Questions tagged [present-perfect-vs-simple-past]
Questions about Present Perfect vs. Simple Past
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I have gone shopping or I went shopping
It says that we use present perfect for actions in the past that have a result now. No matter how much I try to figure out this, sometimes it is pretty hard.
I have also read the followings as well, ...
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past simple vs present perfect for dead people
Which tense to use when mentioning someone who is dead, but the institution or country that he founded still exists, as in the sentences below:
Atatürk has founded Turkey.
Atatürk founded ...
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1
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Present Simple instead of Present Perfect in colloquial speech
I was recently watching " The Last of Us" series and was pretty perplexed when Ellie asked Joel "You ever play this one?" pointing to the old Mortal Combat arcade. It was so ...
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Can the present perfect construction be used with the adverb "earlier"?
I would like to know if the present perfect construction can be used in the two following sentences that employ the adverb earlier:
As I have said earlier, I don't like her at all.
I have been to ...
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It's About Time you Knew or It's about time you know [duplicate]
Would like to know which version is proper:
It's about time you know
It's about time you knew
Some examples:
It's about time you know about a cancer diagnosis
It's about time you knew about a ...
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I have forgotten / I forgot something [duplicate]
If I say, for example :
I have forgotten (or I forgot) my phone at your place. Can you bring it to me tomorrow ?
Which one is correct? What is the best way to say it?
For me it's "I have ...
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"has been" or "was" in a specific case [duplicate]
I published a software on the internet in 2021. So far,
20000 people have downloaded it and tried once then given up (Category A)
10000 people have downloaded it and used more than one time in a ...
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Why is past simple being used in these sentences instead of past perfect? [duplicate]
I'm doing an Anki Deck that consists of "Advanced English Grammar" and I don't understand why in examples below I can't use the form I'm suggesting, but instead have to use the form that is ...
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Question about present perfect and past simple
I have a question concerning the present perfect and the simple simple.
Talking about the story of a family, which of the following statements is correct:
My aunt has found a new job in Melbourne so ...
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“Have you heard?” vs “Did you hear?” and “Sally broke/has broken her leg”
Earlier today I had a private lesson with an Italian student—intermediate level, who has been studying the present perfect vs. past simple tense. His teacher had given him an exercise where a list of ...
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Can leveraging only tense convey that some action is no longer relevant?
There are two sentences I myself come up with:
I haven't checked my inbox for the last few days.
I didn't check my inbox for the last few days.
Is #2 grammatically correct and idiomatic? Does #2 ...
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When is the present perfect tense used instead of the past tense?
When is the present perfect tense used instead of the past tense?
I know that the present perfect tense is used when some adverbs (e.g., never, ever) are present in the sentence; the same is true ...
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Can we use present perfect tense with past time expressions?
Can we use the present perfect tense with past time expressions if we are not telling stories or talking about the past, but if it is important to let know that an action happened at the exact time in ...
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What's the difference between “(Had he not made / If he didn't make) a good impression, he wouldn't be a star today”?
How should I complete this sentence? (Only with the options given)
He wouldn't be the star he is today ________ a good impression in his early life
A. Had he not made
B. If he didn't make
So, B is ...
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If she beats him he'll claim she <cheated/has cheated>
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by H&P (Page 126) has this example of non-deictic past:
If she beats him he'll claim she cheated.
CaGEL explains this sentence as follows:
The time ...
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What is the difference between "Look who has decided to show up" and "Look who decided to show up"? [duplicate]
I always get confused between deciding whether to use present perfect or past simple with expressions like these. So how can I use them correctly?
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How to say that something happened in the past while emphasizing that it is not finished yet?
Let's say that we are in a 2-round tech-competition for which we have already entered the selected list of the first round and waiting to see the results for the 2nd round. Here I want to put the ...
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How is the present perfect “connected” with the present?
Practical English Usage and the Cambridge Grammar of English say
that the present perfect “is connected in some way with the present.”
Neither book explains this, and this is why I’m asking for you ...
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Present perfect or simple past with "for the last twenty minutes"?
My teacher give me a question
You know she (stand)______ looking at that picture for the last twenty minutes.
and my job is complete this sentence with any verb tense provided it makes sense.
My ...
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Why is the present perfect used in headlines? [duplicate]
In news reports, we often read or hear events introduced with the present perfect, and then the past simple like this:
The film star Jim Cooper has died of cancer. He was 68 and lived in Texas.
...
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present perfect, past simple, present perfect continues
I cannot understand these.
1st
We didn't win our first four games, but now we are second in the league. (o)
We haven't win our first four games, but now we are second in the league. (x)
2nd
For ...
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What's the difference between simple past and present prefect? I quite have a doubt with the below statements. Do they convey the same meaning?
Do these two convey the same meaning? And if not, what's the difference?
Judy had visited Thailand in 2014
Judy visited Thailand in 2014
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"I have never said" versus "I never said"
I have never said this.
I never said this.
Is the usage of have in the first sentence justified or grammatically correct?
What is the difference in meaning?
When should I use one form over the ...
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Must present perfect tense be used if the action takes place more than once?
I was told that if an action is completed once in the past, the simple past is used.
Ex: I saw that movie.
If the action is completed more than once, the present perfect tense must be used.
Ex: I ...
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What is the correct way to ask about something that happened some time ago?
When I took one test I had to choose between four options:
a) Did you hear that he has been assigned to a new project last week?
b) Have you heard that he has been assigned to a new project last week?
...
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Present perfect - indefinite time
I’ve a question about the use of present perfect.
I know the present perfect can be used when we want to say that something happened but we don’t know or we don’t care when.
For example:
I’ve made ...
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Present Perfect and Past Simple together
I just wonder if i have a possibility to mix these tenses in this way. For example, i say about things happened in the past. Can i use present perfect to show result of this sentences in present? I ...
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Is it correct to say "I've been to the World Trade Center"?
I've heard that you can't use the present perfect to talk about something which is not possible anymore. In this case, since the World Trade Center no longer exists and you can't visit there anymore, ...
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What's the difference between has entered and entered?
My uncle has entered many sailing boat races.
-In the past but I don't say when.
My uncle entered a sailing boat race in 2014 and won.
-In the past but I say when.
What's the difference between has ...
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Past perfect instead of past simple in fiction
I read web fiction a lot and sometimes I notice sentences that, while being written in past perfect tense, might have been written in past simple tense as well.
For example:
He’d broken his ...
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How do the tenses and aspects in English correspond temporally to one another?
Non-native speakers often get confused about what the various tenses
and aspects mean in English. With input from some of the folk here I've
put together a diagram that I hope will pro...
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Which is correct: "has died" or "died"?
To me, using Present Perfect form means the event can occur again. So, saying
someone has died
may not be grammatically correct.
Also, I noticed (it might be just coincidence):
passed away
...
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Past and when should i use what? [duplicate]
English grammar has been confusing me for a long time, so I want to ask some questions about the past and how you use it. I'm more interested in information about British English.
When and how do you ...
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I've just bought vs. I just bought vs. I bought [duplicate]
I bought an English grammar book 3 weeks ago. Is it correct to use any of the following sentences interchangeably to tell my friend that I bought the book, or is there a difference in meaning between ...
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Is "I just spent all my money" grammatically incorrect? [duplicate]
Lyircs of Free by Natalia Kills:
I'm free
I just spent all my money
but I rocked that like it don't cost a thing
Shouldn't it be "I've just spent all my money"? As far as I remember, ...
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"I’ve just arrived" vs. "I just arrived": Are they both correct? Do they mean the same thing? [duplicate]
My grammar book suggests that when using words like just, that you should “always” use present perfect. So the correct form should be I've just arrived according to my book.
Is this true?
I ask ...
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'have been' vs. 'went' with time words
Sometimes I see the following in ESL learners' writing:
I have been to America two years ago.
Am I correct in saying that it should be:
I have been to America.
I went to America two years ago.
My ...
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Simple Past vs. Present Perfect for recently completed actions [duplicate]
In the following dialogue:
A: Look! I have bought a new hat.
B: Nice! Where did you buy it?
or
C. Nice! Where have you bought it?
Which is correct, b or c? Or both?
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What's the difference between "you wasted" and "you've wasted" [duplicate]
I've got a question about this topic. So, about the context. I've just watched a video and in the end, the author said thank you as follows:
Thank you for all the time you wasted on this video.
I ...
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Double present perfect in a compound sentence [closed]
I have two questions concerning the use of the present perfect tense twice in a compound sentence:
a. He has accused John of the crime and provided evidence for it.
b. He has accused John of ...
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Might be OR Might have been [closed]
The sentence:
Had the doctor been more careful, my cousin might still have been alive.
In this construction, the two fragments of the sentence are more parallel with their use of been. Had he ...
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Present Perfect with the word "ago"?
First, I check that my native language is not English, and the problem described below met on one of the exams.
With this sentence:
"The most important news is that my parents [...] a new ...
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“Have you seen...” or “Did you see...?”
In the US, when people work together, they may look for a colleague or any person to say something or for any other reason, asking colleagues or other people this type of question:
Have you ...
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Simple past of present perfect?
I wonder which one is correct:
David has made a decision to quit his job in spite of good salary.
David made a decision to quit his job in spite of good salary.
I think that 1 is correct, ...
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English confuses me sometimes [duplicate]
I posted something online and someone said it was wrong so...
I said : I just changed my phone number.
That person said that i should have said : I have just changed my phone number.
Which one was ...
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When will "Present Perfect vs. Past Tense" cases be affected by culture?
Regarding actions taken in the past, besides the differences those two tenses have semantically, my teacher shared that it could be a British vs American English case.
When talking about past action,...
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"Have helped" or "helped"? [duplicate]
you have helped me (Present Perfect)
you helped me (Past Simple)
Which one is correct and why?
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Should the sentence be in the present perfect or simple past with "last week"? [closed]
When I was studying English Grammar, I was asked to spot the error
I've submitted my documents last week.
Vs.
I submitted my documents last week.
What is wrong/the difference between both ...
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"I bought (or) have bought all their records after the concert" [duplicate]
I have bought all their records after the concert.
I bought all their records after the concert.
Which one is correct?
I understand when we use the present perfect and when the past simple, I just ...
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What’s the difference: "I didn’t do anything" vs "I haven’t done anything"
Imagine the following scenario:
I looked at a girl and gave her a smile. My friend next to me has put a serious look on his face and is staring at me. I turn to my friend and figured that I'd say one ...
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