QuickenBrain

Present perfect vs. simple past

VerbsRule 4 of 10

The rule

If the sentence names a finished time (yesterday, last year, in 2023), use the simple past: "I saw him yesterday." Use the present perfect (have/has + past participle) when the time is open or the result matters now: "I have lost my keys." Questions that ask when something happened take the simple past: "When did you arrive?"

Wrong and right

  1. Wrong I have seen him yesterday.

    Right I saw him yesterday.

  2. Wrong When have you arrived?

    Right When did you arrive?

  3. Wrong She has left the company in 2023.

    Right She left the company in 2023.

  4. Wrong He has been to Japan last summer.

    Right He went to Japan last summer.

  5. Wrong We have finished the project two weeks ago.

    Right We finished the project two weeks ago.