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A2 · ⑤ Present perfect
Present perfect vs past simple
The hardest choice in English — and the one mechanical rule that settles it.
55minthe whole
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51questions
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01 · First page · how to decide, sentence by sentence
The choice
1
Does the sentence say WHEN, with a finished time? (yesterday, last week, in 2019, ago, when I was a child)
sì → past simple — always, no exceptions
no → keep going down
2
Is the time period still open? (today, this week, this year, ever, never, so far)
sì → present perfect
no → keep going down
3
Are you asking or telling about experience, at no particular time? (Have you ever…, I've never…)
sì → present perfect
no → keep going down
4
Does the past action explain a situation that is true NOW? (I've lost my keys — so I can't get in)
sì → present perfect
no → keep going down
5
Did it start in the past and is it still going on? (for two years, since 2020)
sì → present perfect
no → past simple: it is a finished event
present perfect: The present perfect is made of have or has plus the past participle. Its name says what it is: it is a PRESENT tense that talks about the past. It is used when the past still touches now — because the period is not closed, or because the result is still here.
past participle: The past participle is the third form of the verb: go, went, GONE. For regular verbs it is identical to the past (worked, worked), which is why the difficulty is concentrated in the irregulars — and why the third column of the list is the one worth learning.
finished time: A finished time is a moment that is over and cannot receive anything else: yesterday, last month, in 2019, two hours ago. This is the single most useful idea in the whole lesson: a finished time forbids the present perfect. There is no exception to learn later.
- I have been to Rome three times.
- I went to Rome in 2019.
- She has lost her keys.
- She lost her keys yesterday.
- We have lived here since 2020.
| Which tense, and why | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time expression | Tense | Why |
| yesterday, last week, in 2019, ago | past simple | the period is closed |
| when I was a child, then | past simple | the period is closed |
| today, this week, this month | present perfect | the period is still open |
| ever, never, so far, up to now | present perfect | no particular time, whole life |
| just, already, yet | present perfect | the result matters now |
| for two years, since 2020 | present perfect | it started then and still goes on |
Golden rule
Look for the time first, the meaning second. If the sentence contains a finished time, the present perfect is simply forbidden — no matter how recent, how relevant or how finished the action feels. I have seen him yesterday is wrong not because of the meaning but because yesterday is closed. Take away yesterday and the same sentence becomes right.
The question Have you ever…? opens a conversation, and the answer that follows usually closes it. So the tenses change halfway: Have you been to London? — Yes, I went there in 2018. The first sentence has no time, the second has one. This alternation is not an inconsistency: it is the normal shape of an English conversation.
02 · Second page · what each tense is for
The uses
Experience
Something that happened at some point in your life. When does not matter, and is not said.
I have been to Japan.Have you ever eaten sushi?She has never flown.
Result now
The action is past but its consequence is present. You can add so… to the sentence.
I've lost my keys.He's broken his leg.They've gone home.
Still going on
It started in the past and has not stopped. With for and since.
I've worked here for six years.We've known each other since school.
Open period
Inside a time box that is not closed yet: today, this week, this year.
I've drunk three coffees today.She's called twice this morning.
A closed moment
The past simple takes over the moment the time is named and over.
I saw him yesterday.We moved here in 2020.She called an hour ago.
A story
Events one after another are always past simple, even if recent.
I got up, had breakfast and left.
A finished life
If the person or period is over, the experience is closed too.
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays.not: Shakespeare has written…
When did…?
A question with when always takes the past simple: when asks for a closed moment.
When did you arrive?not: When have you arrived?
for and since · been and gone
Many languages use one word for both, so these two are worth separating once and for all. for takes a LENGTH of time: for two years, for ten minutes, for a long time. since takes a STARTING POINT: since 2020, since Monday, since I was a child. If you can answer how long, use for; if you can answer starting when, use since. And two participles of go that mean different things: he has gone to Paris means he is there now, he has been to Paris means he went and came back.
🌍 For everyone
Polish od and Italian da both cover for and since at once, so the choice looks arbitrary. It is not: for takes a length of time, since takes a starting point.
da due anni / od dwóch lat → for two years
Two more things worth knowing now. The negative and the question use have or has, never do: Have you finished? I haven't finished — not Do you have finished. And been is the participle of both be and go, which is why I have been to Rome uses to, not in.
I have seen him yesterday. → I saw him yesterday.
yesterday is a finished time: it forbids the present perfect. The aspect trap.
When have you arrived? → When did you arrive?
when asks for a closed moment, so the answer and the question are past simple.
I live here since 2020. → I have lived here since 2020.
Started then and still true now: the present perfect, not the present.
I have worked here since two years. → I have worked here for two years.
for takes a length of time; since takes a starting point.
Do you have finished? → Have you finished?
have is already the auxiliary here: do has no place.
He has went home. → He has gone home.
The present perfect takes the third form, not the past: go, went, gone.
She has been to Paris, she is there now. → She has gone to Paris, she is there now.
been means went and came back; gone means still away.
- — Have you seen this film? — Yes, I saw it last year.
- I've known her since university.
- He has just arrived, so he is still in his coat.
- We didn't finish the work last night.
03 · Third page · now it's your turn
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