Contrast: Present Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous, and Simple Past Use the present perfect tense to describe actions that began in the past and are still true in the present. The present perfect also describes events that recently happened. | have been in this country for three years. | have just won the lottery. Use the present perfect continuous tense to describe actions that began in the past and are continuing now. We have been living in this country for three years. Use the simple past tense to talk about an action completed in the past. She graduated from college in 2013. They moved to New Mexico two years ago.