student asking question

What is the difference between “what have I done?” and “What did I do?”

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Hi there! The sentence "what have I done?" is a question that is meant for self-reflection; the person who says it made a terrible mistake and realizes the repercussions of his mistakes. This particular question has a strong meaning attached to it. Ex: Oh my god. What have I done? Ex: What have I done? I made a terrible mistake. "What did I do?" does not have as strong of a connotation as the prior question. The person who made the mistake or did something wrong is asking directly what he did that was wrong because he is not aware of it. Ex: What did I do? I don't understand why you are mad at me? Ex: What do mean you are upset with me? What did I do?

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