Rob and Stephen discuss differences between the past simple and present perfect and different uses of ‘look’ and ‘say’.




Language level

Intermediate: B1


can anyone tell me how to get to watch the video?

Hello rasty.

If everything is working correctly, the video should appear automatically on the page. I've just checked and it's working for me, so I would suggest trying a few things. First, try using a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) to see if that solves the problem. If not, it's also a good idea to try a different device (mobile phone, tablet, computer, etc.). If you still can't see the video after any of that, please let us know what browser version you are using and we'll see if we can recommend anything else.

Good luck!

All the best


The LearnEnglish Team

What is the differences between it says and it said ?
Please ,tell me that

I have question about this sentence " I did not like coffee til I become student ",.
Is it not better to use Present Perfect ?

Hello Tad90,

The idea here is that, even if you are still a student now, the moment that you became a student was in the past. Since it's a discrete time in the past, the past simple is the correct tense.

All the best,
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello dear team,
“ I have always wanted”= present perfect
Present perfect :
- An action that has completed before the present = she has played tennis
- or uncompleted and still going on up to present = I have lived in London……., she has got married to john since 1990
What about “always= every time / all the time” ???
Present perfect is not every time / all the time because future not included.
Could you help me, please? I was confused

Hello fahri,

The present perfect doesn't talk about the future but rather a past time period that includes or somehow has contact with the present. So if you say, for example, 'Every time I have gone to see a football match, it has rained', it is only referring to the times I have been to see football matches in my life until now (not the future). As for 'all the time', I can't think of a sentence with the present perfect that would work. You could use 'all the times', but this means the same as 'every time' and works the same way.

I'm not sure if this answers your question. If not, please include specific sentences for us to comment on.

And by the way, the sentence 'She has got married to John since 1990' is not correct; 'She has been married to John since 1990' is correct.

All the best,
The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you sir, you are very kind.
But I’m very sorry to ask you with long question. My point is just for first sentence:
“I’ve always wanted”
Why Stephen use “always”
Why not?
“I have wanted”

Hello fahri,

When we use the present perfect to describe an ongoing state then we generally provide a time reference. Here, that time reference is 'always' and it tells us that this is something which Stephen has wanted all his life rather than, for example, a shorter time. Instead of 'always' he could say 'since I started my job', 'for the last years', 'since I was a small child' etc.


Best wishes,


The LearnEnglish Team