Guide to English grammar

Have you ever visited our showroom?
Did you ever visit our old showroom?

3 We can use this morning, this afternoon and today with the present perfect when they include the present time. When the time is over, we use the past.

It has been windy this morning. (The morning is not yet over.)
It was windy this morning. (It is afternoon or evening.)
A practical guide to English grammar 73
NOTE

1. 
   We can use a pattern with it to emphasize the time.
   

It's years since I skied/I've skied.
It was in 1988 (that) I last skied.

2. 
   “I've been here (for) a month” means that I arrived here a month ago. “I am here for a month” means that I have arranged to stay here for a month in total.
   

66 Past continuous

AN UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT
“I was going home from the pub at quarter to eleven. There was a full moon. I was walking over the bridge when I saw the UFO. It was quite low. It was long and thin, shaped like a cigar. It appeared to be made of aluminium/aluminum. It was travelling east to west, towards Warminster. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have a camera of course. I watched it for a minute and then it went behind a cloud.”

1 Form

Past of be + active participle I/he/she/it was flying You/we/they were flying Negative I/he/she/it was not flying You/we/they were not flying Questions Was I/he/she/it flying? Were you/we/they flying?

With today there is little difference in meaning.
It has been windy today. (The day is not yet over.)
It was windy today. (The day is over.)
Both sentences are spoken late in the day. The second must be in the evening. The speaker sees the day as over.
We use the present perfect with this week/month/year when we mean the whole period up to now.
I've seen a lot of television this week.
We use the simple past for one time during the period.
I saw an interesting program this week.
We might say this on Friday about something two or three days earlier.
We often use the negative with phrases of unfinished time.