1B Perfect possessions
Student A
1 Read the text and choose the correct tense.
The shiny red 1969 MG Roadster takes pride of place in
the garage while their everyday Škoda sits out on the
driveway. John and Amanda 1have had / had their
classic convertible car for three years, though they
still 2haven’t been / hadn’t been for a drive in it! It
3
was / had been John’s dream to own a classic MG,
so when he saw it in a junk yard, he 4had snapped /
snapped it up straight away. Despite its terrible
condition, John admits that it 5was / has been love
at first sight! He’s 6done / been doing the car up
since then and Amanda says she’s hoping he’ll
7
have finished / be finishing by the end of the year.
With a wistful smile, she remembers 8having / to have
said the same thing last year, too.
Student B
1 Read the text and choose the correct tense.
1
I haven’t had / hadn’t have my new phone very
long – one month to be precise. We both 2decided /
have decided to get new mobiles because Max’s
phone 3fell / had fallen out of his bag and the screen
was all smashed and I just 4fancied / had been
fancying a change. The man in the
phone shop convinced us to buy the newest
smartphone because he thinks they 5’ll have / have
stopped making our model by this time next year.
It 6wasn’t / has been hard to persuade us really
because there’s no point in 7buying / having bought
something which is about to go out of date.
Unfortunately, the week after we bought them
Max managed to drop his and, unlike me, he
8
hadn’t bought / hasn’t been buying a protective
case, so …
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2 Ask questions to find out the missing information.
I haven’t had my new phone very long –
1
____________________ to be precise. We both
decided to get new mobiles because Max’s phone
had 2____________________ and the screen was
all smashed and I just 3____________________ .
The man in the phone shop convinced us to
buy 4____________________ because he
thinks they’ll have stopped making our model
by 5____________________ . It wasn’t hard
to 6____________________ us really because
there’s no point in buying something which
is about to go out of date. Unfortunately, the
week after we bought them Max managed to
7
____________________ and, unlike me, he hadn’t
bought 8____________________ , so …
2 Ask questions to find out the missing information.
The shiny red 1969 MG Roadster takes pride
of place 1____________________ while their
everyday Škoda sits out on the driveway. John
and Amanda have had their classic convertible
car for 2____________________ , though they
still haven’t 3____________________ ! It had
been John’s dream to own a classic MG, so
when he saw it in 4____________________ , he
5
____________________ straight away. Despite its
terrible condition, John admits that it was love at first
sight! He’s been 6____________________ since then
and Amanda says she’s hoping he’ll have finished by
7
____________________ . With a wistful smile, she
remembers having said 8____________________ last
year, too.
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1B Teacher’s notes Perfect possessions
Activity: Jigsaw reading Key
Language point: The perfect aspect (Unit 1, Section B) Student A
Time: 20–25 minutes 1 1 have had
2 haven’t been
Materials: One handout for each pair of students, cut
3 had been
along the line.
4 snapped
Procedure: 5 was
• Divide the class in half. 6 been doing
• Tell them that they are going to read two texts about 7 have finished
people’s possessions. Explain that in the first text, they 8 having
need to choose which tense is correct. 2 1 one month
• Give half of the class the Student A handout and the 2 fallen out of his bag
other half the Student B handout. 3 fancied a change
• Tell them to focus only on the text in task 1 and 4 the newest smartphone
decide on the correct tense for 1–8. 5 this time next year
6 persuade
• If you think they may find this difficult, you could put 7 drop his
them into pairs who have the same handout and tell
8 a protective case
them to do the activity together.
• When they have finished, tell them to read the text in Student B
task 2. Explain that this is the text that the other half 1 1 haven’t had
of the class has. Tell them to think of questions they 2 decided
can ask to get the missing information 1–8. Give them 3 had fallen
some time to work on this task in pairs. They do not 4 fancied
need to write the questions down. 5 ‘ll have
6 wasn’t
• Monitor carefully and help them to make questions if
7 buying
they are struggling.
8 hadn’t bought
• When you think they have had sufficient time, make 2 1 in the garage
pairs of one Student A and one Student B. Tell them 2 three years
they may NOT show each other their texts, but should 3 been for a drive in it
ask their questions to complete the text in task 2 4 a junk yard
and use the text in task 1 to provide answers to their 5 snapped it up
partner’s questions. 6 doing the car up
• When they have done the second task, tell them 7 the end of the year
to compare their texts and check all the answers 8 the same thing
carefully, especially the tenses.
• If you have noticed any errors or difficulties with the
perfect form, conduct class feedback together.

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