present-perfect-vs-past-simple

1. • Past simple:
• These changes go with:
• He They
• She We
• It You
• I
Irregular verbs
Regular verbs
Eat– ate
Run– ran
Drink– drank
Am/is/are– was/ were
Walk– walked
Watch– watched
Study– studied
Use-- used

2. • Present Perfect Simple:
• He Has + v. pp? (Question)
• She has + v.pp (Affirmative)
• It hasn’t + v.pp (Negative)
• They Have + v.pp? (Question)
• We have + v.pp (Affirmative)
• You haven’t + v.pp (Negative)
• I

4. Present Perfect
 Unmentioned/ non specific time.
Ex. They have gone to the zoo.
(we don’t know when)
Past Simple
 Mentioned/ specific time.
Ex. They went to the zoo yesterday.
(we know when)

5. Present Perfect
 Action started in the past and continuing till present.
Ex. Teddy has lost his key.
(he hasn’t found it yet)
Past Simple
 Action started and finished in the past.
Ex. Teddy lost his key
(he has already found it)

6. Present Perfect
 With the following time expressions:
ever, never, already, just, yet....
Ex. I have never seen a crocodile.
Past Simple
 With the following time expressions:
last… , ago, yesterday, In 2010, in 1999, in 2019
Ex. The students watched a video in class yesterdaY.

8. finished
finish
has finished
He … his homework.
have finished
PRESENT PERFECT –
no time reference
(the result is more
important)

9. gone
go
went
We … to a concert last
week.
have gone
PAST SIMPLE –
signal word “last … ”
(it tells us when it
happened)

10. has seen
have seen
saw
I … Linda at the
cinema yesterday.
seen
PAST SIMPLE –
signal word
“yesterday” (it tells
us when it happened)

11. has … eat
has … eats
has … eaten
She … already …
breakfast.
has … ate
PRESENT PERFECT –
signal word “already”
(for a recently
finished action)

12. has leave
has left
left
Bob … five minutes
ago.
leave
PAST SIMPLE –
signal word “…ago” (it
is a finished past
action)

13. Did / arrived
Did / arrive
Have / arrived
… Mike and Sam… from
school yet?
Has / arrived
PRESENT PERFECT –
signal word “yet” (we
expect something to
happen soon)

14. were
have was
have been
I … on holidays since
Friday .
was
PRESENT PERFECT –
signal word “since”
(for an unfinished
past action)

15. have … spoken
speak
has … spoken
My teacher … just …
with my parents.
spoke
PRESENT PERFECT –
signal word “just” (for
a recent event)

16. has … bought
have … bought
did … buy
When … she … a new
car?
did … bought
PAST SIMPLE–
we want to know when
something happened

17. Has … had
Did … have
Have … had
… you ever … a car
accident?
Did … had
PRESENT PERFECT
– signal word “ever”
(for past
experiences)

18. have met
have meet
met
I … my wife in 2010.
meet
PAST SIMPLE –
signal word “in 2010”
(for a finished past
action)

19.  To talk about completed actions in the past.
 To talk about something that was happening over a period of
time in the past.
 To talk about repeated actions in the past.
 To talk about an action in the past that has an effect on the
present.
 To talk about something that happened before another event
in the past.