English tenses in conversation | Past Simple & Present Perfect | 'did' or 'have done' today?

Which tense should we use with expressions like 'today' or 'this morning'?

Should we use the Present Perfect? Should we say: I've done it today?

Or, the Past Simple: I did it today.

Well actually, we can use both. The Past Simple and the Present Perfect.

But it depends on the context.

Hello and welcome everyone, this is Minoo at Anglo-Link.

I see a lot of confusion among my students about the tense to use for a completed action

with time expressions like 'this morning', 'today', 'this week', etc.

So, in this lesson we'll look at some very typical scenarios and situations to make it absolutely clear

for you which one to use when.

So, let's now begin our lesson by looking at what the word 'today' actually means.

We can interpret 'today' in four different ways.

We can consider 'today' to mean from midnight to midnight.

That's the clock time a.m and p.m.

We can think of 'today' as from sunrise to sunset.

That's all the time we have daylight.

We can interpret 'today' as being the time I wake up until the time I sleep.

So, that will be your full day.

And we can also interpret 'today' as from the time you start your work or activities

to the time you finish them.

That would be the active part of your day.

So, that's 'today'.

Now, let's look at the two tenses:

Have done and Did.

As you know, have done, which is the Present Perfect tense refers to an action that's completed until now.

But, without a specified past time. For example:

I have spoken to my supervisor.

Whereas, 'did' which, is the Past Simple,

is also for a completed action but, this time we have a specified past time.

For example: I spoke to my supervisor yesterday.

So, that brings us to the question:

Is today a past time reference?

Well it depends on two things.

Firstly, which part of the day you're speaking in.

And secondly, whether you're referring to your full day or just your active day.

Okay! We're going to look at three scenarios where today refers to different things.

Let's start with scenario 1.

Let's say it's 4 p.m. You're still at work. You call your partner with good news.

Will you say to your partner:

I spoke to my supervisor today. I can take next week off.

Or, would you say:

I have spoken to my supervisor today. I can take next week off.

So, it's 4 p.m. You're still at work.

So your work day is not over yet. You're still in that time frame.

And therefore we should use the Present Perfect tense:

I have spoken to my supervisor today.

Okay! Let's look at scenario number 2.

Now, it's 6 p.m. And you're back home.

And you share the good news with your partner.

Will you say:

I have spoken to my supervisor today. I can take next week off.

Or: I spoke to my supervisor today.

Which one would you choose now?

Right, in this case it's 6 p.m. Your work day is over. So, now 'today' becomes a past time reference in your context.

Therefore, you should say to your partner:

I spoke to my supervisor today.

Right, let's look at scenario number 3.

Now it's 10 p.m. on a Saturday evening. You're ready to go to bed.

You say to your partner:

I don't know why I feel so tired. I not do much today.

What do you think you'd say here?

Would you say:

I didn't do much today. Or: I haven't done much today.

Right, now you're referring to your full day but, because you're just about to go to bed, that full day continues.

You're still in that time frame.

So the correct answer here is:

I haven't done much today.

Alright, let's look at a similar time expression 'this morning'.

Two scenarios here. The first one.

It's 10 a.m. and you're at the office.

You notice your colleague, Mary, isn't there.

You say to another colleague:

I not see Mary this morning. Any idea where she is?

What would you say:

I didn't see Mary this morning. Or: I haven't seen Mary this morning.

The correct answer is:

I haven't seen Mary this morning.

Because it's 10 a.m. Morning is not a past time reference yet.

Okay! Let's look at scenario number 2.

Now, it's 2 p.m. and you see Mary at her desk.

What will you say to Mary?

I haven't seen you this morning. Where were you?  Or: I didn't see you this morning. Where were you?

So now, it's 2 p.m. So, when we say this morning  we're talking about a past time reference.

This morning is clearly in the past.

So the correct tense is:

I didn't see you this morning.

Now, let's look at a slightly different situation using the expression 'this afternoon'

but referring to all of this afternoon.

In which case we usually just say: All afternoon.

And usually in this case, the tense becomes a continuous tense.

So I'm going to give you again two scenarios. Let's look at scenario 1.

It's 4:45 p.m. and you're still answering emails, which you started at 12:30.

What will you say:

I was answering emails all afternoon. Or: I have been answering emails all afternoon.

Pass Continuous or Present Perfect Continuous.

Well, you're still at work. Your work day continues. So, all afternoon is not a past time reference yet.

You should say:

I have been answering emails all afternoon.

So, let's look at scenario number 2.

Now, it's 7 p.m. and you're back home. And you think to yourself:

What a boring day!

Would you say:

I was answering emails all afternoon. Or: I have been answering emails all afternoon.

Of course, now your workday is over. You're home. So, speaking about work.

'All afternoon' is a past time reference.

So, you should say:

I was answering emails all afternoon.

Right! Let's look at this evening.

I have two scenarios again.

Let's say you've had dinner at a friend's house and you see it's getting late.

What will you say to this friend with the verb 'have'?

I have a great time this evening. I'd love to stay longer, but it's getting late.

Would you say:

I had. Or: I've had.

The correct answer is:

I've had. because this part of the evening that you're spending with your friend is not over yet.

Now, let's look at our second scenario.

You've had dinner at a friend's house, and you've just returned home.

You say to your brother:

I a great time at Sally's this evening. I wish I could have stayed longer.

So, now would you say:

I have had a great time. Or: I had a great time.

And this time the answer is: I had a great time.

Because the part of the evening that you spent with your friend is over.

It's now a time frame in the past.

Right! How about expressions like 'this week', or 'this month', or 'this year'?

With these expressions, always use the Present Perfect.

For example:

I have seen several good films this week, or, this month, or this year.

Except if you use the word ....

'earlier'.

For example, you can say:

I saw several good films earlier this month.

Or: Earlier this week, we signed a new contract.

So, this week, or this month, or this year, they're always Present Perfect.

The frame always continues.

If you put 'earlier', you make that a past time frame.

Right! One last thing before we wrap up,

and that is all usage guidelines I give you in my lessons apply to British English.

So, don't be surprised if you  the don't always hear the Present Perfect tense  used in the same way in American English.

Okay! That brings us to the end of this lesson.

If you'd like to watch all my lessons on the tenses

Thank you for watching, and I look forward to seeing you in my next lesson.