Welcome to MK’s English — your source for mastering grammar with real-life English!
Today, we’re diving into one of the trickiest topics for English learners: Present Perfect vs. Past Simple.
If you’ve ever asked yourself:
❓ “Should I say Have you ever been to London? or Did you ever been to London?“
or
❓ “Is it I saw that movie last week or I have seen that movie last week?”
You’re not alone — and this post will clear it up for you!
🎯 PART 1: What’s the Difference?
Let’s start with a quick overview of these two tenses:
🔹 Present Perfect
Structure: have/has + past participle
Example: I have eaten breakfast.
Use Present Perfect for:
- Life experiences (I’ve been to France.)
- Unfinished time periods (I’ve worked a lot this week.)
- Recent news (She’s lost her phone!)
🔸 Past Simple
Structure: verb + -ed (or irregular form)
Example: I ate breakfast.
Use Past Simple for:
- Completed actions in the past
- When you say exactly when something happened (I saw that movie last night.)
🧠 PART 2: Easy Trick — Time Words!
Here’s a helpful shortcut to choose the right tense:
If you say when it happened, use Past Simple:
✔️ I went to Paris in 2019.
✖️ I have gone to Paris in 2019.
If you don’t say when, or the time period is still happening, use Present Perfect:
✔️ I’ve eaten sushi this week.
✖️ I ate sushi this week. (This sounds like the week is already over.)
🗣️ PART 3: Real-Life Examples
Let’s look at some real conversations:
Example 1:
👩🦱 Friend A: Have you ever been to New York?
👨 Friend B: Yeah, I went there last summer.
✅ Have you ever been… (Present Perfect) — no time given
✅ I went there last summer (Past Simple) — time is clear
Example 2:
👨🏫 I’ve studied English for five years.
👨🏫 I studied English in high school.
✅ The first one is still true now — Present Perfect
✅ The second one is finished — Past Simple
🛠️ PART 4: Try This Practice Tip
Want to really feel the difference? Try this simple exercise:
Write 3 sentences using Present Perfect (don’t say when):
- I’ve met a famous singer.
- I’ve eaten bugs before.
- I’ve never ridden a horse.
Now write 3 sentences using Past Simple (say when):
- I saw Superman last weekend.
- I visited Kyoto in 2022.
- I cooked dinner yesterday.
This practice helps your brain feel the rhythm of each tense.
🔁 PART 5: Quick Review
✅ Use Present Perfect when:
- You’re talking about life experiences
- You don’t say when the action happened
- The time period is still happening (this week, today, this year)
❌ Use Past Simple when:
- The time is clearly finished
- You say exactly when something happened
- The action is completely done
🎧 Want to Hear This Lesson?
Check out the full episode on the MK’s English Podcast — available on YouTube and your favorite podcast platform!
👍 Final Tip:
If this post helped you, share it with a friend who’s also learning English — or challenge them to a quick grammar quiz! And don’t forget to sign up for our free newsletter for more helpful lessons each week.
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