Past tense vs present prefect

Question

Hi,Today I learned "Past Tense" and "Present participle".Would you mind to say how native speaker differentiate? I completed the work.      or I have completed the work.The diff between sentences above is:1st one is completed the work long back,2nd one has just completed the work (may be 10-15 minutes before.Please let me know my understanding is correct?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

gray olive 661Please let me know if my understanding is correct.

Not exactly. It has more to do with telling a story that happened in the past as opposed to giving someone an update in the present about what happened in the past.

I completed the work can be part of a story of something that happened in the past.

The boss gave me a really hard assignment to do. I worked on it for two weeks. Finally, I completed the work, and it was on time, so our project was not delayed.

I have completed the work can be used to update someone on the status of your work.

— This afternoon, the boss is going to ask me how my work is progressing.
— What are you going to say?
— Well, I have completed the work, so that's what I'll tell him.

(This is a claim in the present that the work done earlier is now in a completed state.)

Other examples:

I was sad. (This means at that time in the past you were sad, but it says nothing about how you feel now. It applies only to that time in the past.)

I have been sad. (This means that your sadness started in the past and has continued until now. It applies to the time in the past when you first felt sad, and to all the time from then until now.)

— What did you do at the party last night?
— I played games.
(This was just during the party. The party ended some time ago.)

— What have you done at times when you have been bored?
— I have played games.
(This is at any time in the past when you were bored, whether it was a long time ago or very recently. This usage tells us what your experience has been or a habit you have had throughout your life, or throughout part of it.)

Sometimes you can use both tenses in the same group of sentences.

I went to Romania to visit some friends last year.
(one event, already finished)
You know, I have often gone there to see them over the past 10 years.
(a life experience or habit that started earlier and still continues; the last trip to Romania was not necessarily very recent)

The past is always "definite". That is, it always takes place at a certain time or during a certain period that is separate from present time. You can even add the time in your sentence (but you don't have to).

Bill found some money on the ground [yesterday / last week].

The present perfect is always "indefinite". That is, we never say exactly when it happened in the same sentence.

Bill has found some money on the ground yesterday is wrong! To correct it, you must remove 'yesterday' because that's a mention of time. OR, you must change 'has found' to 'found'.

CJ

Past tense vs present prefect

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