I haven't watched it vs I didn't watch it
My friends sent an old video to a chat group.
One said: Dude, It's a really old video.
(I didn't watch this video until my friend sent it to the group.)
What should I use?
- I haven't watched it until now
- I didn't watch it until now.
Solution 1:
Opinions will vary on this because everyone has their own ideas of how to handle the situation, however I feel that the present perfect is a good option. The present perfect is usually used by speakers when they want to make something from the past relevant for future discussion.
In your examples, both responses are valid. You don't need "until now" because the grammar already gives that information. So, "I haven't watched it," or "I didn't watch it," are both acceptable. They both mean the same thing. British speakers tend to use present perfect more often than American speakers, so opinions on which is "correct" will vary depending on the speaker and their native influence. Also note that in English we can "see" or "watch" a movie, so you can use either verb without worrying about a change in meaning.