When to use Present Perfect or Past Simple? This is one of the commonest questions among students of English. The difficulty of this issue is that there are not always explicit indicators that tell us which to use. Moreover, the fact that in Spanish there is a tense form that is similar to Present Perfect (Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto) but with a quite different use, only complicates things. I explained all this in class, but as usual, I'll leave you a summary of the contrast of both tenses here.
There are two major criteria for deciding whether to use the Present Perfect and the Past Simple:
(1) The type of period of time:
a) When the period involves the present moment, we use the Present Perfect:
- a definite time period:
I have lived in Liverpool since 2006.
Therefore, the Present Perfect is used in questions with how long? which make reference to a period that begins in the past and continues to the present: How long have you had your car?
- an indefinite time period:
I've seen this film before/recently.
I have already done my homework.
- a period of time not expressed:
Have you been to Paris?
If the answer to this question is affirmative and you give details, then it must be expressed in the Past Simple:
Yes, I have. I went there when I was a student.
b) When there is no link with the present moment, we use the Past Simple. This can be indicated by:
- Expressions that refer to time points clearly disconnected from the present:
I went to New York last year.
They got married two months ago.
She lost her wallet yesterday.
So, we use Past Simple in questions with when? which make reference to specific time in the past: When did you buy your car? I bought it last month.
- Expressions that refer to a period of time that does not involve the present:
I lived in Liverpool for five years and then I moved to Cambridge.
As you can see, what is usually said of the Present Perfect -that it is always used with since/for, is not completely correct. Nor is it correct that questions with how long? always contain a Present Perfect, because if it is a finished time we use Past Simple instead:
How long did you live in Paris? I lived there for five years (= you don't live in Paris now)
How long have you lived in Paris? I've lived here for five years (=you live in Paris still)
(2) The link that a situation has with the present:
a) When a situation has a link with the present moment, we use Present Perfect. Typically, this connection will provide the actual results of an action that was carried out in the past:
I have lost my keys (= I don't have them now)
Peter has written two books (= the books exist now)
It is not necessary that the action has happened shortly before the present moment. What matters is that the speaker believes that the results or effects are still relevant in the present.
I have read that book (= reading the book may have happened long ago, but the memory of its reading is still present).
b) When a situation has no connection whatsoever with the present moment, we use the Past Simple. It is not necessary to use a time expression:
My parents got married in Seville.
The lack of link with the present is evident when we refer to a person who has died:
Shakespeare wrote 'Romeo and Juliet'.
Want practice?
Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3
