as two connected facts: my boss was furious -> my firing resulted. "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired" breaks up the flow and makes these sound like two random facts you've decided to put in one sentence, rather than causally related.




Could I say "What to do right after you go fired?" too?




No, "go" can't be used that way. You can say "What to do right after you get fired?" or "What to do right after you are fired?"



You might want to post this on the German SE to get the perspective of people fluent in both languages as to how they compare.






share|improve this answer
























  • Just to add concerning German language. No, also in standard German the use of Vergangenheit would be an error due to the same reason. It is just that Bavarian dialects do not have another choice, because Mitvergangenheit does not really exist there.

    – rexkogitans
    3 hours ago



















10














The first thing to realise is that in most cases, whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice: it depends on how you are choosing to relate the events to the present circumstances.



If you choose to use the perfect, you are expressing that the event which happened had some relevance to the present time. What that relevance is depends on many things: it might be that the event was very recent; it might be that it created a state which is still continuing; it might be that it is seen as part of a series of events which are still continuing; it might be that it has consequences now.



In this case, if you choose the present perfect, you are saying that being fired is relevant to the present: probably that you are in the state of having been fired, as Davo says. In this case "my boss was angry with me and I've been fired" probably means that this is very recent - today or maybe yesterday. If it was longer ago, I would have expected "and I was fired". But not necessarily: if you are choosing to emphasise the fact that you are still feeling the consequences of the firing, you might choose "I have been fired" even if it was much longer ago.






share|improve this answer
























  • Re: "whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice": I would avoid the term free in this context, because it suggests that the two versions are equivalent. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_variation.) As you go on to explain, they are not: they differ in how they relate the events to the present circumstances. In some cases, the difference is extreme enough to imply materially different facts.

    – ruakh
    4 hours ago













  • @ruakh: my point is that in most cases (not all) you can describe the same objective events either way.

    – Colin Fine
    18 mins ago



















4














Both are fine.




...and I was fired.




This explains what happened in the past - you were fired.




...and I have been fired.




This explains your current situation - you are in a state of having been fired.






share|improve this answer
























  • I would say they have a different shade of meaning--the first implies the firing was immediate, while the second suggests it happened at a later time before the present.

    – eyeballfrog
    6 hours ago



















1














Your sentence is set in the past "By the time I got to the office...". That is why the past tense is used, I think. There is also a sequence of events:
1.the meeting began 2.you got there late 3.boss was furious 4.you got fired. Past simple is also used for sequence in the past.



"I have been fired" could be used to announce this recent fact (announcement of news) which is on your mind now because it affects the present = you have to look for a new job.



"when you have been fired" is a passive sentence. Someone else has fired you, you have been fired by your boss.






share|improve this answer

































    0














    If the speaker were talking to someone soon after the firing, the "was...have been" construction would be appropriate.



    The "have been" verb is in the present perfect progressive tense, which describes an action that began in the past and continues in the present, and may continue in the future. The speaker has been fired, so that is almost certainly going to continue!



    This usage is right in the recent-firing case because the status of being fired and accepting it is still on the speaker's mind as being processed but isn't over yet.



    "Was fired" is a usage that says, yes, the person got fired at that past point, and they've processed that and have moved on.



    Compare "I have been dumped by my paramour" (still dealing with it) and "I was dumped" (that's in my past now and I've handled it).






    share|improve this answer
























      Your Answer








      StackExchange.ready(function() {
      var channelOptions = {
      tags: "".split(" "),
      id: "481"
      };
      initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

      StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
      // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
      if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
      StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
      createEditor();
      });
      }
      else {
      createEditor();
      }
      });

      function createEditor() {
      StackExchange.prepareEditor({
      heartbeatType: 'answer',
      autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
      convertImagesToLinks: false,
      noModals: true,
      showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
      reputationToPostImages: null,
      bindNavPrevention: true,
      postfix: "",
      imageUploader: {
      brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
      contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
      allowUrls: true
      },
      noCode: true, onDemand: true,
      discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
      ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
      });


      }
      });






      Heda is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










      draft saved

      draft discarded


















      StackExchange.ready(
      function () {
      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f207883%2fmy-boss-was-furious-with-me-and-i-have-been-fired-vs-my-boss-was-furious-wit%23new-answer', 'question_page');
      }
      );

      Post as a guest















      Required, but never shown

























      5 Answers
      5






      active

      oldest

      votes








      5 Answers
      5






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      5















      Can I also say "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired."?




      That's an error, but it's not a grammatical error, more of a style error. "My boss was furious" is simple past. "I have been fired" is present perfect. Present perfect is a mixture of past and present; it discusses things that happened in the past, but does so with respect to the current situation. "I have been fired" means "My current state is fired". While the firing happened in the past, the focus is on the current state of unemployment. Thus, this breaks up the connection between the two clauses. "My boss was furious with me and I was fired" presents the two clauses as two connected facts: my boss was furious -> my firing resulted. "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired" breaks up the flow and makes these sound like two random facts you've decided to put in one sentence, rather than causally related.




      Could I say "What to do right after you go fired?" too?




      No, "go" can't be used that way. You can say "What to do right after you get fired?" or "What to do right after you are fired?"



      You might want to post this on the German SE to get the perspective of people fluent in both languages as to how they compare.






      share|improve this answer
























      • Just to add concerning German language. No, also in standard German the use of Vergangenheit would be an error due to the same reason. It is just that Bavarian dialects do not have another choice, because Mitvergangenheit does not really exist there.

        – rexkogitans
        3 hours ago
















      5















      Can I also say "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired."?




      That's an error, but it's not a grammatical error, more of a style error. "My boss was furious" is simple past. "I have been fired" is present perfect. Present perfect is a mixture of past and present; it discusses things that happened in the past, but does so with respect to the current situation. "I have been fired" means "My current state is fired". While the firing happened in the past, the focus is on the current state of unemployment. Thus, this breaks up the connection between the two clauses. "My boss was furious with me and I was fired" presents the two clauses as two connected facts: my boss was furious -> my firing resulted. "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired" breaks up the flow and makes these sound like two random facts you've decided to put in one sentence, rather than causally related.




      Could I say "What to do right after you go fired?" too?




      No, "go" can't be used that way. You can say "What to do right after you get fired?" or "What to do right after you are fired?"



      You might want to post this on the German SE to get the perspective of people fluent in both languages as to how they compare.






      share|improve this answer
























      • Just to add concerning German language. No, also in standard German the use of Vergangenheit would be an error due to the same reason. It is just that Bavarian dialects do not have another choice, because Mitvergangenheit does not really exist there.

        – rexkogitans
        3 hours ago














      5












      5








      5








      Can I also say "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired."?




      That's an error, but it's not a grammatical error, more of a style error. "My boss was furious" is simple past. "I have been fired" is present perfect. Present perfect is a mixture of past and present; it discusses things that happened in the past, but does so with respect to the current situation. "I have been fired" means "My current state is fired". While the firing happened in the past, the focus is on the current state of unemployment. Thus, this breaks up the connection between the two clauses. "My boss was furious with me and I was fired" presents the two clauses as two connected facts: my boss was furious -> my firing resulted. "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired" breaks up the flow and makes these sound like two random facts you've decided to put in one sentence, rather than causally related.




      Could I say "What to do right after you go fired?" too?




      No, "go" can't be used that way. You can say "What to do right after you get fired?" or "What to do right after you are fired?"



      You might want to post this on the German SE to get the perspective of people fluent in both languages as to how they compare.






      share|improve this answer














      Can I also say "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired."?




      That's an error, but it's not a grammatical error, more of a style error. "My boss was furious" is simple past. "I have been fired" is present perfect. Present perfect is a mixture of past and present; it discusses things that happened in the past, but does so with respect to the current situation. "I have been fired" means "My current state is fired". While the firing happened in the past, the focus is on the current state of unemployment. Thus, this breaks up the connection between the two clauses. "My boss was furious with me and I was fired" presents the two clauses as two connected facts: my boss was furious -> my firing resulted. "My boss was furious with me and I have been fired" breaks up the flow and makes these sound like two random facts you've decided to put in one sentence, rather than causally related.




      Could I say "What to do right after you go fired?" too?




      No, "go" can't be used that way. You can say "What to do right after you get fired?" or "What to do right after you are fired?"



      You might want to post this on the German SE to get the perspective of people fluent in both languages as to how they compare.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 6 hours ago









      AcccumulationAcccumulation

      1,83017




      1,83017













      • Just to add concerning German language. No, also in standard German the use of Vergangenheit would be an error due to the same reason. It is just that Bavarian dialects do not have another choice, because Mitvergangenheit does not really exist there.

        – rexkogitans
        3 hours ago



















      • Just to add concerning German language. No, also in standard German the use of Vergangenheit would be an error due to the same reason. It is just that Bavarian dialects do not have another choice, because Mitvergangenheit does not really exist there.

        – rexkogitans
        3 hours ago

















      Just to add concerning German language. No, also in standard German the use of Vergangenheit would be an error due to the same reason. It is just that Bavarian dialects do not have another choice, because Mitvergangenheit does not really exist there.

      – rexkogitans
      3 hours ago





      Just to add concerning German language. No, also in standard German the use of Vergangenheit would be an error due to the same reason. It is just that Bavarian dialects do not have another choice, because Mitvergangenheit does not really exist there.

      – rexkogitans
      3 hours ago













      10














      The first thing to realise is that in most cases, whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice: it depends on how you are choosing to relate the events to the present circumstances.



      If you choose to use the perfect, you are expressing that the event which happened had some relevance to the present time. What that relevance is depends on many things: it might be that the event was very recent; it might be that it created a state which is still continuing; it might be that it is seen as part of a series of events which are still continuing; it might be that it has consequences now.



      In this case, if you choose the present perfect, you are saying that being fired is relevant to the present: probably that you are in the state of having been fired, as Davo says. In this case "my boss was angry with me and I've been fired" probably means that this is very recent - today or maybe yesterday. If it was longer ago, I would have expected "and I was fired". But not necessarily: if you are choosing to emphasise the fact that you are still feeling the consequences of the firing, you might choose "I have been fired" even if it was much longer ago.






      share|improve this answer
























      • Re: "whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice": I would avoid the term free in this context, because it suggests that the two versions are equivalent. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_variation.) As you go on to explain, they are not: they differ in how they relate the events to the present circumstances. In some cases, the difference is extreme enough to imply materially different facts.

        – ruakh
        4 hours ago













      • @ruakh: my point is that in most cases (not all) you can describe the same objective events either way.

        – Colin Fine
        18 mins ago
















      10














      The first thing to realise is that in most cases, whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice: it depends on how you are choosing to relate the events to the present circumstances.



      If you choose to use the perfect, you are expressing that the event which happened had some relevance to the present time. What that relevance is depends on many things: it might be that the event was very recent; it might be that it created a state which is still continuing; it might be that it is seen as part of a series of events which are still continuing; it might be that it has consequences now.



      In this case, if you choose the present perfect, you are saying that being fired is relevant to the present: probably that you are in the state of having been fired, as Davo says. In this case "my boss was angry with me and I've been fired" probably means that this is very recent - today or maybe yesterday. If it was longer ago, I would have expected "and I was fired". But not necessarily: if you are choosing to emphasise the fact that you are still feeling the consequences of the firing, you might choose "I have been fired" even if it was much longer ago.






      share|improve this answer
























      • Re: "whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice": I would avoid the term free in this context, because it suggests that the two versions are equivalent. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_variation.) As you go on to explain, they are not: they differ in how they relate the events to the present circumstances. In some cases, the difference is extreme enough to imply materially different facts.

        – ruakh
        4 hours ago













      • @ruakh: my point is that in most cases (not all) you can describe the same objective events either way.

        – Colin Fine
        18 mins ago














      10












      10








      10







      The first thing to realise is that in most cases, whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice: it depends on how you are choosing to relate the events to the present circumstances.



      If you choose to use the perfect, you are expressing that the event which happened had some relevance to the present time. What that relevance is depends on many things: it might be that the event was very recent; it might be that it created a state which is still continuing; it might be that it is seen as part of a series of events which are still continuing; it might be that it has consequences now.



      In this case, if you choose the present perfect, you are saying that being fired is relevant to the present: probably that you are in the state of having been fired, as Davo says. In this case "my boss was angry with me and I've been fired" probably means that this is very recent - today or maybe yesterday. If it was longer ago, I would have expected "and I was fired". But not necessarily: if you are choosing to emphasise the fact that you are still feeling the consequences of the firing, you might choose "I have been fired" even if it was much longer ago.






      share|improve this answer













      The first thing to realise is that in most cases, whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice: it depends on how you are choosing to relate the events to the present circumstances.



      If you choose to use the perfect, you are expressing that the event which happened had some relevance to the present time. What that relevance is depends on many things: it might be that the event was very recent; it might be that it created a state which is still continuing; it might be that it is seen as part of a series of events which are still continuing; it might be that it has consequences now.



      In this case, if you choose the present perfect, you are saying that being fired is relevant to the present: probably that you are in the state of having been fired, as Davo says. In this case "my boss was angry with me and I've been fired" probably means that this is very recent - today or maybe yesterday. If it was longer ago, I would have expected "and I was fired". But not necessarily: if you are choosing to emphasise the fact that you are still feeling the consequences of the firing, you might choose "I have been fired" even if it was much longer ago.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 7 hours ago









      Colin FineColin Fine

      32.3k24562




      32.3k24562













      • Re: "whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice": I would avoid the term free in this context, because it suggests that the two versions are equivalent. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_variation.) As you go on to explain, they are not: they differ in how they relate the events to the present circumstances. In some cases, the difference is extreme enough to imply materially different facts.

        – ruakh
        4 hours ago













      • @ruakh: my point is that in most cases (not all) you can describe the same objective events either way.

        – Colin Fine
        18 mins ago



















      • Re: "whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice": I would avoid the term free in this context, because it suggests that the two versions are equivalent. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_variation.) As you go on to explain, they are not: they differ in how they relate the events to the present circumstances. In some cases, the difference is extreme enough to imply materially different facts.

        – ruakh
        4 hours ago













      • @ruakh: my point is that in most cases (not all) you can describe the same objective events either way.

        – Colin Fine
        18 mins ago

















      Re: "whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice": I would avoid the term free in this context, because it suggests that the two versions are equivalent. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_variation.) As you go on to explain, they are not: they differ in how they relate the events to the present circumstances. In some cases, the difference is extreme enough to imply materially different facts.

      – ruakh
      4 hours ago







      Re: "whether or not to use the present perfect is a free choice": I would avoid the term free in this context, because it suggests that the two versions are equivalent. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_variation.) As you go on to explain, they are not: they differ in how they relate the events to the present circumstances. In some cases, the difference is extreme enough to imply materially different facts.

      – ruakh
      4 hours ago















      @ruakh: my point is that in most cases (not all) you can describe the same objective events either way.

      – Colin Fine
      18 mins ago





      @ruakh: my point is that in most cases (not all) you can describe the same objective events either way.

      – Colin Fine
      18 mins ago











      4














      Both are fine.




      ...and I was fired.




      This explains what happened in the past - you were fired.




      ...and I have been fired.




      This explains your current situation - you are in a state of having been fired.






      share|improve this answer
























      • I would say they have a different shade of meaning--the first implies the firing was immediate, while the second suggests it happened at a later time before the present.

        – eyeballfrog
        6 hours ago
















      4














      Both are fine.




      ...and I was fired.




      This explains what happened in the past - you were fired.




      ...and I have been fired.




      This explains your current situation - you are in a state of having been fired.






      share|improve this answer
























      • I would say they have a different shade of meaning--the first implies the firing was immediate, while the second suggests it happened at a later time before the present.

        – eyeballfrog
        6 hours ago














      4












      4








      4







      Both are fine.




      ...and I was fired.




      This explains what happened in the past - you were fired.




      ...and I have been fired.




      This explains your current situation - you are in a state of having been fired.






      share|improve this answer













      Both are fine.




      ...and I was fired.




      This explains what happened in the past - you were fired.




      ...and I have been fired.




      This explains your current situation - you are in a state of having been fired.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 8 hours ago









      DavoDavo

      3,3231929




      3,3231929













      • I would say they have a different shade of meaning--the first implies the firing was immediate, while the second suggests it happened at a later time before the present.

        – eyeballfrog
        6 hours ago



















      • I would say they have a different shade of meaning--the first implies the firing was immediate, while the second suggests it happened at a later time before the present.

        – eyeballfrog
        6 hours ago

















      I would say they have a different shade of meaning--the first implies the firing was immediate, while the second suggests it happened at a later time before the present.

      – eyeballfrog
      6 hours ago





      I would say they have a different shade of meaning--the first implies the firing was immediate, while the second suggests it happened at a later time before the present.

      – eyeballfrog
      6 hours ago











      1














      Your sentence is set in the past "By the time I got to the office...". That is why the past tense is used, I think. There is also a sequence of events:
      1.the meeting began 2.you got there late 3.boss was furious 4.you got fired. Past simple is also used for sequence in the past.



      "I have been fired" could be used to announce this recent fact (announcement of news) which is on your mind now because it affects the present = you have to look for a new job.



      "when you have been fired" is a passive sentence. Someone else has fired you, you have been fired by your boss.






      share|improve this answer






























        1














        Your sentence is set in the past "By the time I got to the office...". That is why the past tense is used, I think. There is also a sequence of events:
        1.the meeting began 2.you got there late 3.boss was furious 4.you got fired. Past simple is also used for sequence in the past.



        "I have been fired" could be used to announce this recent fact (announcement of news) which is on your mind now because it affects the present = you have to look for a new job.



        "when you have been fired" is a passive sentence. Someone else has fired you, you have been fired by your boss.






        share|improve this answer




























          1












          1








          1







          Your sentence is set in the past "By the time I got to the office...". That is why the past tense is used, I think. There is also a sequence of events:
          1.the meeting began 2.you got there late 3.boss was furious 4.you got fired. Past simple is also used for sequence in the past.



          "I have been fired" could be used to announce this recent fact (announcement of news) which is on your mind now because it affects the present = you have to look for a new job.



          "when you have been fired" is a passive sentence. Someone else has fired you, you have been fired by your boss.






          share|improve this answer















          Your sentence is set in the past "By the time I got to the office...". That is why the past tense is used, I think. There is also a sequence of events:
          1.the meeting began 2.you got there late 3.boss was furious 4.you got fired. Past simple is also used for sequence in the past.



          "I have been fired" could be used to announce this recent fact (announcement of news) which is on your mind now because it affects the present = you have to look for a new job.



          "when you have been fired" is a passive sentence. Someone else has fired you, you have been fired by your boss.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 6 hours ago

























          answered 6 hours ago









          anoukanouk

          1,831414




          1,831414























              0














              If the speaker were talking to someone soon after the firing, the "was...have been" construction would be appropriate.



              The "have been" verb is in the present perfect progressive tense, which describes an action that began in the past and continues in the present, and may continue in the future. The speaker has been fired, so that is almost certainly going to continue!



              This usage is right in the recent-firing case because the status of being fired and accepting it is still on the speaker's mind as being processed but isn't over yet.



              "Was fired" is a usage that says, yes, the person got fired at that past point, and they've processed that and have moved on.



              Compare "I have been dumped by my paramour" (still dealing with it) and "I was dumped" (that's in my past now and I've handled it).






              share|improve this answer




























                0














                If the speaker were talking to someone soon after the firing, the "was...have been" construction would be appropriate.



                The "have been" verb is in the present perfect progressive tense, which describes an action that began in the past and continues in the present, and may continue in the future. The speaker has been fired, so that is almost certainly going to continue!



                This usage is right in the recent-firing case because the status of being fired and accepting it is still on the speaker's mind as being processed but isn't over yet.



                "Was fired" is a usage that says, yes, the person got fired at that past point, and they've processed that and have moved on.



                Compare "I have been dumped by my paramour" (still dealing with it) and "I was dumped" (that's in my past now and I've handled it).






                share|improve this answer


























                  0












                  0








                  0







                  If the speaker were talking to someone soon after the firing, the "was...have been" construction would be appropriate.



                  The "have been" verb is in the present perfect progressive tense, which describes an action that began in the past and continues in the present, and may continue in the future. The speaker has been fired, so that is almost certainly going to continue!



                  This usage is right in the recent-firing case because the status of being fired and accepting it is still on the speaker's mind as being processed but isn't over yet.



                  "Was fired" is a usage that says, yes, the person got fired at that past point, and they've processed that and have moved on.



                  Compare "I have been dumped by my paramour" (still dealing with it) and "I was dumped" (that's in my past now and I've handled it).






                  share|improve this answer













                  If the speaker were talking to someone soon after the firing, the "was...have been" construction would be appropriate.



                  The "have been" verb is in the present perfect progressive tense, which describes an action that began in the past and continues in the present, and may continue in the future. The speaker has been fired, so that is almost certainly going to continue!



                  This usage is right in the recent-firing case because the status of being fired and accepting it is still on the speaker's mind as being processed but isn't over yet.



                  "Was fired" is a usage that says, yes, the person got fired at that past point, and they've processed that and have moved on.



                  Compare "I have been dumped by my paramour" (still dealing with it) and "I was dumped" (that's in my past now and I've handled it).







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 58 mins ago









                  Joe McMahonJoe McMahon

                  30616




                  30616






















                      Heda is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










                      draft saved

                      draft discarded


















                      Heda is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













                      Heda is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












                      Heda is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















                      Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid



                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                      draft saved


                      draft discarded














                      StackExchange.ready(
                      function () {
                      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f207883%2fmy-boss-was-furious-with-me-and-i-have-been-fired-vs-my-boss-was-furious-wit%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                      }
                      );

                      Post as a guest















                      Required, but never shown





















































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown

































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown







                      Popular posts from this blog

                      Category:香港粉麵

                      List *all* the tuples!

                      Channel [V]