Time Markers: Finished vs Unfinished Time
Practice recognising finished-time markers (yesterday, last week, ago, in 2007) that require the past simple, versus unfinished-time markers (this morning, just, ever) that require the present perfect.
-
I ___ Tom yesterday afternoon at the supermarket.
Show answer
saw
'Yesterday' is a finished time — use past simple.
-
Jane ___ her driving test last week.
Show answer
passed
'Last week' is a finished time — use past simple.
-
Have you ___ visited Tokyo?
Show answer
ever
'Ever' goes with the present perfect for past experiences. 'Yesterday / last year' would need past simple.
-
I ___ this car in 2007.
Show answer
bought
'In 2007' is a finished time — use past simple.
-
The plane ___ landed — the passengers are getting off now.
Show answer
has just
'Just' goes with present perfect, before the past participle.
-
I ___ my Toyota two weeks ago.
Show answer
sold
'Ago' means 'a period before now' — use past simple.
-
Rick ___ the course six months ago.
Show answer
finished
'Six months ago' is a finished time — use past simple.
-
I met her three years ___.
Show answer
ago
'Ago' means a period before now — pairs with past simple.
Time Markers: The Key to Choosing Present Perfect or Past Simple
Time markers are the single most reliable signal for choosing between the present perfect and the past simple, because they tell the listener directly whether the speaker is treating the relevant period as closed or as still open. Learners who memorise this contrast as a vocabulary list — rather than as a form rule — tend to make far fewer tense errors, because the correct tense usually becomes obvious the moment the time marker is identified. Two contrasting sentences with identical events but different time markers illustrate the point precisely: 'Caroline's bought a lot of clothes this year' (present perfect, because the year is still running) versus 'Caroline bought a lot of clothes two years ago' (past simple, because that year has closed).
Finished-Time Markers: Past Simple
Markers that name a point or period already closed off always take the past simple, regardless of how the sentence is phrased otherwise: yesterday, last week/month/year, in + a past year, a specific number of time units + ago, and the question word 'when' (which always asks about one specific completed moment).
I bought this car in 2007.
I sold my Toyota two weeks ago.
'When did he get here?' ('when' always signals past simple)
Unfinished-Time Markers: Present Perfect
Markers that describe a period still running, or that carry no specific time at all, take the present perfect: this morning/week/month (while still in progress), so far, ever, just, already. These words signal that the speaker is not closing off the time period — it remains open, connected to the moment of speaking.
Have you ever visited Tokyo?
The plane has just landed.
The Same Event, Two Different Markers
Because the choice of tense depends entirely on the time marker rather than on the event itself, the identical action can appear in either tense depending only on which marker accompanies it.
Caroline bought a lot of clothes two years ago. (two years ago — closed)
Common Mistakes
✗ Rick has finished the course six months ago. → ✓ Rick finished the course six months ago. ('ago' — past simple)
✗ 'When have you bought this house?' → ✓ 'When did you buy this house?' ('when' — past simple)
✗ Caroline bought a lot of clothes this year. → ✓ Caroline's bought a lot of clothes this year. ('this year' still running — present perfect)
Last updated: · Satori Editorial