young woman looking at laptop talking on phone

I finished my homework an hour ago. Have you finished yours yet?

Finished Actions: Past or Present?

As discussed in Grammar 7-1, the Present Perfect always connects the past with the present. There is always information about the present in a Present Perfect sentence:

  • We can't go in. The store hasn't opened yet.
    • Present = The store is closed.
  • I've lived in this city for many years.
    • Present = I live in this city now.
  • The baby's been crying since the afternoon.
    • Present = The baby is still crying.
  • He can't go snowboarding with us. He's broken his leg.
    • Present = He is unfit to go snowboarding with us.

We use the Present Perfect if the time of the finished action is not important or unknown. If we want to describe the specific time when the action happened, use the Past Simple tense:

Present Perfect Past Simple
I've eaten a sandwich. I ate a sandwich an hour ago.
I've been to Germany twice. I went to Germany last year and in 2006.
The sun has set. The sun set five minutes ago.
He's already gone to bed. He went to bed at 10 PM.

It is common to use the Present Perfect when describing actions that have happened during a time period that is unfinished. This period continues now:

He's called a couple of times today.

Since yesterday, my blog has gotten over 20,000 visits.

I haven't been to the lake yet this summer.

Details of Experiences

As studied in Grammar 7-1, we use the Present Perfect to talk about our experiences:

  • I've already seen that movie.
  • She's met me before.
  • He's tried skydiving.

However, we use the Present Perfect only to introduce our experiences. English speakers usually use the Past Simple tense to talk more about or describe the details of the experiences:

  • I've already seen that movie. Leslie and I went to see it last Tuesday.
  • She's met me before. We met at a party last year.
  • He's tried skydiving. He did it while he was on vacation in California a couple of years ago.

Duration: Past or Present?

We use the Present Perfect to describe the duration of unfinished situations and actions with since and for:

It's been raining since last night.

I've known Shaun for six or seven years.

We've been sitting here and talking for an hour.

She's had this problem since she was a child.

Use the Past Simple to describe the duration of something that is finished:

  • I lived in that house for many years.
    • I don't live there anymore.
  • Oldsmobile sold over 35 million cars.
    • They don't sell cars anymore.
  • He was my boyfriend for only six months.
    • He is not my boyfriend anymore.

Do not use since if the action is finished. Since always means the action or situation continues now:

  • I talked with her on the phone since from 5 PM to 7:30 PM.
  • I slept last night since from 11 PM until 6 AM.

Duration of Unfinished Actions & Situations

As we've studied, English speakers often describe the duration of unfinished actions and situations with the Present Perfect tense. It is possible however to describe this duration another way.

Sometimes, instead of using the Present Perfect to describe how long something has continued, we choose the Past Simple to describe when the action or situation started.

Notice that the Present Perfect and Past Simple sentences have largely the same meaning but use different verbs and time expressions:

Present Perfect Past Simple
I've known her for five years. I met her five years ago.
I've been in America since February. I came to America in February.
It has been raining for a couple of hours. It started raining a couple of hours ago.
He's had his computer since he was in university. He got his computer when he was in university.

In questions about unfinished actions or situations, how long is used with the Present Perfect, and when is used with the Past Simple:

How Long...? When...?
How long have you known her? When did you meet her?
How long have you been in America? When did you come to America?
How long has it been raining? When did it start raining?
How long has he had his computer? When did he get his computer?

Exercise

Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.

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