S01 - E03- The past simple vs the present perfect

In today's episode, I look at the difference between these two commonly confused tenses. At the end, there will be questions and detailed explanations of the correct answers

SO1: E03 the Past simple vs the Present Perfect tense  

Full intermediate level ESL podcast transcript

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Intro

Hi guys, and welcome again to the Love to Learn English podcast. My name is Rich. In today's episode, I will be looking at two commonly confused tenses, the past simple and the present perfect. At the end, I will have some questions for you and I will also explain why the answers are the right answers. That way you can learn and master the difference between these two tenses.

PAST SIMPLE OR PRESENT PERFECT?

The past simple is used for completed actions at a specific time in the past.

Signal words - yesterday / last month / then / before / when

The present perfect is used for:

1. An action in the past but with a connection to the present 

   I have just broken the TV

2. An action that started in the past but continues until now 

   I have studied French for the last three years

3. When it happened in the past at a non-specific time

   I have been to France

Signal words - For / since / just / yet / already  / so far / up to now/ recently 

Okay, so first, let me define these two tenses and explain how they work. First, we'll begin with the past simple. So the past simple is used for actions that took place in the past, mostly connected with an expression of time. In other words, with a signal word that tells you when the event took place. 

Actually, when is a great signal word for the past simple. So for example, when I was a child.  Other signal words include last week, last year, last month, one week ago, one year ago, in 1990, in October, in November, yesterday. So I think you get the idea.

Generally, we use this tense for actions in the past with a time reference that have no connection to the present to make this tense for regular verbs, we will just add an ED to the infinitive. So to walk becomes... yesterday I walked. Of course, there are many irregular verbs for this tense, as all tenses in English. And you need to make sure that you study them if you have not studied them already. 

Let's move on to the present perfect tense and explain why we use this tense. So to begin with, we use this tense when an action has happened or has finished in the past, but has a connection to the present. So, for example, I have been to France recently... that word recently gives us a connection to the presence. We do, of course, use the present perfect tense for a couple of other reasons.

One reason we use this tense is for events that have started in the past and that are still occurring. An example of this would be we have driven for hours and we still aren't there yet. 

We also use it for events that happened repeatedly in the past. For example, Jeffrey has called three times today.

We use it for events that have recently finished. Jeff has just arrived and for events that have changed over time. Tim has earned more money this winter.

Finally, we also use this tense for actions that have occurred at an unknown time in the past. This is an important point because often in the textbooks, you will find explanations that explain this tense in terms of a connection to the present.

But let's look at this example. I have been to Spain. It's not clear here for students, often, what the connection to the present is here.

So instead of looking for a connection to the present, just realize that there is no connection to the past. No time reference. So we use the present perfect tense for events that have happened in the past at an unspecified or unknown time.

With this tense, it is very important that you remember to correctly conjugate the verb or change the verb for the correct subject. For example, he, she, it has, and for all other subjects... I have, you have, they have, we have, and so on. 

There are many signal words associated with this particular tense including just, yet, never, ever, already, so far, up to now, since, for, and of course recently. 

Another great tip for understanding the difference between these two tenses is to realize that if we have two events in the past, we are going to use the past simple. Why? Because one action will be completed before the next action. For example, when I was a child, I ate sweets or candy if you're American. When I finished university, I was very happy. Just to give you some examples here, another word you might see commonly used in this way is before. I finished my homework before I drank some coffee.

So in this final section. We are going to have some questions and answers that hopefully will help you to understand the difference between these two tenses more. 

After each question, I will also give you an explanation as to why it is the correct answer.

So this will hopefully help you to really understand these differences on quite a deep level.

So let's begin with our first question. I will first give you the verb. I'm also going to give you some context here because this first question is an interesting one. So the verb is to see. 

I (To see) ______________ your mother this morning.

Now the context here is that it's still morning. Now because it is still morning the correct answer is actually, I have seen your mother this morning. Why? Because it's still the same time period that we are in at the moment, so, therefore, there is a connection to the present.

Let's try another one a little bit different. Just changing the context. So it's the same verb (to see).

 I (To see)_______ your dad this morning.

Now, let's imagine it's now evening. The correct answer here would actually be, I saw your dad this morning. Now that may seem strange to some of you. And the reason why it is now, it has now changed to the past simple tense is that it is now in the past. So there is no longer a connection to the present. So when we had the situation where it was still the same time period as the event had happened, then we use the present perfect. But because it is now evening and the event happened in the morning, there was is longer a correction to the present because it is no longer the same time period.

So let's go ahead now to the next question. The verb here will be to live. 

He (to live)________ In Hong Kong for a year when he was a student,

So the correct answer here should be, he lived in Hong Kong for a year when he was a student. Now the reason is because by using, when we are stating the specific time in the past, so just remember, we use the present perfect when an event has no connection to the present or when there is no specific time that the event happens. So, here because we are actually stating when the event happened, we should use the past simple. Let's go right ahead to the next question. The verb here is to visit.

She (To visit) ______ her mother last month.

The correct answer here should actually be, she visited her mother last month. Now the reason why it is “she visited her mother last month” is because the signal word last month tells us when the event happened. So as we have stated the time of the event, then it must be past simple. 

Let's try another one. The verb here will be to be born.

I (To be)_____born in the year 1991

So the correct answer here should be, I was born in the year 1991 why? Because again, we are stating the specific period.

We're going to have just one more question to finish today. Now, the verb here will be to live.

She (To live)________ in five different countries, so she knows a lot about different cultures 

Now, the correct answer here should be. She has lived in five different countries, so she knows a lot about different cultures. Now my reason for choosing the present perfect tense here is because there is no specific time period stated. So this has happened in the past, but we don't know exactly when. 

Outro

Thanks again for joining me for today's episode.

Additional resources 

Further reading & questions at the bottom 

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect-or-past-simple.html

If you notice any errors or would like me to add something to the transcription please email me at info@lovetolearnenglish.com