Ch 5 · Lesson 19English · Chapter 5 · Lesson 19 · Grammar primer
I saw her yesterday: present perfect or past simple?
Say when it happened (yesterday, last week, in 2015, When...?) and you need the past simple. Up to now, the present perfect.
The short version
Say when it happened and you need the past simple
.
Why?Hide
The present perfect is for time that is unfinished or unstated and connects to now. Words like yesterday, last week, in 2015 and two days ago pin the action to finished time, and they force the past simple. The test is one line long: if you say exactly when, use the past simple.
Present perfect or past simple?
One test: , .
I saw her yesterday (a finished time)
I have seen her (some time up to now)
I have lived here for ten years (and still do)
Timeline from past to now, with now marked.
| Past simple | Present perfect |
|---|---|
. | . |
. | . |
2015. | . |
Time words that often go with each one:
| Past simple | Present perfect |
|---|---|
| , | , |
| , 2015 | , , |
| ...? | , , ...? |
For also goes with the past simple when the time is over:
Rome . (I don't live there now).
A question with When asks for a finished time, so it takes the past
simple: ? (not When have you arrived?).
The other half of this split is on the past simple page.
Going further: How to make the present perfect and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
10-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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