English tense question

"They didn't say that."

In my German class we actually debated how "didn't say" should be translated into German; should it be the simple past or the past perfect?

In other words, is "didn't" simply a conjugated negative in the simple past, or is it a modal on which all the tense/conjugations falls?

Thanks guys...

I would say that it is the simple past; mind you that "doesn't say" is habitual/potential aspect and not present tense, and that the normal present tense form of such would be "isn't saying".

"They didn't say that" = "Sie haben das nicht gesagt", not "Sie sagten das nicht", in most situations so it's not an apples to apples comparison: Germans more often than nought use the past perfect where we normally use simple past

I agree with above poster except that "Sie haben das nicht gesagt" is not past perfect, it is present perfect. Past perfect would be "Sie hatten das nicht gesagt".

<<I agree with above poster except that "Sie haben das nicht gesagt" is not past perfect, it is present perfect. Past perfect would be "Sie hatten das nicht gesagt". >>

That's what I thought too, but I dodn't want to confuse the original poster, who used "Past Perfect" ; )

I knew what he/she meant though