Past Simple or Present Perfect?

How to choose between the past simple and the present perfect

Uses of the past simple

Completed actions, states or habits in the past.

1. It is used for completed actions, states or habits in the past accompanied by a finished time reference such as 'yesterday', 'last week', 'at 2 o'clock' or 'in 2003'.

• I went to the cinema yesterday.
• We spent a lot of time in Japan in 2007.

2. It is used when general knowledge tells us that the period in question is over, including cases where the person referred to is no longer alive.

• Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.
• The Vikings invaded Britain.

3. It supplies the detail of an event first introduced by the present perfect or another tense. This use is often described as giving the details of news.

• I've hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder when I was painting my bedroom.
• I've been on holiday. I went to Spain and Portugal.

4. In narrative and in sequences of events, the past simple carries the actions of the story while the past continuous supplies the background.

• He went to a café. People were chatting and music was playing. He sat down and ordered a coffee.

Unreal or imaginary situations in the present or future.

5. The past simple also refers to what is unreal in the present or the future. It appears in the second conditional and after verbs such as 'wish'.

• If I won the lottery, I would buy a house.
• I wish I had more time!

Uses of the present perfect simple

Unfinished actions

1: This tense refers to unfinished actions, states or habits that began in the past and continue into the present. It normally answers the question 'how long' and requires 'since' or 'for'. Stative verbs are common in this pattern.

• I've known Astrid since 1994.
• She's lived in London for three years.
• I've worked here for six months.

'Since' and 'for'

2. 'Since' takes a fixed point in the past (2004, April 23rd, last year). That fixed point may itself be another action, expressed in the past simple: since I was at school, since I arrived.

• I've known Ravi since 1992.
• I've liked chocolate since I was a child.
• She's been here since 2pm.

3. 'For' takes a period of time (two hours, three years, six months).

• I've known Marina for ten years.
• I've been hungry for hours.
• She's had a cold for a week.

Completed actions

4. Life experience. These are actions or events that occurred at some point in a person's life. The time is left unstated, and the person must still be alive. 'Ever' and 'never' are frequent in this pattern.

• I have been to Tokyo.
• They have visited Paris three times.
• We have never seen that film.

5. With an unfinished time expression (this month, this week, today), where the period referred to has not yet ended.

• I haven't seen her this month.
• She's drunk three cups of coffee today.
• I've already moved house twice this year!

The present perfect cannot be used with a finished time expression.

• I've seen him yesterday.

6. A completed action with a result in the present, where the focus falls on that result. The event took place in the recent past but remains true or relevant now. The past simple is sometimes possible here, particularly in American English.

• I've lost my keys (so I can't get into my house).
• She's hurt her leg (so she can't play tennis today).
• They've missed the bus (so they will be late).

7. The present perfect also reports recent events even where no clear present result exists. This is the usual way of introducing news, commonly with 'just', 'yet', 'already' and 'recently'. The past simple is equally correct in such cases, particularly in American English.

• The Queen has given a speech.
• I've just seen Elena.
• The Mayor has announced a new plan for the railways.

'Been' and 'gone'

8. This tense admits both 'been' and 'gone' as the past participle of 'go', in slightly different circumstances. 'Been' indicates that the person visited the place and has since returned, and it is common in statements of life experience.

• I've been to Paris (in my life, but now I'm in London, where I live).
• She has been to school today (but now she's back at home).
• They have never been to California.

9. 'Gone' indicates that the person travelled to the place and is there now. It typically appears where the focus is on a present result.

• Where's Daniel? He's gone to the shops (he's at the shops now).
• Marina has gone to Mexico (now she's in Mexico).
• They've gone to Japan for three weeks (now they're in Japan).