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. |
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