Perfect

Reference to the past: present perfect vs Präteritum

The present perfect can be used interchangeably with the Präteritum without any semantic differences.

The only difference between the present perfect and the Präteritum lies in their use. In order to express past events in the spoken language, the use of the present perfect is preferable, while the Präteritum is mostly used in written texts and in narration.

The Präteritum of the auxiliary verbs sein and haben and of the modal verbs is used in the spoken language.

However, only the present perfect can be used to describe an event that refers to the past. Only the present perfect can express an event that has been completed in the past but its effect is still present at the moment of speaking.