Understand the Present Perfect

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Let's compare the present tenses and the present perfect.

Example 1	I work at Amazon.	I am working at Amazon.	I have worked at Amazon for 5 years.
Meaning	a general statement	a general statement with emphasis on the present	a statement showing a period of time that continues in the present
Example 2	I play soccer.	I am playing soccer.	I have played soccer recently.
Meaning	a general statement of ability	a statement on what is happening now	a statement about a recent activity
Example 3	My daughter watches a movie.	My daughter is watching a movie.	My daughter has watched a movie.
Meaning	a general statement	a general statement with emphasis on the present	a statement about a recent activity
Example 4	He runs marathons.	He is running a marathon.	He has run a marathon.
Meaning	a general statement	a statement on what is happening now	an accomplishment that could have happened any time in the past

Now let's compare the past tense with the present perfect.

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Example 1	We walked to the cafe.	We were walking to the cafe.	We have walked to the cafe.
Meaning	a general statement	a statement showing past time	a statement about a recent activity
Example 2	He managed the department.	He was managing the department.	He has managed the department for years.
Meaning	a general statement	a statement showing past time	a statement indicating a period of time that continues in the present
Example 3	You wrote a good essay.	You were writing an essay.	You have written a good essay.
Meaning	a general statement	a statement showing past time	a statement about a recent activity
Example 4	She won three awards.	She was winning three awards.	She has won three awards.
Meaning	a general statement	a statement showing past time	accomplishments that could have happened at any time

Note: Unless you indicate the time period with the present perfect, time is not specific. So you cannot use the present perfect with words like yesterday or last week. With these simple words, you need a simple tense like the past or past continuous.

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