What is the Difference Between Past Simple and Present Perfect?

06/03/2025 • Giovanni Medeiros

The main difference between past simple and present perfect lies in the time frame of the actions they describe. Here are the key differences:

Past Simple: This tense is used to describe actions that happened at a specific time in the past and are completed. It is often used with time expressions like "yesterday," "last week," or "in 2015". For example, "I lived in Paris in 2015."
Present Perfect: This tense is used to describe actions that started in the past and continue to the present or have a connection to the present. It is often used with unspecified time words like "this week," "this month," or "today". For example, "I have lived in Paris for a year."

In summary:

Use past simple for finished actions that happened at a specific time in the past.
Use present perfect for actions that started in the past and are still happening now or have a connection to the present.

Comparative Table: Past Simple vs Present Perfect

Here is a table comparing the differences between the past simple and present perfect tenses:

Feature	Past Simple	Present Perfect
Form	S + V-ed	S + have/has + V-ed
Usage	Describes finished actions or series of repeated actions	Describes unfinished actions or actions with a connection to the present
Time Reference	Refers to definite time (e.g., yesterday, last week, in 1994)	Refers to indefinite time (e.g., in my life, so far, several times)
Examples	I finished the game yesterday.	I have finished the game 3 times this week.

In summary:

The past simple tense is used for finished actions or series of repeated actions and refers to definite time periods.
The present perfect tense is used for unfinished actions or actions with a connection to the present and refers to indefinite time periods. The form of present perfect tense is S + have/has + V-ed.