We often use the Present Perfect when we talk about things that we did in the past but without saying exactly when we did them. We use the Past Simple to describe past events that happened at a specific moment in the past. Compare the use of the Present Perfect and Past Simple in the sentences below. I have been to Paris. I went there in 2011 with two of my friends. I had a great time. I wrote "I have been to Paris". This sentence shows that I went to Paris at some point in my life but it is not clear exactly when. For this reason, we use the Present Perfect Simple. In the second sentence, I then say the specific year I went there (2011) so I used the Past Simple. In the third sentence, we use the Past Simple because I am giving more information about the specific time that I went there in 2011. Here is another example to show you the difference: "I have done several different types of extreme sports in my life. I went bungee jumping in New Zealand while I was on holiday there, I went sky diving in Argentina 5 years and I went white water rafting in Peru when I was 18" The first sentence refers to "in my life" so we use the Present Perfect Simple and the next sentences give information about specific moments in that person's life. I should point out that this isn't the only reason why we use the Present Perfect to talk about events in the past but it is a key one. It is, of course, confusing because we also use the Present Perfect Simple/Present Perfect Continuous for unfinished actions which began in the past such as: "I have been living in London for 5 years" "They have been married for a year and a half" "He has been worked at that company for nearly 35 years". Here's a short YouTube video which will help you as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61vXRGJgUH0 If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. Jamie (www.italki.com/teacher/2961333)

It's as Jamie explained. I'd just like to point out that in colloquial American usage, we often use the simple past where British speakers would use the present perfect. For example: UK: I've just eaten. / I've already eaten. US: I just ate. / I already ate.

It is as Jamie said. Too many things happen now, then and were perfectly completed then...and we try to use tenses to explain the order in which they happened or happen. Labels for tenses may not help, but reading a lot and practicing simple sentences definitely will. The cat. The cat sleeps. The cat sleeps on the mat every evening. (Routine occurence - simple Present Tense) The cat slept. The cat slept on the mat last night.(Past Tense: I can see proof of it now; she did not sleep on the couch) The cat is sleeping. (I.e. not hunting or eating etc. Gerunds help with showing continuing activities/ Continuous Tenses) The cat slept while the dog was barking. (Here you see two things happening as in Jamie's explanation) First get these, then we can look at the Perfect Tenses in detail.

It will help if you give one or two examples.