Past Simple or Present Perfect: 25 Advanced English Grammar Rules to help you choose

[@DashinDanish]

Happy to be watching your class from the Taj Mahal city in India and hear you mention the monument doubles the joy. Thank you, teacher.

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Wonderful! I like to include places from around the world in my videos, and the Taj Mahal is extremely well-known in the UK!

[@rohitprajapati1141]

Greetings from India 🇮🇳. Happy New year to my beloved English Teacher

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Thanks so much and Happy New Year 😁

[@AyeAyeMon]

Sir, your lessons are amazing! Thank you so much, and I look forward to learning more from you.

[@EnglishwithRupert]

I'm so glad that you are enjoying my videos. Thanks for letting me know!

[@mehmedbeyim]

thank you teacher. you are one of the best to explain the grammar well. please keep the video time in the range of 25-30.

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Many thanks Mehmed! I am trying to be briefer in general, but I was rather surprised when this video turned out to be over 30 minutes! Apologies!

[@tawfiktawati8833]

I discovered this channel few days ago. I have been following it since then

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Thanks for writing! It's great to have you with us! Please let me know if I can help you in any further way - I try to answer all questions myself, although sometimes I get a few days behind 😁

[@tawfiktawati8833]

@EnglishwithRupert 💐Thanks alot. 🙏 that is very generous of you

[@AshimGoswami-y7l]

Thanks fav Congratulation the new year be luxurious in English Grammar with your unwavering support with sincere love, respect for South Asian English. Learners..

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Thanks so much Ashim, I really appreciate your lovely words!

[@dan93431]

Hi Rupert, 1)In part 0:13, "Advanced English grammar is all about choosing between rules as well as knowing rules." Is 'As well as' a preposition in your sentence? 2)In part 13:56, 'I fell off my bike.' Can I say I fell from/out of my bike? 3)In part 20:11, "This is the first time he has won the prize.'/This was the first time he had won the prize. Most of the time, I notice native speakers using 'This is the first time+gerund.' what is the difference between them? Can I say this is the first time winning the prize/ This was the first time winning the prize? 4)In part 15:32, "There has been a volcanic eruption 20 minutes ago at a nearby mountain." Can I use the preposition 'On' (on a nearby mountain)? 5)a)In part 22:34, Having found the keys ,we entered the hotel. I can also say b)'Finding the keys,we entered the hotel.' Or We entered the hotel, finding the keys. The full clause will still be 'we found the keys and we entered the hotel. 6) If I say 'Reading the reviews of the hotel, I am really excited about visiting.' Is it also correct? The full clause will be 'I read the reviews of the hotel and I am really excited.... Present+present 😊 7) in your sentence, Having read the reviews.....,I am.... If I say the full clause in this way such as 'I have read the reviews of the hotel and I am really excited...', is it also correct?

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Hi Dan! It is getting slightly harder for me to answer longer queries because my other channel (Speak English With Rupert) has grown very quickly, but I will try my best! 1) Grammarians would say "as well as" is a preposition in this case - it can be a conjunction in some cases and a preposition in others 2) I haven't heard "fell out of my bike" being used - "fell from my bike" might be possible, but "fell off" is the most commonly used phrase 3) I'm not used to hearing "This is the first time winning", but the following structure is used "This is my first time winning/This is her first time winning" (i.e. possessive pronoun instead of "the") 4) I would think "on" is acceptable here 5) The sentence beginning "Finding the keys" would work, but the second example might imply you entered the hotel before finding the keys or finding the keys at the same time as entering the hotel. 6) Yes, that's fine 7) Yes, good again :)

[@นลินรัตน์วิชานนท์กุลศรี]

Teacher Rupert was considered a genius by the students. You are helping everyone achieve their goal of fully understanding English language learning with your excellent teaching skills and knowledge. Have you ever applied to be a chef here before? I have cooked here before. I have eaten breakfast every morning. I finished talking care of the plants in the garden before having breakfast.

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Great sentences 👏👏👏🎉

[@นลินรัตน์วิชานนท์กุลศรี]

❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏

[@deed2862]

Superb explanation, Superb video!!! Hope to watch videos on Tenses and time soon. On all Tenses!!! Wish you a Wonderful New Year 2025!!!

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Thanks! Wishing you a wonderful 2025 too 😁

[@borisandrievsky4769]

Great! But the restaurant example is in the Past (not Present) Perfect. Thank you for the lessons provided!

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Thanks! Yes, the example is deliberately in the past perfect, because some may have assumed the present perfect or past simple might have been used instead 👍🙂

[@sanjibganguli3084]

Sir,my next Tense-based question is -The child ------(lost/had lost)his parents in the fair.Tears were running down his cheeks.Sir, Do please enlighten me a tad bit as to whether I would use 'lost' or 'had lost ' in the blank provided.

[@EnglishwithRupert]

It depends upon what had come immediately before in the story. If the previously stated event was something at a time before the child losing his parents, use the past simple. If the previously stated event came after the child losing his parents, use the past perfect.

[@mehmedbeyim]

example 8: instead of this was the firts time they had lost in year, it was the first time... can we replace the sentence like that?

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Yes, this would usually be ok, although it is worth noting that "this" creates a stronger link to the information that came before :)

[@rameshy4564]

Happy New Year 2025 Dear Sir 🎁💐

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Happy New Year to you too! May this year bring you a lot of happiness :)

[@vijayaraghavankv9470]

How to desigin smokles funnel

[@theaumenglishacademy8592]

It is a dog. My aunt had two puppies .one is Alsatian and one Rottweiler .She (gave/has given)me one of them. Sir,both answers are possible , aren't they?

[@EnglishwithRupert]

Yes, absolutely - it's just that "She gave" places the event in a time period that was completed in the past, whereas "She has given" places the event in a time period that could be any time between the past and now.

[@EnglishAnahit]

👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@vladimirb5319]

... hi teacher ... your question "Did you pick up the keys before we left?" has struck me as ´ungrammatical´ ... the action of picking up the keys would obviously have preceded the action of leaving - that´s why I expected "Had you picked up... ?" ... a person often criticizing me said it would be ´super-correct´ and, consequently, stupid ... is she right? ... thank you ...

[@EnglishwithRupert]

It's a really good question. A couple of thoughts: - The phrase "before we left" is an adverbial clause rather than an independent clause. So, in reality, the purpose of this clause is to mark the time of the main clause. Bearing this in mind, there is no reason why the past simple cannot be used. Imagine if it were replaced by a different phrase to mark time e.g "an hour ago" - there would be no question about using the past simple. - The past perfect is usually required when there is a narrative, and an event in the narrative is outside of the usual progression. This question is a "stand alone", and not part of a narrative, so there's nothing outside of the usual progression of time and therefore there's no contextual need for the past perfect. That said, I agree there is also a case for using the past perfect for the reasons you give. My instinct is that, in real life, both the past simple and past perfect could be used by a native speaker. If only grammar was as black and white as the books make out 😁

[@vladimirb5319]

@@EnglishwithRupert ... perhaps there is something mysterious in language that transcends mere grammar ... : - ) ... thank you, teacher ...