Hi, in today’s lesson you will learn the difference between the past simple and the present perfect.
So the difference between, "The cat slept..." and "The cat has slept...
Or I was and I have been.
I will tell you when to use them and give you lots of example sentences.
I also have lessons on each tense in more detail
and have left the link in the comments section for you to look at afterwards
if you want to learn more.
Keep watching until the end as there is a short quiz to see how much you have learned.
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So let’s get started.
So let’s quickly recap the structure:
OK, the past simple, for regular verbs, we simply add -ed to the base verb.
For example: I worked, walked or played.
English has lots of irregular verbs, like went, was, and saw.
This is the second column of your irregular verb lists.
As you know, you simply have to learn these.
The present perfect is made with the present tense of the verb to have and the past participle.
For regular verbs we have: has or have worked, walked or played.
For irregular verbs in the present perfect, we use the past participle,
which is the third column of your irregular verb table.
Here, such as I have or has gone, been, or seen.
Ok, so now when do we use them?
So the first major difference in their use is whether you are talking about finished or unfinished time.
What does that mean?
Let’s look at 2 sentences to understand what it means.
It hasn’t rained this week. This is the present perfect and is used for unfinished time.
It is still this week. The week is not over and it might still rain.
Maybe it is Wednesday and it could still rain on Thursday or Friday.
The week we are speaking about has not finished
and therefore it is unfinished time and we use the present perfect.
Whereas in the second sentence, It didn’t rain last week.
This is the past simple and refers to finished time.
Last week is over and it didn’t rain.
So for finished time we use the past simple.
Let’s look at another 2 sentences.
Sarah lives in Oxford. She has lived there for 5 years.
Here we have the present perfect and this is used for unfinished time.
Therefore Sarah is still living in Oxford.
Whereas, Sarah lived in London for 10 years. Now she lives in Ireland.
In the second sentence we have the past simple and therefore we are referring to finished time.
and therefore Sarah no longer lives in London.
The present perfect is used for a period of time that continues UNTIL NOW,
for example: today, this week, since 2021.
Whereas the past simple is used for a finished time in the past.
For example: yesterday, 3 weeks ago, last month, in 2022.
The present perfect is used to refer to an unfinished action.
Let’s compare 2 sentences:
I haven’t finished my homework yet.
This sentence is in the present perfect.
And I finished my homework an hour ago.
This sentence is in the past simple.
So, let’s look at these 2 sentences on a timeline.
I haven’t finished my homework yet.
Means that you started your homework at a time in the past
and it is not finished yet (yet means ‘up to now’).
Whereas, I finished my homework an hour ago.
This sentence is in the past simple.
This is referring to a definite time in the past
and the action is completed or finished.
We also use the present perfect to talk about life experiences because it is unfinished time.
Your life is unfinished. You're still alive.
We often use the present perfect to start a conversation about our experiences,
and If we want to ask about or give more details, we use the past simple.
So you say. I have visited 4 countries in Europe.
You haven’t finished, you might visit more.
But if you talk about a specific trip in the past you say. I visited Spain last year.
This is finished time. Last year, so you use the past simple.
Have you ever eaten a kangaroo? In your life? Unfinished remember. So we use the present perfect.
No I haven’t. I might eat one in the future.
But if you say, I ate a snail once at Xmas, staying with my French friends in Paris.
Here this is referring to a finished action.
The action is in the past and finished and so you use the past simple.
So remember, we use the present perfect with ever and never for life experiences.
Let’s look at two more sentences.
Vega is looking for her phone.
She can’t find it.
She has lost her phone.
She can’t call her boyfriend.
This means that she doesn’t have her phone NOW.
The present perfect is a PRESENT tense.
It always tells us about the situation now.
Whereas, in the second sentence, Vega lost her phone yesterday.
She couldn’t call her boyfriend.
Here we use the past simple.
The past simple tells us only about the past.
This doesn’t tell us whether she has her phone now or not.
It tells us only that she lost her phone yesterday,
this is finished time so we use the past simple.
We use the present perfect to talk about new or recent events.
I’ve repaired my car. It’s working now.
Notice, we have contracted the I have to I’ve.
In spoken English, we contract all the time.
Top tip. Contract, you will sound more authentic.
So this is a recent event.
It has an impact on your present. It is working now.
Or,
Have you heard the news? Jill has had a baby boy.
She has recently had the baby so we use the present perfect.
Whereas we use the past simple for things that are not new or recent.
Shakespeare was a writer. He wrote over 30 plays.
This is old news so we use the past simple.
Or
My father grew up in Cornwall.
Again, an event that is finished and in the past so we use the past simple.
So, we can see we use the present perfect to give new information.
But if we continue to talk about it, we normally move to the past simple.
For example:
Oh, I’ve twisted my ankle.
So there we have the present perfect: I have twisted...
And then the follow up is,
How did you do that? Past simple.
I fell on a rock. Past simple.
Or
Look, somebody has dropped something on the floor.
Present perfect.
Well, it wasn’t me. I didn’t do it. Past simple.
In British English, we use the present perfect to talk about an action or situation in the past
when we don't know the exact time or it isn't important.
I've invited Neil and Sue for dinner.
Whereas, we use the past simple to talk about a specific time in the past.
I phoned my brother yesterday.
OK, so now it’s your turn.
It's September.
Which sentence is correct and why?
I moved house in August, or
I have moved house in August.
a. The first sentence is correct.
I moved house in August.
This is finished time, August is over, it’s now September and a finished action.
The move has finished in the past so we use the past simple.
2. a. England have won the World Cup in 1966.
Or, b. England won the World Cup in 1966.
England won the World Cup in 1966.
Again 1966 is long time ago and the World Cup is over so we use the past simple.
3. I never went for a job interview
Or
I’ve never been for a job interview.
The second one as we use the present perfect with never.
4. Who has eaten all my biscuits?
Or
Who ate all my biscuits?
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