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1) Show me the dress that you have made 2) It is very late, and trams have stopped running: we must find a taxi to get home.

Can I use the past simple instead of present perfect and what the difference would be then?

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One of the uses of the present perfect is to express achievements and the dress you have made is an achievement, something you have accomplished and which you can show now. The process of making was in the (recent) past, but you can show the result now.

The second example is something that happened in the past which affects the present: the trams have stopped running (in the recent past), you are too late to catch a tram and as a result in the present you have to take a taxi.

You could use past simple if you add a time marker, like yesterday, an hour ago, last week, etc. This will put the action in the past.

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