learners completed passages by filling in blanks with the appropriate from of a verb. In places where English speakers would have used the simple past, French speakers did sometimes use the perfect (either present perfect or past perfect) forms. Furthermore, they used them more frequently than a comparison group of Japanese speakers. However, the French speakers were more likely to use perfect forms for achievement and accomplishment verbs than for the states and activities. Collins observes, ‘The [first language]’ influence does not appear to override the effect of lexical aspect; rather it occurs within it’