⚡️Further Notes on the differences between Present Perfect and Past Simple⚡️

♦️ 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 (or even if it has finished, usually finishes in the recent past and has a result on now).

The simple past tells us that an action happened at a certain time in the past, and is not continuing anymore. It tells us 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.)



♦️ Laila 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.)

♦️ Laila 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.)


💫💫 The golden rule is that: 💫💫

1- Don't use the Present Perfect with specific past time.
2- Don't use the Present Perfect with finished time periods.

✅ John had breakfast this morning.
(We are now in the afternoon or evening. The morning period is finished.)

✅ John has just had breakfast this morning.
(We are still in the morning period.)


✅ Mozart composed more than 600 pieces of music.
(Mozart is dead, and he no longer composes music.)

❌ Mozart has composed more than 600 pieces of music.
(Mozart is dead but this sentence would suggest that he is still alive. That's why it is an incorrect sentence.)


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Unit-14 Exercises || Answered

#Unit-15 Past Perfect (I had done)

⚡️Further reading on the uses of the Past Perfect Simple Tense⚡️

♦️ 1- An action that happened (or never happened) before another action in the past:


a- When we arrived, the film had started.
(= 1st the film started, 2nd we arrived)

b- My father retired last year. He had worked for the same company all his life.
(= 1st he worked, 2nd he retired)

c- I had never met her before yesterday's party.

(( We usually use the past perfect to make it clear which action happened first. Maybe we are already talking about something in the past and we want to mention something else that is further back in time. This is often used to explain or give a reasons for something in the past.))


a- It had felt ill in the night, so I didn't go to school.
(= 1st I felt ill, 2nd I did not go to school)



♦️ 2- An action that happened before a specific time in the past:

a- By 2000, many people had emigrated because of starvation.
(People had emigrated before 2000)

b- She had got married by the time she was 22 years old.
(She got married before she was 22 years old)

(( Something that started in the past and continued up to another action or time in the past. The past perfect tells us 'how long', just like the present perfect, but this time the action continues up to a point in the past rather than the present. Usually we use 'for + time'. We can also use the past perfect continuous here, so we most often use the past perfect simple with stative verbs.))

a- When he graduated, he had been in London for six years.
(= He arrived in London six years before he graduated and lived there until he graduated, or even longer.)

b- On the 20th of July, I had worked here for three months.


♦️ 3- Third conditional + wish

To talk about unreal or imaginary things in the past. In the same way that we use the past simple to talk about unreal or imaginary things in the present, we use the past perfect (one step back in time) to talk about unreal things in the past. This is common in the 'third conditional' and after 'wish'.

a- She would have passed the exam if she had studied harder.

b- I wish I hadn't gone to bed so late!


♦️ chronological order of tenses with "before", "after" and "by"


- Simple Past after Past Perfect:
a- He watched TV after he had finished his homework.


- Past Perfect before Simple Past:
a- She had cooked before she went out with her friends.

- Past Perfect by Simple Past:
a- They had already left by the time we arrived.


♦️1- Remember:♦️
There is no need to use the Past Perfect with "before" or "after". We can use the Simple Past in both clauses because the relationship between the two actions is already clear with "before" and "after".

a- She had not finished cleaning the house before the guests arrived.
or
b- She did not finish cleaning the house before the quests arrived.


♦️2- Remember:♦️
With the adverb of time "when", if the Simple Past tense is used in both clauses, then the the verb in the "when-clause" is the verb that happens first:

a- When I arrived, we had dinner.
(1st- I arrived, 2nd we had dinner)

b- When I arrived home, my mother cooked dinner.
(1st- I arrived, 2nd my mother cooked)


But, when we use the Past Perfect in one of the two clauses, then the Past Perfect verb is the verb that happens first.

a- When I arrived, they had had dinner.
(1st- they had had dinner, 2nd I arrived)

b- When I arrived home, my mother had cooked dinner.
(1st- had cooked, 2nd I arrived)


♦️3- Remember:♦️
Don't use the Past Perfect Tense if you don't have a Simple Past Action / Time that you need to go further back in time before it.

- I had finished my homework. (seems unnatural)
- I had finished my homework before I watched TV. (more natural)


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Unit-15 Exercises || Answered

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#Unit-16 Past Perfect Continuous (I had been doing)

⚡️Further reading on the uses of the Past Perfect Continuous Tense⚡️


♦️ 1. Duration Before Something in the Past:

We use the past perfect continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" are both durations which can be used with the past perfect continuous. Notice that this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous; however, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.

a. They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.

b. Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.



♦️2. Cause of Something in the Past:

Using the past perfect continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect.

a. The pavement was wet. It had been raining.

b. Sam gained weight because he had been overeating.



♦️3. Repeated Actions:

(We use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense for repeated actions to say for how long the action had been occurring before another past action i.e. with mentioning the duration of repetition):

a. I had been getting this magazine every week for a year before I unsubscribed.

b. She had been going to school every morning for two months before she travelled abroad.


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Exercises of #Unit-16

Unit-16 Exercises || Answered