Vault seed record

Yesterday past simple

The action happened yesterday. Which sentence is correct?

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Classification

reviewed-seedapprovedcore-grammar-controlverb-pattern-correctionsentence-correctionA2Grammar

Provenance

Kind: human-authored

Source: core-grammar-anchor-pack

Batch: core-grammar-001

Reviewer: content-lead

Updated: 2026-05-20

Instruction and answer

Instruction

Choose the sentence that matches the time signal.

Correct answer

She finished the presentation yesterday.

Explanation

A finished past time like 'yesterday' asks for past simple: 'She finished...' Present perfect is for a past result without a finished-time anchor.

Product use

Surfaces

testdailyfriend-challenge

Source languages

globalrueszh

Difficulty

medium

Conversion hook

Looks familiar but still creates a satisfying gotcha.

Review payload

Review notes

Globalized version of the finished-time tense anchor.

Media prompt

No media prompt attached.

Assets

translated-phrase-distractors

Source traps

zh-tense-aspectpt-present-perfect

Tags

tensespast-simpletime-signal

Usage

Tests: tenses, grammar-diagnostic, general-english-level

Funnels: none

Challenges: yesterday-past-simple

{
  "type": "single-choice",
  "correctOptionId": "finished",
  "options": [
    {
      "id": "finished",
      "label": "She finished the presentation yesterday.",
      "rationale": "Yesterday is a finished past time, so use past simple."
    },
    {
      "id": "has-finished",
      "label": "She has finished the presentation yesterday.",
      "rationale": "Present perfect does not normally pair with yesterday."
    },
    {
      "id": "finish",
      "label": "She finish the presentation yesterday.",
      "rationale": "The verb needs past marking."
    },
    {
      "id": "is-finishing",
      "label": "She is finishing the presentation yesterday.",
      "rationale": "Present continuous conflicts with yesterday."
    }
  ]
}