[Grammar] present perfect or past simple

Status
Not open for further replies.

steven white

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
what,s the differnce between these two sentences?
I have studied my lessons.
I studied my lessons.
 

steven white

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
what,s the differnce between these two sentences?
I have studied my lessons.
I studied my lessons.
 

mamen

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Tagalog
Home Country
Philippines
Current Location
Philippines
what,s the differnce between these two sentences?
I have studied my lessons.
I studied my lessons.

Both do imply the same thing.

But, here is the point: You can not add a time indicator in your first sentence; you may or may not put a time indicator in your second sentence.
 

Trance Freak

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Arabic
Home Country
Tunisia
Current Location
Tunisia
Both do imply the same thing.

But, here is the point: You cannot add a time indicator in your first sentence; you may or may not put a time indicator in your second sentence.

Says who? ;-)
i. I have studied my lessons.
Time Indicator:
I have recently studied my lessons.

ii. I studied my lessons.

Time Indicator:
Last night, I studied my lessons.

--> Simple Past refers normally to an action that started & finished in the past.
Present Perfect refers to a recently finished action that started in the past.
 

mamen

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Tagalog
Home Country
Philippines
Current Location
Philippines
Says who? ;-)
i. I have studied my lessons.
Time Indicator:
I have recently studied my lessons.

ii. I studied my lessons.

Time Indicator:
Last night, I studied my lessons.

--> Simple Past refers normally to an action that started & finished in the past.
Present Perfect refers to a recently finished action that started in the past.

What I mean is this:

I have studied my lesson yesterday.
 

Trance Freak

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Arabic
Home Country
Tunisia
Current Location
Tunisia
What I mean is this:

I have studied my lesson yesterday.

:shock: No honey!!!
"Yesterday" is a precise definite signal word referring to an action that occured in the past. -As in the case of "ago"
-->One may NOT say: I have studied my lesson yesterday.
 
Last edited:

mamen

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Tagalog
Home Country
Philippines
Current Location
Philippines
:shock: No honney!!!
"Yesterday" is a precise definite signal word referring to an action that occured in the past. -As in the case of "ago"
-->One may NOT say: I have studied my lesson yesterday.

ok thanks..
 

ha179

Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Vietnamese
Home Country
Vietnam
Current Location
Vietnam
Not a teacher.
what's the difference between these two sentences?
I have studied my lessons.
I studied my lessons.
Use present perfect tense when you don't mention the time the action happened.
Ex: I've had breakfast. (The listener just know that you had breakfast, not when you did it)
Past simple tense is used when you mention the time.
Ex: I went out last night.
But I've seen the past simple tense is used even when the speaker/writer doesn't mention the time in American English.
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Simple Past refers normally to an action that started & finished in the past.
Present Perfect refers to a recently finished action that started in the past.
That sums it up.
:up:
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
That sums it up.
:up:
Well, not quite. The action doesn't have to have finished in the recent past - just to mention one complication. But since the poster is a native English-speaking English teacher, he'll want to go into this in a lot more depth.
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I am willing to talk more about the present perfect. (I think this qualifies as a frequently asked question.)

:)
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
I am willing to talk more about the present perfect. (I think this qualifies as a frequently asked question.)

:)
It most definitely does.
It's only a pity that all the good answers from the past aren't in a FAQ somewhere, because you'll be answering the same question again next week, and the week after that.
My calculations reveal that roughly 29.76% of posts this year have been on the difference between simple past and present perfect.
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
It most definitely does.
It's only a pity that all the good answers from the past aren't in a FAQ somewhere, because you'll be answering the same question again next week, and the week after that.
My calculations reveal that roughly 29.76% of posts this year have been on the difference between simple past and present perfect.
Well, whenever I run across one that qualifies I move it to the FAQ folder. Of course, I have to check first to see if that question has been asked and answered there already.


This should be helpful:
.
.
Example sentence:
.
Ron has been forgetting things.


;-)
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
With respect, Ron, the above link doesn't address the differences between the simple past and the present perfect.
My objection was not to any default on your part, except for your implying to learners that a two-line post summed up the issue, whereas it only gave one incorrect difference.

On the other hand there must be some quite detailed and correct posts by people such as David L. and Soup and others which could be used for the basis of a comprehensive FAQ entry on this very important, frequently misunderstood and chronically recurrent issue - which cannot be answered properly every time someone asks it.
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Hmm. That was my introduction to Soup's habit of not reading threads before replying to them. I'll search for something a bit more comprehensive, and let you know when I've found it. Failing that, I'll consider writing a complete answer myself and initiating a thread with it, for amendment.
 
Last edited:

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Present perfect:
.
We have moved.

In that sentence it is relevant now (in the present) that the people in question moved from one location to another.
:)
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
OK, I can take a hint. I'll withdraw my offer.
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
No hiint. I just saw an example of a present perfect sentence that I decided to post. However, maybe I should have put it this way:
.
Past tense:
.
We moved.
.
It's not connected to the present in any way.
.
Present perfect tense:
.
We have moved.
.
The people who moved want you to know that they now do business in a different location.

:)


How's that?

:)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top