"they won" vs "they have won"

Question

"they won" vs "they have won"

Both "they have won" and "they won" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "They have won" is used to indicate an action that was completed recently or has relevance to the present, while "they won" is used to simply state a past action without emphasizing the connection to the present.

Last Updated: March 21, 2024

Use "they won" when you want to state a past action of winning without highlighting its recentness or relevance to the present.

Examples:

They won the game last night.
She told me they won the competition.
They won the award for best performance.
Did they win the match?
In 2019, they won the championship.

Alternatives:

They emerged victorious.
They secured the victory.
They achieved a win.
They were the winners.
They came out on top.

Use "they have won" when you want to emphasize that the action of winning is recent or has a connection to the present moment.

Examples:

They have won the championship for the third year in a row.
I heard that they have won the competition.
They have won many awards for their performances.
Have they won the game yet?
By the time we arrived, they have won the match.

Alternatives:

They won recently.
They have achieved victory.
They have been victorious.
They have emerged as winners.
They have secured the win.

Answer 1

they won

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to simply state a past action without emphasizing the connection to the present.

Answer 2

they have won

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate an action that was completed recently or has relevance to the present.

"they won" vs "they have won"

they won

they have won

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