She travels a lot. She [visited/ have visited] many countries.


In "she travels a lot," the present tense has an enduring aspect. She'd done a lot of traveling and we expect her to continue doing that. Thus the present perfect "has [not have for the third person] visited" is an excellent match as it covers time past all the way up to the present. On the other hand the simple past, "she visited," indicates that she's completed her visiting, which is at odds with the first sentence.

  • On the other hand, as the "present tense has an enduring aspect", we assume she will continue to travel, so one could say she visits a lot of countries. – Brian Hitchcock Sep 1 '15 at 11:19
  • +1. The present perfect suggests that over the years, say, she has visited many different places. "She travels to a different country each year on vacation and, since she is in her sixties now, she has visited many countries." The simple present is also a viable choice but only if the intended meaning is that she is rarely not traveling somewhere or other (because of "many"): "She works for an international consultancy and visits many countries throughout the year." So, we need to know what is meant by "a lot". – Tᴚoɯɐuo Sep 1 '15 at 13:04

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