hey there I'm Ethan you're really famous
fluency coach and if you caught the last
two lessons and our learners with TV
grammar series then you've learned all
about the present tense the present
continuous the simple past and the past
continuous but today we are going to
tackle one of the most common mistakes
the English learners make all the time
and that is between the present perfect
and the simple past tenses now we'll
start out with a quick example in the
sentence I've lived in Barcelona for
five years that would mean that in the
past I moved to Barcelona and I'm still
living in Barcelona however if we change
it to I lived in Barcelona for five
years that would imply a bet in the past
I moved to Barcelona but now I am living
somewhere else now this is just the tip
of the iceberg with this complicated
tense but we're gonna make a lot more
fun and easy for you with today's lesson
so we'll start out with a quiz to see
how much you already know about the
present perfect tense before moving into
the full lesson but first if you are new
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any of our new lessons so first which of
these clips contains the present perfect
well I am married you know I haven't
spoken to my wife since the wedding
you are confident and you're punctual
and you came up with this awesome plan
no we came up with this awesome plan
because I was sitting there but then you
left well it's not like I went to Spain
I went to the bathroom you knew I was
coming back what does this sentence
communicate in the present perfect a
completed action an action that started
in the past and continues up to the
present a repeated action in the past
now which of these present perfect
sentences is not about an action that
started in the past and continues up to
the present I've been in love with over
five years I've been in love with her
for 12 years and then these overalls for
an hour to half oh I wanted a car like
this since I was a kid you enjoy
Canadian bacon I've been to Toronto the
right answer is this here the present
perfect is used to talk about a past
experience get ready for this lesson
because we'll cover this and other
important details about the present
perfect and how it is different from the
past simple let's quickly review the
basics we formed the present perfect
with the have plus the past participle
so if we make a sentence with the verb
right we would say I have written him a
letter or she has written me a letter to
form the negative we simply add not we
have not been to London and to form a
question we bring has or have to the
beginning has she spoken to Michael have
you watched this movie the first use
we'll see is exactly the one I described
in the beginning of this lesson we use
the present perfect with since or for to
talk about a period of time which
continues up to the present I said I've
lived in Barcelona for five years but I
can also say since and add the specific
year I've lived in Barcelona since 2015
since and four are confused much too
often remember this with four we say a
certain amount and with since we say a
specific date for example I've been sick
for five days I've been sick since
Monday if you said the same thing in the
past simple it would be I was sick for
five days note that I was sick since
five days is completely incorrect in the
present perfect
this means that unfortunately you're
still sick the past simple
case that you're no longer sick let's
now watch some examples with the present
perfect tense using for and since we've
been on the road for six hours if you've
been asleep for five-and-a-half it's
very common to say something like since
I was a kid or since I was and then say
your age at the time
notice that this example is in the
present perfect continuous pleased to
meet you nice to meet you we are very
excited about the merger saber I think
you have a great accent one of the key
differences between the present perfect
and the past simple is that when we use
the present perfect we don't specify the
time of the action however when we use
the past simple we say when the action
finished and if we don't say it it's
because it's implied example I've been
to Mexico I went to Mexico last year we
use the present perfect to talk about
past experiences in our lives this is
why it is often a useful tense to start
up a conversation as you might ask
someone about an experience they've had
in the past have you ever been to France
and then to get more details and
specific information we switch to the
past simple when did you go there notice
how in this short dialogue I start the
conversation in the present perfect and
then we use the past simple as we go
from general to specific
hey Andrea have you watched the new
season of Westworld yes I have what did
you think of it I loved it hey would you
like to understand natives no matter how
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negative we use the present perfect for
unfinished actions and events often with
still or yet I still haven't finished my
essay I haven't finished my essay yet
watch the show you guys watch the show
that's like two right there
oh my god you guys still haven't seen my
show what colors you set - um dad we
haven't had lunch yet neither have the
kids in Africa stop yapping and get back
to work with the past simple the action
has already come to an end whether it's
in the affirmative
I finished my essay or negative I didn't
finish my essay remember the past simple
specifies when an action finished and if
it doesn't it's because it's understood
Oh what I just realized why I remember
this place really what is it oh it's
nothing I went on a date with a guy who
lived in this building it didn't end
very well that wouldn't by any chance be
Joey Tribbiani
yes of course it was we usually use a go
with the past simple serious Chandler we
ate an entire cheesecake two days ago
and you want more
well I forgotten what it tastes like
okay hey just a quick interruption if
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[Music]
these words are adverbs and when you use
the present perfect you're also going to
use these words they're essential for
connecting an action to the time in
which they took place already is used to
say that something has been done before
and does not need doing again example
you've already told me that or you could
say it in the past simple you already
told me that by the way in the u.s.
we're more likely to use the past simple
here while in the UK the present perfect
is more common we'll explore this more
in just a moment I think this is the
episode of Three's Company where there's
some kind of misunderstanding
9 o'clock be so sleepy I already had two
naps and three Red Bulls let's now see
some examples with ever and never
rabbits are adorable duck sir have you
ever been on a fight with a duck I mean
duck sir jerks when we met this guy in
the park who thought Ben was really cute
you know which he is he gave us his card
and told us to bring him down for this
commercial he's auditioning whoa this
guy's like the biggest commercial
casting director in town Ben takes one
lousy walk in the park and get some
addition I mean way to go then
a million times don't ever offered me an
audition I know it's crazy we were just
pushing men on the swings I'm always on
the swing okay um Mitchell
can I see over here yeah hang tight
sweetie look what's she doing out with
our face I don't know I've never seen
such a weird force smile how do I look
yeah we use the present perfect with
superlatives example this is the best
wine I've tried then you could say
something similar with the adverbs ever
before and never this is the best wine
I've ever tried or I've never tried to
wind this good before you could
emphasize a sentence like this with ever
this is the best one I've ever had
American and British English speakers
use the present perfect in very similar
ways Americans just use it a little bit
less often we use the present perfect in
both American and British English to
talk about a past action that's
considered relevant to the present for
example I've lost my keys now I can't
get into my house the use of the present
perfect that's common in British English
is to talk about a recent action example
I've just eaten in American English
however we tend to use the past simple I
just ate so while British English
speakers will say something like I've
just bought this in the u.s. most times
we will say no this is a calming mister
I just bought this
well British English speakers will say
she has just graduated we will say he's
looking for a job out here she just
graduated from Arizona State
I've watched you screw up this office
for ten years and I'm filing a lawsuit
and I'm gonna tell him about every
stupid thing you've ever done up in this
office ladies and gentlemen I've lived
with this woman for 20 years she's been
showing his houses outside of the city
look at these men they've managed to win
the top science prize in the world oh
yeah yeah he's done tons of commercials
how come math is easy for Sheldon and
hard for me I don't know honey
but you have your own gifts at what well
you have very pretty hair okay in either
of these two uses of the present simple
meaning can change completely if you
decide to use the present continuous
let's look at this sentence I work from