Fun English Grammar Lesson: Past Simple vs Present Perfect - Learn the Difference (Examples + quiz)

Hi, Jack from tofluency.com here.

On this channel I have made many lessons

on the present perfect.

I've talked about the difference between

the present perfect simple and continuous,

the difference between for and since,

how to use the present perfect in the negative,

how to use it with just

and other videos too that I can't remember right now.

One question that keeps popping up,

one question that people keep asking me

is, what is the difference between the present perfect

and the past simple?

And what's key here is I see many mistakes made

in this area and the first thing to know is

it's not an easy subject.

It's not an easy subject to tackle,

but my job in this video is to give you

a better understanding of when to use the present perfect

and when to use the past simple.

We're going to look at lots of examples to help you

really understand this difference

and I'm going to test your knowledge throughout this video.

So, let's get into it.

The best way to start is with a couple of examples.

The first one is this.

I've been to Madrid four times.

I've been to Madrid four times.

So, this is, what is it?

The present perfect.

It's the present perfect tense.

The second example is obviously in the simple past

and it's this,

in 2006, I went to Madrid with some friends.

In 2006, I went to Madrid with some friends.

Let's start with the simple past because most people

find this easier to use.

That example again, in 2006, I went to Madrid

with some friends.

Now, we use the simple past for completed actions

in the past and this is obvious that this action

isn't continuing now.

This action is over.

We're not in Madrid anymore.

We went to Madrid and we came home

and you can see the time expression used here

is in 2006 and we'll talk more about time expressions soon,

but know at this stage that we use the past simple

when we're talking about completed actions in the past.

Let's go over the present perfect example now.

I've been to Madrid four times.

I've been to Madrid four times.

Now, what I'm actually saying is this.

I've been to Madrid four times in my life,

and, luckily, I'm still alive,

therefore, the action has not finished yet.

This is not a completed action.

I might go in the future.

I might not, but the possibility is there,

and that's why we're using the present perfect here.

I've been to Madrid four times.

Now, pay attention to the next two examples

because they'll help you understand this difference

a little bit more.

Okay, the first one is this,

my grandma never went to Madrid.

My grandma never went to Madrid.

This is in the simple past, the past simple.

Simple past or past simple.

And the reason I'm using it in this tense

is because that action is over.

My grandma is not alive.

She died a long time ago,

therefore, while she was alive she never went to Madrid,

and that's why we use it in the simple past.

Paul, on the other hand, has never been to Madrid.

Now, Paul is a friend of mine who is still alive,

but he's never been to Madrid.

I think it's because he burns really easily,

but the important thing to know is that

he could still go in the future.

That possibility is there for him.

That action of going to Madrid or not going to Madrid

isn't over now.

Hopefully, those examples have helped you understand

this difference, but I'm going to introduce something now

that is really useful.

We use past time expressions with the past simple

and present time expressions with the present perfect,

generally speaking.

You might be thinking, what is a time expression.

Well, here are some examples of past time expressions.

Yesterday, last week, on Monday, two hours ago,

in 2002, and a great rule to remember is that

with past time expressions we use the simple past.

Here are some examples.

I told her last week.

I told her last week.

She went to London in 2011.

She went to London in 2011.

He called me two hours ago.

He called me two hours ago.

All of these examples have past time expressions

and they're used in the simple past.

So, you can't use a past time expression

with the present perfect.

You can't say, I have told her last week,

but look at what you can do to change these sentences

into the present perfect.

The first one, I told her last week can be changed to,

I've told her a few times this week.

Obviously, these are two different sentences

meaning two different things,

but you'll notice how the time expression

changes according to the tense.

When we use last week it's the simple past.

When we use this week it's the present perfect.

She went to London in 2011.

An example of using the present perfect

to talk about something similar.

She's been to London four times in total.

She's been to London four times in total.

And finally, he called me two hours ago.

You can say, he's called me twice today.

Today is a present time expression in most cases.

He's called me twice today.

He called me two hours ago.

Phew, so, quite a lot so far in this lesson.

This is a great time to give you a little bit of a test.

(guitar riffs) Okay, so what I want

you to do is to fill in the blanks,

to fill in the blanks. (upbeat instrumental music)

She something it four times this year.

She something it four times this year.

Use the verb to do.

(upbeat instrumental music)

She's done it four times this year.

She's done it four times this year.

Because this year is a present time expression.

It hasn't finished yet,

therefore, we use the present perfect.

And the last one, I something Sarah two minutes ago.

I something Sarah two minutes ago.

Use the verb to see.

(upbeat instrumental music)

I saw Sarah two minutes ago.

I saw Sarah two minutes ago.

Two minutes ago is a past time expression,

therefore, past simple.

Now, time expressions like two hours ago, yesterday,

this year, they're quite simple to use

and they tell you which tense you need to use.

However, there are some where it isn't as obvious.

So, tell me which one of these is correct.

I had two cups of coffee this morning

or I've had two cups of coffee this morning.

Which one is correct?

The answer is both, but it depends at which time

you say these sentences.

For example, let's say that it is 11 AM.

What you can say is this, I've had two cups of coffee

this morning.

I've had two cups of coffee this morning.

Because it's still the morning,

the morning hasn't finished yet.

Therefore, we use the present perfect.

But at 2 PM what you can say is this,

I had two cups of coffee this morning.

I had two cups of coffee this morning.

Because this morning is now over it's now the afternoon

and that action of drinking coffee in the morning

is finished.

Let's now talk about the present perfect and the past simple

with some more advanced usage,

but also, in terms of how strict the rules are.

Look at these two examples.

Did you have breakfast yet?

Did you have breakfast yet?

The second one is, have you had breakfast yet?

Have you had breakfast yet?

In British English the first one using the simple past

sounds strange.

It's sounds strange to British ears,

but you hear people in America use this all the time.

In America you'll hear both.

You'll hear people say did you have breakfast yet

or have you had breakfast yet,

but in the UK we're a littler stricter with

the present perfect and you won't hear

people say the first one.

You'll only hear people say the present perfect

for this example.

Here's another difference with British and American English.

You'll hear people in America say, I just saw him.

I just saw him.

In British English you'll hear people say,

I've just seen him.

I've just seen him.

Both are used to talk about an action

that finished in the very recent past.

Ah, I just saw him.

Ah, I've just seen him,

but again, this is just a difference between

British and American English.

We have covered a lot in this lesson

and I hope you found it useful.

Here are three things that I recommend you do now.

The first one is this,

if anything was unclear or if you're at the stage

where you're feeling a little confused

then go back and watch this lesson

because watching it a second time

will help you understand these differences.

The second this I want you to do is to leave some examples

of the simple past and the present perfect

in the comments section.

This will help you practice,

but it's also going to help other learners too

because they'll see other examples

and examples are the best way for you to understand

this difference.

I'll go and correct any mistakes that I see

as much as I can.

And finally, watch the lesson, which will be on your screen

in a second, that goes through the difference between

the present perfect simple and continuous

because this will give you a greater understanding

of how to use the present perfect

and that is where most mistakes come from.

So, click that video now.

Go ahead and watch it (upbeat instrumental music)

or if you prefer watch my latest video,

which is on your screen too.

If you're new here please subscribe

and get notifications.

Thank you so much for watching.

(upbeat instrumental music)