G14
Present Perfect and Past Simple (2)
I have done v. I did





Do not use the present perfect (I have done) when you talk about a finished time (for example: yesterday, ten minutes ago, in 1985, when I was a child). Use a past tense:


  • The weather was nice yesterday. (not “has been nice”)
  • They arrived ten minutes ago. (not “have arrived”)
  • I ate a lot of sweets when I was a child. (not “have eaten”)
  • Did you see the news on television last night? (not “have you seen”)
  • No, I went to bed early. (not “have gone”)



Use a past tense to ask When … ? or What time … ?


  • When did they arrive? (not “have they arrived?”)
  • What time did you finish work?



Compare the following examples:


Present perfect


  • Tom has lost his key. He can't get into his house.


Tom is still without his key now.


Here, we are not thinking so much of the past action but of the current consequences of that action.


Compare the present perfect and the past:


Present perfect


  • I've done a lot of work today.



We use the present perfect to talk about a period of time that started in the past and continues now. (for example: today, this week, for a long time, since 1985)


  • It hasn't rained this week.
  • Have you seen Ann this morning? (It's still the morning)
  • Have you seen Ann recently?
  • I haven't seen Ann for a long time.
  • We've been waiting an hour. (we're still waiting)
  • Ian lives in London. He has lived there for seven years.
  • I have never played golf in my life.




The present perfect always has a connection with now.


Past simple


  • Tom lost his key yesterday. He couldn't get into his house.


Here, we are thinking of an event that happened in the past. We do not know if Tom has found his key.






Past simple


  • I did a lot of work yesterday.



We use the past simple for a finished time in the past. (for example: yesterday, last week, from 1985 to 1991.)



  • It didn't rain last week.
  • Did you see Ann this morning? (It is now the afternoon)
  • Did you see Ann on Sunday?
  • I didn't see Ann at the party on Sunday.
  • We waited over an hour for the bus.
  • Ian lived in Scotland for ten years. Now, he lives in London.
  • I didn't play golf when I was on holiday last summer.




The past simple only tells us about things that happened in the past.