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grammar rules for "before" vs "in the past"

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ansonguy

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Joined
Oct 24, 2016
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Interested in Language
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Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
Both "before" and "in the past" refer to an event or action which happened in a past time. However, the tenses for them are different. I am going to make up two similar sentences below.

(1) I have played this game before.

(2) I played this game in the past.


Do the rules go like this: present perfect for "before" and simple past for "in the past"? Thanks.
 

Rover_KE

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Staff member
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Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
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England
There is no rule about it. Both can be used in the right context.
 
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