This is one of those surprisingly subtle things that's particularly difficult for native speakers to explain, and things are complicated even more by the fact t

This is one of those surprisingly subtle things that's particularly difficult for native speakers to explain, and things are complicated even more by the fact that British English and US English vary slightly in their usage. I personally wouldn't call "I've" completely incorrect in those sentences (though some may say otherwise), but it does sound "off" to American ears. Some further reading which may clarify things a bit (or possibly confuse them): http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/3309/when-will-present-perfect-vs-past-tense-cases-be-affected-by-culture http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/3309/when-will-pr... http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t1636.htm http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t1636.htm