present perrfect vs present simple

Presentation

Present Perfect vs Past Simple

Clue Words

Affirmative Form

Negative Form

Interrogative Form

First Usage: Time Notion

Examples

The girl started writing books sometime in the past, and she continues to write them today. Shakespeare wrote many books in the past. Since he died centuries ago, that action is no longer performed.

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Examples

The first sentence tells us since when someone started working at that place.

The second sentence tells us for how long someone worked at that place.

Second Usage: Specific or non-specific time reference

Another basic difference between those verb tenses has got to do with the need - or desire - to specify time related with the action, or not.

In the first sentence, there´s no intention, interest or need from the subject to inform exactly WHEN he bought a new car. In the second sentence, for some reason we don't know, the subject WANTS to inform us WHEN the car was bought.

Examples

In the first sentence, it's not known WHEN the boy learned to ride a bike. That information is not known or simply not considered important or interesting enough to be mentioned. At the second sentence we´re informed when the boy learned to ride a bike; maybe his father - or the author of the sentence - thought of it as something important to mention.

In the first sentence we're not sure as to exactly when the school year began (we only have an approximate idea); in the second sentence we know EXACTLY when school year began.

Third usage: continued or finished action

Example

Fourth usage: time of speaking

Example

Albeit using the same expression of time (today), the verb tenses herein used completely change the meaning of these sentences when compared to one another.

Example

Albeit using the same expression of time (this morning), the verb tenses herein used completely change the meaning of these sentences when compared to one another.

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Fifth usage: general information and details

THANKS!

teacher Bruno Athayde