What is a present perfect tense example?

Okay, so someone wants to know about the present perfect tense? It’s a valid question, even though I personally kind of struggle with it. It just feels…slippery, you know?

Take “I’ve gone for a walk,” for example. Technically correct, grammatically sound, blah blah blah. But my brain wants to scream “I WENT for a walk!” It’s like…the walk is over, isn’t it? Why are we still dragging it into the present? The implication, I guess, is that the walk is somehow still relevant, maybe I’m still energized from it, or maybe it explains why my shoes are muddy. Who knows! It’s exhausting.

Or “I’ve done my homework.” Ugh. It is done. Finished. Over and done with! Why not just say “I did my homework” and be done with it? Using present perfect makes it feel like…unfinished somehow. Like there’s more to the story. Maybe the teacher is going to check it later? Or maybe I’m bracing myself for a pop quiz? I don’t know! It just hangs there in the air, this sense of…anticipation? I once spent like ten minutes trying to figure out why my friend used “I’ve eaten” instead of “I ate,” and she just shrugged and said it felt right. Felt right?! What does that even MEAN?

These examples, they’re driving me nuts. They make the actions seem like they’re still lingering around, even though they’re technically over. It’s this weirdly ambiguous tense, hovering between the past and present. Makes my head spin! I read somewhere that something like 70% of languages don’t even have a present perfect tense, and honestly? I kinda envy them.