have just / just received

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We just have received the goods ordered.
We have just received the goods ordered.

Which is the correct sentence?

Many thanks.

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@tanguatlay,

tanguatlay wrote:

We just have received the goods ordered.
We have just received the goods ordered.

Which is the correct sentence?

Many thanks.

Both are correct.

"Just received" is slightly different in meaning, as it implies that the goods arrived a very short time before writing.

1 Reply

@dlowan,

They are not both correct. If you wish to use 'just' to convey that something happened in the immediate past, you are inserting that word into the present perfect.

I have received the goods. (At some unspecified time in the past)

I have just received the goods. (Very recently.)

The word "just" always comes after the word "have".

You can insert other words such as recently, never, probably, always, etc to modify the phrase, but they always come after the "have"

I have never seen a penguin.

I have probably failed my examinations.

I have always told the truth

I have recently bought a car.

I have usually received the goods the day after I ordered them.

"I just have received the goods" is non standard. Is it the sort of error that non-native-speaking learners make.

If you wish to convey the idea of a shortfall you might say

"I asked for ten bottles but just got eight".

2 Replies

@contrex,

Oops...didn't see the word "just" in the first sentence....

I read it as:

"We have received the goods."

Contrex is correct.

1 Reply

@dlowan,

Contrex is correct, more or less, but his answer contains an error.

At least for me, the pedant Smile

1 Reply

@McTag,

McTag wrote:

Contrex is correct, more or less, but his answer contains an error.

At least for me, the pedant

Let us not disappear, warring , up our own bums!

Wink

1 Reply

@dlowan,

Well, I think maybe this sentence contains a technical error

I have usually received the goods the day after I ordered them.

And really should be

I have usually received the goods the day after I have ordered them.

But most native speakers (at least where I come from) would not insert the second "have".

Is that the alleged error? (There may be more than one, of course.)

1 Reply

@contrex,

If you consider the sentence

"I asked for ten bottles but just got eight"

most people would say it like that, but I believe to be absolutely correct it should be

"I asked for ten bottles but got just eight."

0 Replies

@contrex,

Quote:

They are not both correct. ... The word "just" always comes after the word "have".

They are both correct / They both are correct.

The normal neutral placement is between 'have' and the lexical verb but there is some freedom for placing 'just' elsewhere.

Quote:

You can insert other words such as recently, never, probably, always, etc to modify the phrase, but they always come after the "have"

I have never seen a penguin.

I have probably failed my examinations.

I have always told the truth

I have recently bought a car.

I have usually received the goods the day after I ordered them.

"I just have received the goods" is non standard. Is it the sort of error that non-native-speaking learners make.

If you wish to convey the idea of a shortfall you might say

"I asked for ten bottles but just got eight".

Again, the above represent the normal neutral placement. But,

I never have seen a penguin.
I have seen a penguin never.
Never have I seen a penguin.

Probably, I have failed my examinations.
I probably have failed my examinations.
I have failed my examinations, probably.

I always have told the truth.
Always, I have told the truth.
I have told the truth, always.

I recently have bought a car.
Recently, I have bought a car.
I have bought a car recently.

1 Reply

@JTT,

You're just arguing the toss, JTT.

I never have seen a penguin. - agreed, maybe, with emphasis on "have", sometimes heard in conversation, e.g. after "He alleged I had, but I never have seen a penguin"

I have seen a penguin never. - Are you Cherman? (From Chermany)

Never have I seen a penguin. - I am an 18th century poet.

1 Reply

@contrex,

Quote:

You're just arguing the toss, JTT.

I'm not familiar with that idiom, Contrex. I'm just describing how English works.

Quote:

I never have seen a penguin. - agreed, maybe, with emphasis on "have", sometimes heard in conversation, e.g. after "He alleged I had, but I never have seen a penguin"

I have seen a penguin never. - Are you Cherman? (From Chermany)

Never have I seen a penguin. - I am an 18th century poet.

All are possible. They're just not the normal neutral.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Neutral schmeutral.

We're trying to be helpful to a foreigner here.

2 Replies

@McTag,

JTT just likes being prolix and verbosely answering questions that have not been answered.

"Arguing the toss" means disputing something out of sheer love of having the last word.

1 Reply

@contrex,

Mind you, I like doing that myself to be fair, answering questions that have not been asked.

Always amusingly and entertainingly, of course.

1 Reply

@McTag,

McTag wrote:

answering questions that have not been asked.

1,517 people died when the Titanic sank.

0 Replies

An unjust thread.

1 Reply

@Setanta,

I just noticed that I wrote this

Quote:

answering questions that have not been answered.

I meant this

answering questions that have not been asked.

1 Reply

@contrex,

Yes, we know you did. Don't worry about it.

0 Replies

@McTag,

It isn't helpful to anyone, certainly not an ESL, McTag, to tell them things about language that aren't true.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Hey I've just got myself into the local literacy teaching volunteer scheme.

Where I won't be filling their heads with silly-billy nonsense.

Smile

0 Replies

have just / just received

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