PAST SIMPLE VS PRESENT PERFECT

WHEN DO WE USE PAST SIMPLE? WHEN DO WE USE PRESENT PERFECT?

WHICH ARE THE CLUES TO DIFFERENCIATE EACH OF THEM? LET’S SEE…

PAST SIMPLE:
WE USE PAST SIMPLE WITH STATED (SPECIFIC) ACTIONS IN THE PAST. IN
THIS CASE, WE ALWAYS KNOW WHEN THE ACTIONS HAPPENED. THIS
OCCURS BECAUSE THE FOCUS OR EMPHASIS OF THIS TENSE IS ON
WHEN THE ACTION HAPPENED: YESTERDAY, AGO, LAST, 2015 (SPECIFIC
DATE OR YEAR IN THE PAST). REMEMBER THE USE OF REGULAR AND
IRREGULAR VERBS SO PLEASE, MAKE GOOD USE OF YOUR LIST OF
IRREGULAR VERBS!
PRESENT PERFECT:
WE USE THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE WHEN WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT
AN ACTIONS IN THE PAST BUT WE DO NOT MENTION WHEN THE ACTION
HAPPENED. THIS MAY HAPPEN BECAUSE WE REFER TO A GENERAL
EXPERIENCE, A RECENT ACTION OR AN ACTION THAT CONECTS THE
PAST WITH THE PRESENT. REMEMBER THAT IN THIS CASE WE USE THE
PAST PARTICIPLE FORM OF THE VERBS IN THE THREE FORMS
(AFFIRMATIVE, NEGATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE). TIME EXPRESSIONS
SUCH AS: JUST, YET, ALREADY, FOR, SINCE ARE COMMONLY USED IN
THIS TENSE.

SO…
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AN ACTION IN THE PAST WITHOUT SPECIFIC
INFORMATION ABOUT WHEN THE ACTIONS HAPPENED, WE USE PRESENT
PERFECT. WHEN WE WANT TO GIVE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT
WHEN THE ACTION HAPPENED, WE USE PAST SIMPLE. LET’S SEE THE
FOLLOWING EXAMPLE…
I HAVE TRAVELLED TO MAR DEL PLATA THREE TIMES IN MY LIFE

(GENERAL EXPERIENCE – WE DO NOT SAY WHEN THE ACTIONS

HAPPENED)
I WENT TO MAR DEL PLATA IN 2008, 2012 AND 2016 WITH MY FAMILY AND
MY BEST FRIEND (SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT WHEN THE THREE
ACTIONS IN THE PAST HAPPENED).

NOW LET’S WORK…!

Past Simple / Present Perfect Simple

A Choose the correct answer.

1. I’m really hungry. I (haven’t eaten / didn’t eat) yet.

2. They (arrived / have arrived) a week ago.

3. We (have worked / worked) here for three years.

4. They (didn’t recognise / haven’t recognised) me at yesterday’s meeting.

5. Our neighbour (was / has been) in hospital since Friday.

6. (Have you travelled / Did you travel) abroad many times?

B Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use the Past Simple or
the Present Perfect Simple.

1. John ........................... (not call) me recently.

2. They ........................... (buy) a new car last month.

3. The teacher ........................... (not return) the tests yet.

4. How long ........................... she ........................... (know) about this problem?

5. ........................... you ever ........................... (hear) such an unbelievable story?

6. When I was a child, I ........................... (live) in England for two years.

7. He ........................... (buy) me a beautiful gift for my birthday.

8. I am so excited to have a dog. I ......................................... (always / want) one.

C Correct the error in each of the sentences.

1. Have you ever eat Chinese food? 5. Mr Brown already left the
office. ............................................................................ ...............................................................
............. 2. She has moved to another city last year. 6. We haven’t been abroad since a
year. ............................................................................ ........................................................................
....

3. They have sent out the invitations yet. 7. The lesson has started ten minutes
ago. ............................................................................ ..........................................................................
..
4. Jack hasn’t seen Jill since she has graduated. 8. Did she just
leave? ............................................................................ .......................................................................
.....

Complete the sentences with the verb in brackets in past simple or present perfect.

1. She loves Paris. She ..................... (be) there many times.

2. Bill ....................... (work) in that company for 3 years. (He still works there).

3. They ....................... (go) to London on holiday last summer.

4. I ....................... (read) that book. It´s good. 5. His parents ....................... (be) here yesterday.

6. They ....................... (go) to Germany when he ....................... (be) only 4.

7. ........... you ......... (watch) a film last night?

8. I ....................... (have) some toast when I got up.

9. He ....................... (live) in Rome since he was a teenager.

10. The house looks different. .......... you .............. (paint) it?

11. I ....................... (not see) you in class last Friday.

12. Shakespeare ....................... (write) over one hundred sonnets.

Complete the sentences with a verb from the box in present perfect or past simple.

be – finish – stop – watch - not smoke - enjoy - win - live

1. She ............... smoking two months ago.

2. She ............... for two months.

3. ......... you ever .......... to Florence?

4. ......... you ........... that TV show last night?

5. They still live in that town. They ............... there for ages.

6. A friend of mine ............... the lottery three years ago.

7. When ........... you ........... your homework?

8. They ............... themselves at the party last summer.

Write the past participle of these verbs.

1. write

2. wash

3. forget

4. break

5. make

Choose the present perfect or past simple:

1. I _________________ (see) three police cars this morning (it’s still morning).

2. After he _________________ (arrive) home, he _________________ (unpack) and

_________________ (go) to bed early.

3. A: What’s wrong? B: I _________________ (break) a glass!

4. My grandparents only _________________ (know) each other for a few months before they
_________________ (get) married.

5. I _________________ (be) in London for three years. I love it here.

6. We _________________ (see) Julie last night.

7. He _________________ (be) a teacher before he _________________ (become) a musician.

8. When the boss _________________ (walk) into the room, we _________________ (know)
someone was going to get fired.

9. The children _________________ (break) a window in the school last week.

10. He _________________ (see) that film last year.

11. Lucy _________________ (break) her leg, so she can’t come skiing.

12. Julie _________________ (arrive)! Come and say hello!

13. They _________________ (be) cold when they _________________ (arrive) home.

14. Jack _________________ (break) his arm when he _________________ (fall) off a horse in
2005. 15. I _________________ (know) about the problem for months, but I _________________
(not / find) a solution yet.

16. A: When _________________ (you / arrive)? B: At 10pm last night.

17. She _________________ (be) a teacher for ten years, and she still enjoys it.

18. How long _________________ (you / know) Jill? I know you see her often.

19. I _________________ (see) the sea before.

20. A: Hello B: Hi Mum, it’s me. I just wanted to say I _________________ (arrive) safely and
everything is fine.

Past or Present Perfect Tense

1. The weather _________________ (be) awful in the past few days.

2. We _________________ (wash) the dishes. They’re clean now.

3. _____________________________ (your course, start) yet?

4. Emma _________________ (pack) her suitcase last night.

5. They _________________ (close) the factory. – Really? When ______________________ (that

happen) ?

6. Shall we play tennis? We _________________ (not play) since we were children.

7. The airplane _________________ (land) . The pilot is just getting out.

8. Prices _________________ (go) up. Everything is more expensive this year.

9. I’m tired. We _________________ (walk)

10 miles. 10. The Queen _________________ (arrive) in an RAF helicopter last night.

11. How long ______________________ (Vicky, have) that camera? – For about a month.

12. We ______________________ (just come) back from our holidays.

13. You parcel _________________ (arrive). The postman _________________ (bring) it two
hours ago.

14. He _________________ (be) at his computer for two hours.

15. We _________________ (live) there for ten years but we _________________ (be) in
Birmingham for the last two.

16. We _________________ (not have) a party for ages.

17. My sister’s car is only a year old but she ___________________________ (already crash) it.

18. Dinosaurs _________________ (roam) the earth millions of years ago.

19. It _____________________ (not rain) yet today.

20. __________________________ (you see) last week’s magazine? - It must be here somewhere.

1. The President ___________________ (just come) out of the building and will make a speech in a
moment.

2. _________________________ (you ever be) to America?

3. ______________________________ (Churchill ever go) to America? – No, not that I know of.

4. ___________________________ (you see) this week’s magazine?

5. ________________________ (you wash) the car yet? – No, I haven’t. But I

__________________________ (already mow) the lawn.

6. We ___________________ (not have) many visitors last year; we ___________________ (have)

a lot more this year.

7. The last time I ___________________ (go) to Brighton was in August.

8. A few days ago I ___________________ (learn) that someone is planning to tear down the old
building.

9. We __________________________ (always be) poor. We _____________________ (never

have) any money.

10. I love this film. I think it’s the fourth time I ___________________ (see) it.

11. It ___________________ (be) very dry so far this week, but it ___________________ (rain) a
lot last week.

12. I would like to meet a ghost but I _________________________ (never see) one before.

13. Marylyn Monroe ___________________ (play) in about 30 films.

14. _________________________ (you ever bake) your own bread? –Yes I ___________________
(try) it when I ___________________ (be) in high school but I ___________________ (not bake)
anything since then.

15. Janet ___________________ (be) very ill three years ago.

16. We ___________________ (move) here in 1993. We ___________________ (be) here for a

long time now.

17. Two people ___________________ (die) in a fire on Elm Street last night.

18. It ___________________ (take) ages to repair the car. I’m glad we’re finished now.

19. I ___________________ (find) the wallet I ___________________ (lose) yesterday.

20. The runner ___________________ (break) the world record in Frankfurt. Two days later he
___________________ (run) even faster.