Question

Are the simple past and present perfect tenses identical in their time relationship to the present?

Answer 1

No.

Explanation:

The simple past tense refers to an action that has been completed and has no connection to the present; the present perfect tense refers to an action that has just been completed in proximity to the present.

Hence the simple past will imply a time in the past during which the action was completed; for example:

I swam across the English Channel twice.

The present perfect, on the other hand, will imply an action that has just been completed as the sentence is made; for example:

I have swum the English Channel.