Is it possible to say "I've told you that yesterday" if the meaning is "you should already know it", thus being directly related to the present? The moment in the past is not the important part, but rather the fact that I DID tell you and yet you don't know it.
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2it would be more natural to use the simple past– ToothrotCommented Aug 15, 2019 at 10:06
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As Toothrot says ‘I told you that yesterday’ is idiomatic. Also if emphasised or indignant, you might say ‘I already told you that yesterday!’– JelilaCommented Aug 15, 2019 at 15:14
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2 Answers
Present Perfect has strong connection with Present time. It is also called Before present. In the spotlight of Present perfect is not the time of action but it is result.
Yesterday indicates Past time. It shows an action as a fact not a result. Only Past tenses can be used in this case.
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Clearly some time references are valid in conjunction with the present perfect; e.g., "I have traveled to country X recently, so I'm not allowed to donate blood now." Is there a rule for distinguishing terms for "past time" that can be used with the present perfect from those that can't? Commented Jun 14, 2016 at 20:58
Semantically, if what you said yesterday has some kind of relevance to you in the present, then I suppose the Present Perfect would make sense, although it's grammatically incorrect as "yesterday" refers to a past time period.
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