Present perfect or past simple?

Side-by-side comparison chart contrasting the use of Present Perfect and Past Simple tenses, with explanations and examples for each, suitable for A2 pre-intermediate English grammar learners.

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Past events or experiences

Present perfect: it’s not important when something happened

We use the present perfect to talk about recent events or about people’s experiences when the time when these events happened is not important and we don’t mention it.

Past simple: we say or ask when something happened

We use past simple to talk about completed actions in the past. We often say or ask when these actions happened.

In conversation

We often start a conversation about recent events or people’s experiences using the present perfect, but if we continue talking or asking about the details of that event, we use the past simple.

Duration with how long, for and since

We use the present perfect with how longfor, since to talk about actions or situations that started in the past and still continue or are still true now.

We use the past simple with how longfor, since to talk about actions or situations that started and finished in the past. Compare: