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The distinction in usage between the past tense and the present perfect is extremely difficult for the foreign student. The following test and illustrations should be studied very carefully.
Ask yourself the questions:
“Have I used a definite time word? Or
Have I told exactly when something occurred?”
If the answer is “yes”, you must use the past tense.
Ask yourself the questions:
“Have I expressed the idea of from one point of time in the past to the moment of speaking?”
If the answer is “yes”, you must use the present perfect.
Compare:
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Past tense
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He studied French two years ago.
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He wrote his parents yesterday.
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Present Perfect
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He has studied French daily.
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He has always written his parents.
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Remember:
Use Past Tense with Definite Time words such as:
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Last year
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Before I left my country
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Last night
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After I arrived here
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Yesterday
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A week ago
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In 1972
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A month ago
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When I was a child
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A year ago
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Use Present Perfect Tense with frequency adverbs
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Often
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Weekly
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Seldom
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Repeatedly
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Frequently
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Continually
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Occasionally
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Sometimes
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Rarely
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Always
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Regularly
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Usually
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Daily
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Never
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Note 1: These frequency adverbs may also be used with the past tense, but only when they refer to events that happened during a definite period of the past.
Example:
- I seldom saw her during my years at the University.
Note 2: The Paste Tense sentence may or may not tell exactly when something occurred. The Present Perfect Tense sentence never tells exactly when something occurred.
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