Simple Past vs.

Present Perfect Tense

Present perfect tense digunakan untuk membicarakan aksi yang telah dimulai di masa lampau (baru-baru ini atau sudah
lama) dan terhubung dengan masa kini (masih berlangsung atau efeknya dapat dirasakan di masa kini).
Berbeda dengan dengan present perfect, simple past tense mendeskripsikan aksi yang telah rampung (completed
actions) atau situasi di masa lampau (past situation) tanpa menghubungkannya dengan masa kini.

Contoh:

My uncle came last week.

simple past tense
(Paman saya datang minggu lalu.)

My uncle has come.

present perfect tense
(Paman saya sudah datang) baru-baru ini; sekarang dia ada disini

Informasi waktu (time) pada simple past mungkin spesifik, seperti: last night, this morning, dan on Sunday;
sedangkan pada present perfect mungkin tidak dengan menggunakan indefinite time expression seperti: already,
just, dan recently.

Contoh:

I submitted my resignation letter yesterday.

simple past tense
(Saya mengirimkan surat pengunduran diri kemarin.)

I have already submitted my resignation letter.

present perfect tense
(Saya sudah mengirimkan surat pengunduran diri.)

For atau since sama-sama dapat ditambahkan pada kedua tense tersebut, dimana pada simple past penambahan
preposition tersebut menandakan bahwa aksi telah selesai, sementara pada present perfect berarti aksi belum
selesai.

Contoh:

He worked with me for nearly three years.

simple past tense
(Dia bekerja dengan saya selama hampir tiga tahun.) dia tidak bekerja disini sekarang

He has worked with me for nearly three years.

present perfect tense
(Dia telah bekerja dengan saya selama tiga tahun.) dia masih bekerja disini

Interrogative sentence (kalimat pertanyaan) pada simple past biasanya menggunakan pronoun “when”,
sementara pada present perfect menggunakan “how long”.

Contoh:

When did they arrive here? Two days ago.

simple past tense
(Kapan mereka tiba disini?)

How long have they been here? They’ve been here for two days.
present perfect tense
(Berapa lama mereka telah berada disini?)

Signal Words

Simple Past Present Perfect Simple

 yesterday  just

 ... ago  already

 in 1990  up to now

 the other day  until now / till now

 last ...  ever

 (not) yet

 so far
  lately / recently
1.She … in a two-story house when she was young.
 lived
 has lived

2.German Democratic Republic … the Berlin Wall in 1961.

 has constructed
 constructed

3.He … the car yet.

 didn't fix
 hasn't fixed

4.They … in Boston for ten years before moving here.

 have lived
 lived

5.The factory … in operation since 1980.

 was
 has been

6.… already?
 has the bus left
 did the bus leave

7.Arum … her bank locker key yesterday.

 has lost
 lost

8.How long … to get the diagnosis? It took so long.

 have you waited
 did you wait

9.The driver … his car three times this year.

 crashed
 has crashed

10.I … the book, but still don’t get it.

 have re-read
 re-read