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PRESENT PERFECT / PAST SIMPLE
:
(I have finished) (I
finished)
When do we use them? |
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PRESENT PERFECT
The Present Perfect is used to link the present and the past.
- The Present Perfect is used to talk
about an action
which started in the past and continues today.
For and since are used to express duration.
> I have lived here for 10 years. I
have lived here since 1993.
(I arrived here 10 years ago and I am
still here.)
- The Present Perfect is used to refer
to past events in an unfinished period of time :
> I have written two letters today.
(Two letters are written but today is
not finished.)
- The Present Perfect is used to talk
about recent events that have just happened or been announced :
>There has been a plane crash near the coast.
(We know the event took place but we
don't know when.)
- The Present Perfect is used to talk
about a past action with a result in the present :
>I've broken my arm. I can't drive. (=
because my arm is broken now)
- The Present Perfect is used to talk and
ask about experiences or
accomplishments
up to the time of speaking, but at no specific time.
" I'm a writer. I've written 9
books."
" Have you ever written a
biography?" "No never."
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PAST SIMPLE
The Past Simple is used to talk about past events which happened
in a finished period of time.
- The Past Simple is used when the
period of time is finished :
> I wrote two letters yesterday. (Yesterday is
finished.)
- The Past Simple is used when the time
is mentioned, either a precise time
in the past, or a time expression which clearly situates the
event in the past:
> I lived in the country
... until the age of 6
... when I was young
... from 1975 to 1982
... before we moved to London
... a long time ago
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NB : As a
general rule, if you can answer the question "when?", use the Past Simple |