Present Perfect VS. Past Simple

We should use the past simple for events that happened in the past, and don’t have any connection to the present.

She went to the store yesterday.

I ate dinner at a restaurant last night.

We can use present perfect for past actions that DO have a connection with the present, or for actions that are still happening now.

He has known Bob for 10 years.

We have been to Paris twice.

We CAN’T use the present perfect with time words that show a finished action. Ex: yesterday, last week, last year. We MUST use the simple past.

She has been to the mountains yesterday. INCORRECT

She went to the mountains yesterday.
CORRECT

Try this exercise to test your skills and let us know what you think about the Present Perfect and the Past Simple tenses. Do you find them hard? Let us know what you think in the comments, and make sure to check out our other blog posts and English exercises!

Welcome to Scrambled Eggs, an English school in Milan that aims to help you improve your English in a fun, accessible and easy way. Check out all the English language exercises we’ve compiled in our database over the years, which are broken down into various types of exercise and also split into levels.

Whether you’re taking an English course here in Milan or you simply want to boost your language skills with loads of online English language exercises, Scrambled Eggs is here for you! Check out our vast collection which includes hundreds of exercises for all levels, and if you think there are some exercises, topics or videos we should add more of, be sure to send an email our way at hello@scrambledeggsinglese.it