En muchas ocasiones, podemos tener la certeza de que tenemos que utilizar una forma verbal u otra, sobre todo, si todavía tenemos el pequeño “vicio” de traducir de un idioma a otro.
En el siguiente cuadro, podéis ver las diferencias de cuando es necesario utilizar ‘presente perfecto’ o ‘pasado simple‘:
Presente perfecto |
Pasado simple |
Normalmente utilizamos el presente perfecto cuando:
Ejemplos: I’ve broken my arm so I can’t do the Spanish exam. Julia has bought a ticket for the concert tonight. ( = Julia has a ticket and plans to go to the concert tonight.)
Ejemplos: I’ve lost my keys (and now I can’t open my front door). I’ve finished all my homework (so I don’t have to do it now). También podemos utilizar el presente perfecto para:
Ejemplos: JK Rowling has written seven Harry Potter books. (= She may write more.). I’ve never been to China (until now, but I may go in the future).
Ejemplos: Rafa Nadal has won again. I’ve had my hair cut.
Ejemplos: ‘How long have you lived there?’ ‘I’ve lived here for three years.’ ( = I’m interested in a time period that started in the past and continues until now.) ahora). |
Normalmente utilizamos el pasado simple cuando:
Ejemplos: I broke my arm when I was riding my bike. Coen bought two tickets for last week’s concert and he went with his friend Javi. ( = Coen went to the concert with Javi last week.)
Ejemplos: I lost my keys yesterday (and I couldn’t open the front door). I did my homework last night. Utilizamos el pasado simple:
Ejemplos: JRR Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings. (= Tolkien’s dead so he won’t write more.) When I was in Asia, I didn’t go to China (= I’m not in Asia now).
Ejemplos: He beat Roger Federer. (not has beaten) I went to that new hairdresser’s.
Ejemplos: ‘When did you move here?’ ‘May 2009.’ (= I’m interested in a particular date in the past.) ‘What time did the match start?’ |