Present perfect or past simple
How to choose between I have done and I did. The choice depends on the time, not on the action.
When you use it
Both tenses talk about things that happened before now. The past simple puts the action inside a finished time: yesterday, last week, in 2019, when I was a child. The present perfect leaves the time open. Either the period is still running (today, this year, my whole life so far), or the action has a result that matters at this moment. So the question is never "how long ago did it happen" but "is the time finished or not".
How it is formed
| Past simple | Present perfect | |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | I worked / I went | I have worked / I have gone |
| Negative | I did not work / I didn't go | I have not worked / I haven't gone |
| Question | Did you work? / Did you go? | Have you worked? / Have you gone? |
| Third person | she worked / she went | she has worked / she has gone |
The past simple uses the second form of the verb (worked, went). The present perfect uses have or has plus the third form, the past participle (worked, gone). For regular verbs the second and third forms are identical, so the auxiliary have/has is the only visible difference. For irregular verbs the forms are often different: went/gone, saw/seen, did/done, broke/broken.
Each tense has its typical time words.
| Past simple | Present perfect |
|---|---|
| yesterday, last night, two days ago, in 2020, when I was ten, then | just, already, yet, ever, never, so far, today, this week, since Monday, for two years |
A practical test: try to add a finished time expression such as yesterday. If it fits, use the past simple. If the sentence answers the question "what is the situation now", and no finished time fits, use the present perfect. Since and for describe a period that reaches the present, so they usually go with the present perfect. When a conversation starts in the present perfect and then moves to details (when, where, how), it switches to the past simple.
Examples
- I have lived in Berlin for three years. (I still live there.)
- I lived in Berlin for three years. (I do not live there now.)
- Tom has lost his keys, so he cannot get in.
- Tom lost his keys yesterday, but he found them in the evening.
- Anna has been to Italy twice.
- Anna went to Italy last summer.
- Have you finished the report yet? Yes, I finished it an hour ago.
- I have seen this film before, but I saw it so long ago that I do not remember the ending.
Common mistakes
- ✗ I have seen Tom yesterday.
✓ I saw Tom yesterday.
Ukrainian and Russian have one past tense for both ideas (я бачив / я видел), so the time word feels unimportant. In English a finished time such as yesterday forces the past simple. - ✗ I live here since 2020.
✓ I have lived here since 2020.
A situation that began in the past and continues now is expressed with the present tense in Ukrainian and Russian (я живу тут з 2020 року / я живу здесь с 2020 года). English uses the present perfect because the starting point is in the past. - ✗ When have you arrived?
✓ When did you arrive?
When asks for a specific moment, and a specific moment is finished time. Questions with when, what time and how long ago take the past simple. - ✗ I have went to the shop. / I have saw the film.
✓ I have gone to the shop. / I have seen the film.
The present perfect needs the third form, not the second. Slavic verbs have a single past form, so the two English forms are easy to mix. Check irregular verbs in the conjugation table on the word page. - ✗ Did you ever eat sushi?
✓ Have you ever eaten sushi?
Ever means "at any time in your life so far", and that period is not finished. Life experience takes the present perfect, unless the person is no longer alive or the period is closed.
Try it
- Anna ___ (finish) her homework an hour ago.
- I ___ (never / be) to Paris.
- ___ (you / see) Tom this morning? It is still morning.
- We ___ (move) to this flat in 2021.
- Tom ___ (lose) his phone, so he cannot call you.