PRESENT PERFECT

TENSE VS. SIMPLE

PAST TENSE

LIC. PSIC. ALMA GISSIA LOPEZ QUIROZ

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GRAMMAR

The Simple Past VS The Present Perfect

What's the difference between the simple past and the

present perfect?

The present perfect is used for actions that began in the past and have present

consequences. The simple past tense, however, indicates that an action is

completed at a specific time in the past.

Simple past vs present perfect

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Simple past used... Present Perfect is used...

1. To talk about finished actions in the

past with exact or specific details:

Examples:

Ernest Hemingway wrote The

Old Man and the Sea.

Newton died in 1727.

1. To focus on the result of a past

action without mentioning the

actual time when it happened:

Examples:

I have met him before.

I have called her a few times.

2. To talk about past habitual actions

I worked out every day for a

year.

I drove to work every day

when I worked with that

company.

2. To talk about an action

performed in a period that has not

finished yet:

Examples:

Have you met her this

morning? (The morning is not

over yet)

I have been to Paris three

times this year. (This year has

not finished yet.)

3. To talk about events that were true for

some time in the past

He lived in Paris for 20 years.

They talked on the phone for

ten minutes.

3. To show an action that started in the

past and is still taking place till now. This

is often used with

Since to indicate the

beginning of the action.

For to indicate the duration of

a certain action:

Examples:

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I have taught in Spain for three

years (I am still a teacher in

Spain.)

I have lived in this city for five

years. (I still live here.) .

Time expressions used in simple past tense and present

perfect

Simple Past Present Perfect

yesterday

last week

last Year

three minutes/hours ago

in January

in 1994

when I was...

at Christmas

yet

ever

just

recently

lately

already

so far

until now

How to form the simple past

The simple past is formed by adding ed to regular verbs.

VERB + ED

Examples:

I visited

I watched

I played

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Irregular verbs don't follow the above rule. No rule shows how to form the irregular

form of the simple past, we just have to learn these verbs and their past forms by

heart.

Bare Infinitive Simple Past

be was/were

come came

go went

drive drove

speak spoke

write wrote

Here is a list of irregular verbs

How to form the present perfect

To form the present perfect, we use the verb have in the simple present form and

we add the past participle form of the main verb.

HAVE/HAS + PAST PARTICIPLE

Examples;

1. I have visited Paris twice this year.

2. Have you finished the report yet?

3. She has met him this morning.

Things to remember

The simple past is used to talk about events that finished before

now. The time of the event is specified and the details are known.

Example:

Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.

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The present perfect is generally indicates an action that started in

the past and continued till the present or has some results in the

present.

Example:

I have studied linguistics for two years.

The simple past of regular verbs is formed by adding "ed" to the

base form of the verb.

Examples: visit → visited

The simple past of irregular verbs doesn't follow any rule. We have

to learn them by heart.

go → went

write → wrote

The present perfect is formed by adding the past participle of the

main verb to the auxiliary have/has.

Examples:

I have studied.

I have written.

REFERNCE:

https://www.myenglishpages.com/english/grammar-lesson-simple-past-vs-present-

perfect.php