Present perfect or simple past: how to choose
Vocalyra teaching team · Last updated:
Many languages use one past tense where English uses two. The choice depends less on when something happened and more on whether you connect it to now or place it at a finished time.
The core difference
Use the simple past for an action at a finished time that you name or that both speakers know: I visited Lisbon in 2024. Use the present perfect, have or has plus a past participle, when the time is unfinished or not important and the result matters now: I have visited Lisbon twice.
| Simple past | Present perfect |
|---|---|
| I lost my keys yesterday. | I have lost my keys. (I still can't find them.) |
| She worked here from 2019 to 2022. | She has worked here since 2019. (She still does.) |
| Did you see the match last night? | Have you ever seen a live match? |
| We finished the report on Monday. | We have already finished the report. |
Time words that decide for you
- Simple past: yesterday, last week, in 2020, two days ago, when I was a child.
- Present perfect: ever, never, already, yet, so far, recently, since, for (with an unfinished period).
- Either, depending on meaning: today, this week, this morning. This morning is finished at 3 p.m., so I drank coffee this morning; it is unfinished at 9 a.m., so I have drunk two coffees this morning.
Typical learner mistakes
- I have seen him yesterday. Correct: I saw him yesterday.
- I live here since 2020. Correct: I have lived here since 2020.
- Did you already eat? This is common in American English; Have you eaten yet? is the standard British choice and is safe in exams.
Spanish, Portuguese and French speakers often transfer a habit from their own language. Brazilian Portuguese uses the simple past in many cases where English needs the present perfect, and French uses the passé composé for both meanings.
How to practise
Write five sentences about your life using ever, never and since. Then add a finished time to each and change the tense: I have never been to Japan becomes I went to Japan in 2019 only if it is true. Saying both versions aloud trains the switch.
Quick self-check
Choose: I (lost / have lost) my phone two days ago.
Show answer
Lost. Two days ago is a finished time.
Correct: She has started the job last month.
Show answer
She started the job last month.
Complete: We ___ (know) each other for ten years.
Show answer
Have known.
Which question asks about life experience: Did you go to Canada? or Have you ever been to Canada?
Show answer
Have you ever been to Canada?