Past Simple
The past simple is the most recognized form of the past tense, but the irregularities in making it trouble many learners. For regular verbs, the ending is –ed or for verbs already ending in -e, –d only. For example, live becomes lived. For irregular verbs, the form must be memorized because there are no rules.
The past simple is used to describe something that began and ended in the past. For example: I lived in England for 11 years. This is an event that started and ended in the past as shown by the timeline below.
Present Perfect
The present perfect describes another aspect of the past. Its form is easy to learn, but possibly difficult to recognize. The present perfect is formed by combining have/has with a past participle. For example, live becomes have or has lived. The difficulty in making the present perfect is that many past participles are irregular. There are no rules regarding these irregular verbs and these, too, must be memorized.
The present perfect is used to describe something that began in the past and continues to the present time. For example: I have lived in Cairo for six years. This is an event that started in the past and still continues as shown below.
Keeping these simple rules and timelines in mind will help learners differentiate the past simple and the present perfect. These tenses are two of the most common in English and it is vital to know when to use them.