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Should I use recently with simple past or present perfect? 

I recently bought a mobile. It has very good features with a four-GB ram. I just love the mobile.

I have recently bought a mobile. It has very good features with a four-GB ram. I just love the mobile.

I have found a similar example on this site using simple past tense. As an English speaker which one would you prefer in the given context?

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3 Answers 3

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With recently you could use either the Simple Past or the Present Perfect.

The Present Perfect is used:

  • When a past event is still relevant at the present time
  • To describe a past event that continues into the present

The difference between I recently bought a mobile and I have recently bought a mobile is not that the latter describes an action that has been recently completed. The latter sentence describes an event that is still relevant at the present time, for example because you still have that mobile, and you didn't sell it, or you didn't replace it with a different one.

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  • Isn't "to be relevant at the present time" subjective? For instance, the speaker may still have the mobile, but think that still having it is not relevant to the main subject he is talking about. Example: I recently bought a mobile in this new mall. I just love how you can find everything in this place!
    – Alan Evangelista
    Commented Aug 22, 2019 at 3:33
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    In the example you make, using the Present Perfect doesn't introduce any difference. The difference is between I have been home and I was home. Then, American native speakers tend to use the Simple Past, and use the Present Perfect when it's really necessary; Native British speakers probably tend to use more the Present Perfect.
    – avpaderno
    Commented Aug 22, 2019 at 10:32
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You use the simple past if you are focusing on the moment you bought the mobile, which is in the recent past and the present perfect if you are focusing on the present effect or relevance of the purchase = you're happy now. In your example I would choose present perfect, but I don't think past simple would be considered wrong.

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You should use it with the present perfect. One of present perfect's uses is to express recently completed actions.

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