Example:
I gave a donation to the Girl Scouts
- A simple statement about past event and would be used to tell someone what happened in the past.
I have given a donation to the Girl Scouts
- Connects the past event to the present and can be used to imply a habitual or continuous action.
Present Perfect Tense is used to express an action or to help make a statement about something occurring at an indefinite time in the past or something that has occurred in the past and continues into the present.
Example
- I have lived here for a long time.
- I have lived here for three months. ( The speaker is still living there.)
- I have been living here for three months. (Progressive)
- I could have been living here instead of where I am now. (Conditional)
