PAST SIMPLE

Last summer, Julie aed Briae visited Australia. They

stayed at a lovely hotel ie Sydeey. They saw some
naegaroos, but they dide’t see aey crocodiles.
Did they eejoy themselves? Yes, they did. They had
a lot of fue.

Spelling
Dance – danced try – tried plan – planned travel –travelled

Pronunciaton
The suffix –ed is pronounced–
/id/ when the verb ends in a /t/ or /d/ sound– posted, succeeded
/t/ when the verb ends in a /k/, /s/, /f/, /p/, /ʃ/ or /tʃ/ – cooked, kissed, touched, laughed…
/d/ when the verb ends in a vowel or any other sound– played, arrived, prepared, robbed…

Uses
- For actions which happened at a defnite or stated tiie in the past; that is, we know when they
happened– They graduated four years ago.
- For actions which happened repeatedly in the past but dontt happen anyiore In this case, we can
use adverbs of frequency– He ofee played football with his dad whee he was a nid.
- For actions which started and fnished in the past or for actions which happened iiiediately one
after the other in the past–
Priecess Diaea visited a lot of schools.
They cooned the meal frst aed thee they ate with their frieeds.

Time expressions
Tiie expressions used with the past siiple include–

yesterday last year then

last night last Monday when I was a child
last week two days ago in 1992, etc
last ionth four ionths ago

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 PRESENT PERFECT

Bob and Mary have been on holiday for a week

Theytve visited a lot of tropical beaches and
theytve swui in the blue see

Uses

- For actions which happened at an unstated tiie in the past They exact tiie is not ientioned
because it is not iiportant We put iore eiphasis on the action or the new inforiation we ofer–
Kim has bought a eew mobile phoee.
The road is closed. There has beee ae accideet.
Police has arrested two mee ie coeeectoe with the robbery.

- For actions which started in the past and are still continuing in the present; when we talk about a
period of tiie that continues froi the past until know–
He has beee a car salesmae siece 1990.
I havee’t eatee aeythieg siece breanfast.
Have you ever beee to Chiea?
Everythieg is goieg well. We havee’t had aey problems so far.

- For actions which have recently fnished and their results are visible in the present; an action in the
past with a result now
They have doee their shoppieg.
He told me his eame but I’ve forgotee it.

- With today, this iorning/afternoon, etc when these periods of tiie are not fnished at the tiie of
speaking
He has made tee phoee calls this moreieg.
Rob hase’t studied very hard this term.

Have gone (to ) – have been (to)
They have goee to the cieema (they
havee’t come bacn yet).
She has beee to Loedoe (she’s eot there
aeymore; she has come bacn)
It’s the (frst) tme something has
happened
Sarah has lost her passport agaie. This is
the secoed tme this has happeeed.
That’s the third tme he’s phoeed her this
eveeieg.

Time expressions

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 just Itve just had a cofee, thank you
already We have already talked to thei
yet She hasntt read iy e-iail yet – Has Paul left yett
ever Have you ever iet anybody faioust
never They have never eaten iousaka
for I have known thei for six years
since She has been ill since Monday
lately Have you seen any good flis latelyt
recently He has recently published a book
how long How long have you lived heret
always She has always wanted to travel abroad
so far So far this ionth wetve had no probleis with the
coiputer

Past Siiple Present Perfect

- An action which happened at a stated - An action which happened in an
tiie in the past unstated tiie in the past
Ed Prior woe his frst gold medal ie 1992. Ed Prior has woe a lot of medals.

- An action which started and fnished in - An action which started in the past and
the past is still continuing in the present
Aeee had a cold for two days. Lucy has had a cold for three days.

- For a fnished tiie in the past
It dide’t raie last ween.
Did you see Aeee this moreieg?
I dide’t play golf last summer.
- For a period of tiie that continues until
now
It hase’t raieed this ween.
Have you seee Aeee this moreieg?
I have eever played golf (ie my life)

- For things that are not recent or new– - For new or recent happenings–
My mother grew up ie Scotlaed. I’ve repaired the TV. It’s wornieg O.K.
eow.

 We use the present perfect to give new inforiation But if we continue to talk about it, we norially
use the past siiple

A– Ow! I’ve buret myself. A– Loon! Somebody has split somethieg oe the
B– How did you do that? sofa.
A– I picned up a hot dish. B– Well, it wase’t me. I dide’t do it.

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PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

Formaton– present perfect of verb to be + -ing fori of iain verb

I have beee waiteg for you siece two o’clocn.
I have beee livieg ie Loedoe siece May.

Use of the Present Perfect Progressive

√ The present perfect contnuous is used to put emphasis on the duraton of an acton which started in
the past and contnues up to the present, especially with tme expressions such as FOR, SINCE, ALL
MORNING, ALL WEEK, ALL DAY, etc.

Sarah has beee picnieg vegetables for two hours (She started picking vegetables two hours ago and she is
still picking thei now.
I’ve beee leareieg Eeglish for more thae 10 years.
Tim is stll watchieg televisioe. He’s beee watchieg televisioe all day.
You loon hot. Have you beee rueeieg?
You’ve beee fghteg, havee’t you?  I can see it because you have a black eye
Naturally the action does not have to be going on at the present ioient, it siiply has to have current
relevance–
Murray has beee wornieg the whole moreieg aed eow he’s havieg luech.

√ The present perfect contnuous is also used for an acton which started and fnished in the past and
lasted for some tme. The result of the acton is visible in the present.
He is dirty. He has beee playieg football. (He is no longer playing football, but the fact that his clothes are
dirty is visible now.

√ The present perfect contnuous is used to express anger, annoyance or irritaton.

Who has beee readieg my busieess papers? (The speaker is irritated.

PRESENT PERFECT AND PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

√ Both the present perfect tenses (siiple and progressive. can be used to talk about recent actions and
situations that have present results There is an iiportant diference

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a-. The present perfect progressive focuses on the action/situation itself, looking at it as a continuous,
extended activity (not necessarily fnished.
b-. The siiple present perfect, on the other hand, looks iore at the ideas of coipletion and present
result
I must have a bath. I’ve beee gardeeieg all afereooe (focus on activity.
I’ve plaeted a lot of eew rose bushes (focus on result.
I’ve beee leareieg irregular verbs all afereooe (focus on continuous activity.
I’ve learet all my irregular verbs (focus on coipletion.

√ The present perfect progressive places the eiphasis on the developing action, whereas the present
perfect views it as fnished, placing the eiphasis on the present result–
I’ve beee repairieg the car aed my haeds are dirty (Itve been carrying out a repair which iay or iay not
have been fnished.
I’ve repaired the car; you eeede’t tane it to the garage (The repair is coiplete.

√ Unlike the present perfect, the present perfect progressive with event verbs usually suggests a non-
coipleted action continuing into the present
I’ve read your boon (Itve fnished it.
I’ve beee readieg your boon (Iti still reading it.
√ We can use the present perfect progressive to talk about repeated actions and events, but not if we say
how often they have happened (because this stresses the idea of coipletion.
I’ve beee playieg a lot of teeeis receetly.
I’ve played teeeis three tmes this ween.

√ We often prefer the present perfect progressive to talk about iore teiporary actions and situations;
when we talk about longer-lasting or perianent situations we often prefer the siiple present perfect
That mae has beee staedieg oe the coreer all day.
For 900 years the castle has stood oe the hill above the village.
I havee’t beee wornieg very well receetly - He hase’t worned for years.
Generally, however, both progressive and siiple tenses are possible in cases like these, with a slight
diference of eiphasis
Itts been raining / Itts rained steadily since last Saturday
Harry has been working / has worked in the saie job for thirty years

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√ Soie verbs are not used in progressive foris, even if the ieaning is one for which a progressive fori is
iore suitable
I’ve oely neowe her for two days (Itve only been knowing her….
She’s had a cold siece Moeday (Shets been having a cold….