This is the grammar choice B1 students get wrong most often — and the one examiners listen for first. It sits at the centre of the B1 level because it controls how you talk about your own life and experience.
What you can do after this lesson
You can decide, in the moment of speaking, whether a past event needs I did or I have done — and explain why.
The lesson
The two tenses answer different questions.
Past simple answers when? The time is finished and usually named: yesterday, last year, in 2023, when I was at school.
I visited Lae last December.
Present perfect answers ever? / up to now? The time period is still open, or the exact time does not matter:
I have visited Lae three times.
The test: if you can add a finished-time phrase (yesterday, in 2020) without changing the meaning, you need the past simple. If the sentence is really about experience, news, or a result that matters now, you need the present perfect.
Three signal groups for the present perfect:
- Experience: ever, never, before — Have you ever eaten mud crab?
- Unfinished time: today, this week, this year, since, for — She has worked here since 2024.
- Present result: just, already, yet — I*'ve just** finished the report, so we can submit it.*
Examples
| Situation | Correct form | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Job interview: your experience | I have managed small teams. | Experience up to now |
| Same interview, then details | I managed a team of six in 2025. | Time is now named |
| News to a friend | Dad has bought a car! | Present result |
| Story about the weekend | We drove to Sogeri on Saturday. | Finished, named time |
Common mistakes
- ✗ I have seen him yesterday. → ✓ I saw him yesterday. (Named finished time forces past simple.)
- ✗ I live here since 2022. → ✓ I have lived here since 2022. (Since + open period needs present perfect.)
- ✗ Did you ever go to Australia? → ✓ Have you ever been to Australia? (Experience question.)
Self-check — what can I do now?
Cover the answers and decide: past simple or present perfect?
- I ______ (finish) my assignment — can I go out now? (have finished — present result)
- She ______ (graduate) in 2023. (graduated — named time)
- ______ you ever ______ (try) betel nut? (Have … tried — experience)
If you scored 3/3 and can say why each answer is right, you own this grammar point.