Are the simple past and present perfect tenses identical in their time relationship to the present?
1 Answer
Dec 5, 2016
No.
Explanation:
The simple past tense refers to an action that has been completed and has no connection to the present; the present perfect tense refers to an action that has just been completed in proximity to the present.
Hence the simple past will imply a time in the past during which the action was completed; for example:
I swam across the English Channel twice.
The present perfect, on the other hand, will imply an action that has just been completed as the sentence is made; for example:
I have swum the English Channel.