Action Completed

Referring to Past Activities or Events
Use past tense when an activity or event:
- is completed
- is not a part of the speaker's present perspective
(The speaker is distancing himself from the event.)
Past vs. Present Perfect Time Frames
| PAST | PRESENT PERFECT |
|---|---|
Used for an action that is completed, existed in the past, but does not exist now. The speaker is mentally distanced from it. |
Used for an action that is enduring or reoccurring, existed in the past and may continue or reoccur in the future, or has recently stopped. The speaker is still affected by it |
Jack received a speeding ticket on June 16th. |
Jack has received several traffic citations over the past year. (recently, already) |
Jack had two speeding tickets last year. |
Jack has completed his traffic school courses. (recently, already) |
Jack was more care after that. |
Jack has been more careful about watching his speedometer. (continues) |

Adverbs for Past Tense
| ADVERBS FOR PAST TENSE | ADVERBS FOR PRESENT PERFECT TENSE |
|---|---|
Activities that occured in the past and have entered a past time frame in the mind of the speaker. |
Activities and events that began in the past and have continued up until the present (or recent past) and remain current in the mind of the speaker. |
|
* used with present perfect progressive |
Examples of "Distancing" vs. "Keeping Near"
| PAST - DISTANCING | PRESENT PERFECT - KEEPING NEAR |
|---|---|
Distant past – "It's so over! " |
Near past – "This is my now." |
Jack smoked for ten years. He quit last year. |
Jack: "I have been nicotine free for a year." |
Jack was married to Rita. They divorced six months ago. |
Rita: "I have just gone through a divorce." |
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005. |
Hurricane Katrina has devastated the New Orleans area. |
Common Mistakes
| ERRORS | FIXES |
|---|---|
I attended college since September of last year. |
I have attended college since September of last year. (Match adverbs with tense.) |
Practice
Select the correct tense.
- Choose the tense that agrees with the adverbs of time.
- An asterisk (*) indicates an incorrect answer.
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