Present Perfect and Simple Past Verb Tenses

Use the simple past when the action started in the past, finished in the past, and is not continuing now. Use the present perfect when the action started in the past and is continuing now.

The simple past tells us that an action happened at a certain time in the past, and is not continuing anymore. It doesn't tell us anything about when an action happened, so more information needs to be given with this verb form, such as when the action took place.

The present perfect tells us that an action started in the past and it is still happening now, or it is something that happens regularly. We may need more information to tell us how long it has been going on. It may also tell us that the time period it started in is still going on.

The following example sentences show the different meanings when using the two verb tenses.

• The sun rose at 6:00 am. (Simple Past: We know that the sun came up at a time in the past and it is not rising now. The sun may or may not be in the sky when this statement is made. The time is important to add.)
• The sun has risen. (Present perfect: We know that the sun already rose, and it is still in the sky now.)

• Jackson ate lunch early. (Simple Past: Eating lunch has started and ended in the past. Someone might say this when the time for eating lunch has also ended. Lunch happened early, and it is over now.)
• Jackson has eaten lunch. (Present Perfect: Jackson started and finished eating lunch in the past, but lunch time is still going on. Someone might say this when others are preparing to eat lunch, and they want to know whether Jackson will join them.)

• Jeff was friends with Kelly when he was a kid. (Simple Past: This tells us that Jeff is not friends with Kelly anymore, and the additional information tells us when he was friends with her in the past.)
• Jeff has been friends with Kelly since he was a kid. (Present perfect: This tells us that Jeff was friends with Kelly before now and is still friends with her now. The friendship is continuing, and the additional information tells us how long it has been going on.)

• She lived in Paris for a year. (Simple Past: This action started and finished in the past. She no longer lives in Paris. It is important to know the action lasted for a year.)
• She has lived in Paris for a year. (Present perfect: This action started in the past and is still going on now; it has not finished. She lives in Paris now, and additional information tells us how long she has lived there.)

• Meg ran two marathons last year. (Simple Past: We know Meg ran two marathons in the past, and the time period the action started in and finished in—last year—has ended.)
• Meg has run two marathons this year. (Present perfect: We know Meg started running marathons this year. However, this year has not ended and she may run more marathons before the end of the year.)

I hope this helps.