YOUR ???? QUESTIONS

Here is a chance for you to have your questions answered by Doctor English. Today’s question is:

What is the difference between " I drove" and " I have driven?"

This is a very good question and one that MANY students have asked me to clarify. “I drove” is past tense and means that the action happened at a specific time in the past. For example, you might say, “I drove yesterday “ or “ I drove last week”.

On the other hand, “I have driven” is present perfect. Present perfect describes an unspecific time in the past. If you say “I have driven”, it means that you did the action sometime in your past, but we don’t know when you did it. It is a way of explaining that you have had an experience, but the time when it happened it not important. You couldn’t say, “I have driven yesterday” because yesterday is a specific time in the past.

Thank you for sending your questions. If you have any further queries, please email Doctor English at drenglish@vec.ca.