Took and taken, part 1

Which of the following sentences is correct?

1. Last week, I took a computer course.

2. Last week, I have taken a computer course.

If you chose sentence one, “Last week, I took a computer course,” you are correct!

Do you know why sentence two is incorrect? It is incorrect because we never use the present perfect (e.g. I have taken) when we give an exact time in the past. If you say exactly when something happened or when you did something in the past, you generally need to use the past simple tense (e.g. I took).

Here are some further examples:

• I got my hair cut yesterday.
• Trisha and Laura returned from London last Friday.
• Our teacher let us go home at lunchtime.
• Our French colleagues arrived in Stuttgart two days ago.
• We went to the zoo last weekend.