Hi, Jack from tofluency.com here. On this channel I have made many lessons on the present perfect. I've talked about the difference between the present perfect simple and continuous, the difference between for and since, how to use the present
perfect in the negative, how to use it with just and other videos too that
I can't remember right now. One question that keeps popping up, one question that people keep asking me is, what is the difference
between the present perfect and the past simple? And what's key here is
I see many mistakes made in this area and the
first thing to know is it's not an easy subject. It's not an easy subject to tackle, but my job in this video is to give you a better understanding of when
to use the present perfect and when to use the past simple. We're going to look at lots
of examples to help you really understand this difference and I'm going to test your
knowledge throughout this video. So, let's get into it. The best way to start is
with a couple of examples. The first one is this. I've been to Madrid four times. I've been to Madrid four times. So, this is, what is it? The present perfect. It's the present perfect tense. The second example is
obviously in the simple past and it's this, in 2006, I went to
Madrid with some friends. In 2006, I went to
Madrid with some friends. Let's start with the simple
past because most people find this easier to use. That example again, in
2006, I went to Madrid with some friends. Now, we use the simple
past for completed actions in the past and this is
obvious that this action isn't continuing now. This action is over. We're not in Madrid anymore. We went to Madrid and we came home and you can see the time
expression used here is in 2006 and we'll talk more
about time expressions soon, but know at this stage
that we use the past simple when we're talking about
completed actions in the past. Let's go over the present
perfect example now. I've been to Madrid four times. I've been to Madrid four times. Now, what I'm actually saying is this. I've been to Madrid four times in my life, and, luckily, I'm still alive, therefore, the action
has not finished yet. This is not a completed action. I might go in the future. I might not, but the possibility is there, and that's why we're using
the present perfect here. I've been to Madrid four times. Now, pay attention to
the next two examples because they'll help you
understand this difference a little bit more. Okay, the first one is this, my grandma never went to Madrid. My grandma never went to Madrid. This is in the simple
past, the past simple. Simple past or past simple. And the reason I'm using it in this tense is because that action is over. My grandma is not alive. She died a long time ago, therefore, while she was alive
she never went to Madrid, and that's why we use
it in the simple past. Paul, on the other hand,
has never been to Madrid. Now, Paul is a friend of
mine who is still alive, but he's never been to Madrid. I think it's because
he burns really easily, but the important thing to know is that he could still go in the future. That possibility is there for him. That action of going to
Madrid or not going to Madrid isn't over now. Hopefully, those examples
have helped you understand this difference, but I'm going
to introduce something now that is really useful. We use past time expressions
with the past simple and present time expressions
with the present perfect, generally speaking. You might be thinking,
what is a time expression. Well, here are some examples
of past time expressions. Yesterday, last week, on
Monday, two hours ago, in 2002, and a great
rule to remember is that with past time expressions
we use the simple past. Here are some examples. I told her last week. I told her last week. She went to London in 2011. She went to London in 2011. He called me two hours ago. He called me two hours ago. All of these examples
have past time expressions and they're used in the simple past. So, you can't use a past time expression with the present perfect. You can't say, I have told her last week, but look at what you can do
to change these sentences into the present perfect. The first one, I told her
last week can be changed to, I've told her a few times this week. Obviously, these are
two different sentences meaning two different things, but you'll notice how the time expression changes according to the tense. When we use last week
it's the simple past. When we use this week
it's the present perfect. She went to London in 2011. An example of using the present perfect to talk about something similar. She's been to London four times in total. She's been to London four times in total. And finally, he called me two hours ago. You can say, he's called me twice today. Today is a present time
expression in most cases. He's called me twice today. He called me two hours ago. Phew, so, quite a lot
so far in this lesson. This is a great time to give
you a little bit of a test. (guitar riffs)
Okay, so what I want you to do is to fill in the blanks, to fill in the blanks.
(upbeat instrumental music) She something it four times this year. She something it four times this year. Use the verb to do. (upbeat instrumental music) She's done it four times this year. She's done it four times this year. Because this year is a
present time expression. It hasn't finished yet, therefore, we use the present perfect. And the last one, I something
Sarah two minutes ago. I something Sarah two minutes ago. Use the verb to see. (upbeat instrumental music) I saw Sarah two minutes ago. I saw Sarah two minutes ago. Two minutes ago is a past time expression, therefore, past simple. Now, time expressions like
two hours ago, yesterday, this year, they're quite simple to use and they tell you which
tense you need to use. However, there are some
where it isn't as obvious. So, tell me which one of these is correct. I had two cups of coffee this morning or I've had two cups
of coffee this morning. Which one is correct? The answer is both, but
it depends at which time you say these sentences. For example, let's say that it is 11 AM. What you can say is this,
I've had two cups of coffee this morning. I've had two cups of coffee this morning. Because it's still the morning, the morning hasn't finished yet. Therefore, we use the present perfect. But at 2 PM what you can say is this, I had two cups of coffee this morning. I had two cups of coffee this morning. Because this morning is now
over it's now the afternoon and that action of drinking
coffee in the morning is finished. Let's now talk about the present
perfect and the past simple with some more advanced usage, but also, in terms of
how strict the rules are. Look at these two examples. Did you have breakfast yet? Did you have breakfast yet? The second one is, have
you had breakfast yet? Have you had breakfast yet? In British English the first
one using the simple past sounds strange. It's sounds strange to British ears, but you hear people in
America use this all the time. In America you'll hear both. You'll hear people say
did you have breakfast yet or have you had breakfast yet, but in the UK we're a
littler stricter with the present perfect and you won't hear people say the first one. You'll only hear people
say the present perfect for this example. Here's another difference with
British and American English. You'll hear people in
America say, I just saw him. I just saw him. In British English you'll hear people say, I've just seen him. I've just seen him. Both are used to talk about an action that finished in the very recent past. Ah, I just saw him. Ah, I've just seen him, but again, this is just
a difference between British and American English. We have covered a lot in this lesson and I hope you found it useful. Here are three things that
I recommend you do now. The first one is this, if anything was unclear
or if you're at the stage where you're feeling a little confused then go back and watch this lesson because watching it a second time will help you understand
these differences. The second this I want you to
do is to leave some examples of the simple past and the present perfect in the comments section. This will help you practice, but it's also going to
help other learners too because they'll see other examples and examples are the best
way for you to understand this difference. I'll go and correct
any mistakes that I see as much as I can. And finally, watch the lesson,
which will be on your screen in a second, that goes
through the difference between the present perfect simple and continuous because this will give you
a greater understanding of how to use the present perfect and that is where most mistakes come from. So, click that video now. Go ahead and watch it
(upbeat instrumental music) or if you prefer watch my latest video, which is on your screen too. If you're new here please subscribe and get notifications. Thank you so much for watching. (upbeat instrumental music)
