English Grammar in Use: Past Continuous

The Present Perfect Tense Don't confuse the present perfect with the past tense. The present perfect is used with unspecified periods of time in the past or to show the passage of time. Here's an example of a mistake: She has cleaned her bathroom yesterday. This mistake specifies when she did something which you can only do with a past tense. Here's the correction: She cleaned her bathroom yesterday. Sometimes people learning English use the past tense when they should use the present perfect. I lived in Minnesota for 10 years. (ok but it sounds like he is no longer there and lives in another place.) I am living in Minnesota 10 years. I live in Minnesota 10 years. This person wants to say that he moved to Minnesota 10 years ago and is still there. I have lived in Minnesota for 10 years. or... I have lived in Minnesota since 1996. Notice also that for and since are often used in the present perfect.