Verbs & TensesIntermediate
Present Perfect or Past Simple?
#cssnexusThe most common tense mistake in exams: when to use "I have done" and when to use "I did". Learn the rule of finished and unfinished time with clear examples.
Both tenses talk about the past, but they look at it differently. The past simple places an action at a finished time. The present perfect connects a past action to the present.
Rule 1: A finished time word needs the past simple
If the sentence names a finished time — yesterday, last year, in 2018, two days ago, when I was young — use the past simple.
Rule 2: No time, or unfinished time → present perfect
Use the present perfect for experiences (no time given), for recent results, and with unfinished time words — today, this week, so far, ever, never, yet, already, just.
Rule 3: since/for with an unfinished situation
Asking "when"
A question with when or what time asks about a finished moment, so it takes the past simple.