English grammar quiz
Quiz: Present Perfect vs Past Simple
I have seen or I saw? One of the most common mix-ups in English grammar. Answer 12 questions and see if you can feel the difference — with an explanation after each answer.
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Quiz: Present Perfect vs Past Simple
Choose the right option — you’ll instantly see if you got it and why. Your score comes after the last question.
Question 1.
So far, I (blank) to Paris three times.
Choose the right option
So far is a Present Perfect marker: it is about experience up to now, with no finished time in the past.
Question 2.
We (blank) to Paris last summer.
Choose the right option
Last summer is a finished time in the past. With yesterday, last…, ago or in 2020 we always use the Past Simple.
Question 3.
(blank) you ever been to London?
Choose the right option
Ever asks about life experience, so it is Present Perfect: Have you ever been…? Also, been is a past participle and needs have / has.
Question 4.
I (blank) him at the station yesterday.
Choose the right option
Yesterday is finished time. The Present Perfect is never used with yesterday: only I saw.
Question 5.
They (blank) married in 2015.
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In 2015 is an exact past date, so the Past Simple: they got married. Compare: they have been married for 10 years.
Question 6.
He (blank) for this company since 2020.
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Since shows an action that started in the past and continues now, so we need the Present Perfect: has worked, not works or worked.
Question 7.
“Have you done your homework?” — “Yes, I (blank) it an hour ago.”
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The question is about the result (Present Perfect), but as soon as we say when — an hour ago — we switch to the Past Simple.
Question 8.
We (blank) each other for ten years, and we are still best friends.
Choose the right option
For ten years and still friends: the state continues up to now, so have known. Knew would mean the friendship is over.
Question 9.
When (blank) you start learning English?
Choose the right option
When? asks about a specific moment in the past, so it always takes the Past Simple: When did you start…?
Question 10.
Shakespeare (blank) about 39 plays.
Choose the right option
Shakespeare’s life is a finished period, so the Past Simple. Use the Present Perfect for a period that is still going on: She has written three books (so far).
Question 11.
This is the best film I (blank) ever seen.
Choose the right option
After a superlative (the best, the most…) with ever, we talk about experience up to now: the best film I have ever seen.
Question 12.
It’s only 10 a.m., and I (blank) three cups of coffee this morning.
Choose the right option
This morning, this week, today take the Present Perfect while the period is still going on (it’s 10 a.m.). In the evening: I had three cups of coffee this morning.
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Take the level testPresent Perfect vs Past Simple: the rule
Both are about the past. The difference is what matters more: when it happened, or what we have now.
Past Simple: the time matters
The action finished in the past and we know or ask when. Form: V2 (went, saw, worked); questions and negatives use did.
I saw this film last week.
finished time: last week
When did you arrive?
When…? asks about the time
Present Perfect: the result matters
No time is given because it doesn’t matter: the experience or the result now does. Form: have / has + V3 (been, seen, worked).
I have seen this film. Let’s watch something else.
experience that matters now
She has lost her keys.
result: she doesn’t have them now
Present Perfect: still going on
With for and since: it started in the past and hasn’t finished. Many languages use the present tense here; English uses the Present Perfect.
We have lived here for five years.
and we still live here
I have known him since school.
and I still know him
Unfinished time: Present Perfect
Today, this week, this year — while the period is still going on. Once it’s over (yesterday, last year), use the Past Simple.
I have drunk three coffees today.
today isn’t over yet
I drank three coffees yesterday.
yesterday is finished
Typical mistakes
Things learners of English often say. On the left — what to avoid, on the right — the correct version.
Not this:
I have seen him yesterday.This: I saw him yesterday.
Yesterday, ago, last… — Past Simple only.
Not this:
I live here since 2019.This: I have lived here since 2019.
Since + still true now = Present Perfect.
Not this:
When have you started?This: When did you start?
When…? always takes the Past Simple.
Not this:
I am here for two hours.This: I have been here for two hours.
The state continues up to now, so have been.
FAQ
Didn’t find your answer? Send us a request — we’ll tell you everything.
How can I quickly tell the Present Perfect from the Past Simple?
Ask yourself: does the sentence say when it happened? If it does — yesterday, last year, in 2020, When…? — it’s the Past Simple. If what matters is the experience or the result now, with no time given, it’s the Present Perfect.
Don’t Americans say “I just ate”?
They do: in American English the Past Simple is common with just, already and yet, and it isn’t a mistake. But British English, textbooks and exams (IELTS, Cambridge) prefer I have just eaten.
Why is “I live here since 2019” wrong?
Many languages use the present tense here. In English an action that started in the past and is still true needs the Present Perfect: I have lived here since 2019 (or the Present Perfect Continuous: I have been living here since 2019).
Been or gone?
Have been to means “went and came back”: She has been to Paris (she’s home now). Have gone to means “went and is still there”: She has gone to Paris (she’s in Paris now).
More grammar quizzes
- A1
There is / there are
There is or there are: singular, plural, questions and the past.
- A1–A2
Present Simple vs Present Continuous
I work or I’m working: habits and facts vs what’s happening right now.
- A1–B1
Articles a, an, the
A, an, the or no article: from a / an to countries, rivers and mountains.
- A1–A2
Much, many, a lot of
Much or many, a few or a little: countable and uncountable nouns.
- A1–A2
Prepositions in, on, at
In May, on Monday, at 5 o’clock: prepositions of time and place.
- A1–A2
Comparatives and superlatives
Bigger, the biggest, more interesting: rules and exceptions.
- A1–A2
Question forms
Do / does / did, word order, subject questions and question tags.
- A2–B1
Will vs going to
A decision now or an earlier plan: the future with will and going to.
- A2–B2
Modal verbs
Can, must, should, might: obligation, advice, possibility, deduction.
- A2–B1
Present tenses
All four: Present Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous in one quiz.
- A2–B2
Past tenses
Past Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous: what happened, what was going on, what came first.
- A2–B2
Future tenses
Will, going to, Present Continuous, Future Continuous and Future Perfect: how to talk about the future.
- A2–B2
Passive voice
Be + past participle in every tense: is made, was built, has been sold.
- B1–B2
Gerund or infinitive
Enjoy doing, want to do, stop doing or stop to do.
- B1–B2
Conditionals
Zero, first, second, third and mixed: if I have, if I had, if I had had.
- B1–B2
I wish and if only
I wish I knew, I wish I had known, I wish you would stop.
- B1–B2
Reported speech
She said she was tired: tense changes, said or told, questions.
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