What you'll learn
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to choose between the present perfect and the past simple by asking one key question: is the time specified or not?
When do I use it?
Use the present perfect when the time is not mentioned or not important. The result or the experience matters now. Use the past simple when you mention a specific or finished time, like yesterday, last year, or in 2010. The rule is simple: no specific time = present perfect, specific time = past simple.
- I have visited Paris. (Sometime in my life, no time)
- I visited Paris in 2019. (Specific time, past simple)
How do I form it?
- Present perfect: have/has + past participle. She has eaten.
- Past simple: verb + -ed (regular) or an irregular form. She ate.
- I have seen that movie. (Unspecified: I do not say when)
- I saw that movie last week. (Specific: a finished time)
Signals that go with the present perfect: ever, never, already, yet, just, for, since. Signals that go with the past simple: yesterday, last week, ago, in 2021, this morning (finished).
Common mistakes for Spanish speakers
Spanish and English do not split the past in the same way. Spanish speakers often translate "He comido" ("I have eaten") and then add a finished time: "I have eaten yesterday". In English, yesterday is a finished time, so you need "I ate yesterday". The reverse is also a trap: Spanish uses the pretérito perfecto freely for things that happened "hoy" but are now finished, so learners write "I have read the book this morning" instead of "I read the book this morning". Ask yourself: is the time finished and clearly stated? If yes, use the past simple.
If you can add a finished time expression, use the past simple; if not, use the present perfect. The word "yesterday" in a sentence is the signal to switch to past simple.
Practice
Multiple Choice
A2Choose the correct sentence for the idea 'I visited Spain last summer'.
Multiple Choice
A2Choose the correct sentence for telling someone about a life experience with no time mentioned.
Fill in the Blank
A2We have lived in this house 2015.
Hint: Use 'since' with a starting point in the past that continues until now.
Find the Error
A2Practice Speaking
Apply what you've learned in a real conversation with AI feedback.
Level: A2