Sunday, March 26, 2017

tense - Simple Past vs. Present Perfect


Sometimes I feel difficulty telling the difference between simple past and present perfect.


Given a picture like this:


A man fell off his bike.



which one is correct between these two? Or in what sense are they different?


A. He fell off his motorcycle.


B. He has fallen off his motorcycle.



Answer



Simple past: An action or event happened in the past.


Present perfect: An action or event has happened in the past and it's might happen again in the future.


A. He fell off his motorcycle.
This just means "he just fell off his motorbike." Example: Mike fell off his motorbike. Do you want to see him at the hospital?


B. He has fallen off his motorcycle.
This means that he fell off the motorbike (yesterday) and there is a chance that it will happen again in the future. Example: Mike has fallen off the motorbike again. This is the third time in a month.



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