What's the difference? Present Perfect and Past Simple

What's the difference? Present Perfect and Past Simple

Present Perfect Simple

Past Simple

Unfinished actions that started in the past and continue to the present:

· I've known Julie for ten years (and I still know her).

Finished actions:

· I knew Julie for ten years (but then she moved away and we lost touch).

A finished action in someone's life (when the person is still alive: life experience):

· My brother has been to Mexico three times.

A finished action in someone's life (when the person is dead):

· My great-grandmother went to Mexico three times.

A finished action with a result in the present:

· I've lost my keys! (The result is that I can't get into my house now).

A finished action with no result in the present:

· I lost my keys yesterday. It was terrible! (Now there is no result. I got new keys yesterday).

With an unfinished time word (this week, this month, today):

· I've seen John this week.

With a finished time word (last week, last month, yesterday):

· I saw John last week.

 

Past Simple or Present Perfect.Exercises.

Упражнение 1. Complete the pairs of sentences. Use the Present Perfect in one sentence and the Past Simple in the other.

1. I (know) _______ her for six years.

I (know) _______ him when I was at school.

1. He (live) _______ in Paris from 1997 to 2000.

He (live) _______ in New York since 2001.

1. Where's Pete? I (not see) _______ him for ages.

I (not see) _______ Pete last night.

1. We (be) _______ at primary school from 1993 to 1998.

We (be) _______ in this class since September.

1. I (not watch) _______ this video yet.

I (not watch) _______ a video at the weekend.

 

Упражнение 2. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.

1. I ________ (never/ be) to the USA. I ______ (want) to go there last summer but I couldn’t.

2. He _______ (live) in this street all his life.

3. His father ________ (come back) to London last Sunday.

4. Yan __________ (write) a letter to Nick two days ago.

5. He ________ (send) his letter yesterday.

6. They ________ (just/ buy) some postcards.

 

Упражнение 3. Fill in last night, ever, ago, just, yet, always in the right place.

1. Nick’s uncle went to Russia 3 years.

2. Mr. Rambler has come back from Belarus.

3. Nick has wanted to visit Belarus.

4. Mr. Rambler saw Yan.

5. They haven’t visited this old castle.

6. Have you been to England?

 

Упражнение 4. Choose the correct option.

1. She has /‘s had a moped since she was 15.
2. We took /‘ve taken a taxi to town that morning.
3. We played /'ve played volleyball last night
4. I'm really hungry. I didn’t eat / haven’t eaten since last night.
5. They visited/ ‘ve visited Colorado last summer.

 

Упражнение 5. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.

1. Maria (get) ______ some bad news last week. She (be) ______ sad since she (get) ______ the bad news.

2. I (start) ______ school when I was five years old. I (be) ______ at school since I (be) ______ five years old.

3. I (change) ______ my job three times this year.

4. I (change) ______ my job three times last year.

5. The weather was hot and dry for many weeks. But two days ago it (rain) ______.

6. Tom (break) ______ his leg five days ago. He’s in hospital. He (be) ______ in hospital since he (break) ______ his leg.

7. Are you going to finish your work before you go to bed? — I (finish) ______ it (already). I (finish) ______ my work two hours ago.

 

Упражнение 6. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.

1. I (have, just) ______ a nice pot of coffee. Would you like a cup?

2. I (see, not) ______ Steve this morning yet.

3. Carol and I are old friends. I (know) ______ her since I (be) ______ a freshman in high school.

4. Maria (have) ______ a lot of problems since she (come) ______ to this country.

5. I (go) ______ to Paris in 2003 and 2006.

6. A car came round the corner and I (jump) ______ out of the way.

7. Don’t throw the paper away because I (not to read) ______ it yet.

8. Is Jim going to eat lunch with us today? — No. He (eat) ______ (already).He (eat) ______ lunch an hour ago.

9. Since we (start) ______ doing this exercise, we (complete) ______ some sentences.

10. I (be) ______ never to Italy.

 

Упражнение 7. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.

1. You (ever work) ______ in a shop?

2. I (work) ______ at my uncle’s shop when I was younger.

3. It’s the first time I (be) ______ on a ship.

4. Ann is looking for her key. She can’t find it. She (lose) ______ her key.

5. How many symphonies Beethoven (compose) ______?

6. Look! Somebody (spill) ______ ink on the notebook.

7. You (have) ______ a holiday this year yet?

8. You (see) ______ any good films recently?

9. He (have, not) ______ any problems since he (come ) ______ here.

 

Упражнение 8. Раскройтескобки, употребляяглаголыв Past Simple или Present Perfect

1. I (cut) ______ some flowers from my garden yesterday. I (cut) ______ lots of flowers from my garden so far this summer.

2. I (not / see) ______ Tom lately.

3. The artist (draw) ______ a picture of sunset yesterday. She (draw) ______ many pictures of sunsets in her lifetime.

4. I (feed) ______ birds at the park yesterday. I (feed) ______ birds at the park every day since I (lose) ______ my job.

5. Ann (wake up) ______ late and (miss) _______ her breakfast on Monday.

6. I (forget) ______ to turn off the stove after dinner. I (forget) ______ to turn off the stove a lot of times in my lifetime.

7. The children (hide) ______ in the basement yesterday. They (hide) ______ in the basement often since they (discover) ______ a secret place there.

8. The baseball player (hit) ______ the ball out of the stadium yesterday. He (hit) ______ a lot of homeruns since he (join) ______ our team.

9. We first (meet) ______ in 2001. So we (know) _______ each other for 8 years.

 

Упражнение 9. Put the verbs in brackets in the Past Simple or in the Present Perfect.

1. She (change) ______ a lot since she left school.

2. I (see) ______ this film and I don’t want to see it again.

3. Jazz (originate) ______ in the United States around 1900.

4. Tom Hanks (win) ______ an Oscar several times already.

5. Long ago, they (build) ______ most houses out of wood.

6. Scientists still (not/find) ______ a cure for cancer.

7. Sean (eat, never) ______ Chinese food before.

8. In my first job, I (be) ______ responsible for marketing.

9. The last job I (apply) ______ for required applicants to speak some Japanese.

10. The first modern Olympics (take) ______ place in Athens more than a hundred years ago.

11. I am writing in connection with the advertisement which (appear) ______ in December.

 

Упражнение 10. Complete the sentences. Use the Present Perfect or the Past Simple.

My family and I (move) from London to Cardiff last summer, so we (live) in Cardiff for seven months now. I miss my friends in London. My best friend is called Megan. We (meet) at primary school, so I (know) her for nine years.Unfortunately, I (not see) her since last summer.

I go to Greystone Secondary School in Cardiff. I (be) at the school since last September. At first I (not like) it because I (not have) any friends here. But the students in my class are really nice and I'm happy here now.

 

Упражнение 11. Correct the mistakes in these sentences.

1. Welivedheresince 1997.
2. I've been ill since two days.
3. How long do you know him?
4. Susie has seen a good film last night.
5. We've finished our homework just.
6. I've already wrote three letters.

 

Упражнение 12. Complete the sentences. Use the Present Perfect or the Past Simple.

Helen: That's a nice tennis racket. Is it new?

Andy: No, (I/have) ________ it for about a year, but ( I/not play) _______ with it very much. ( I/buy) ________ it in Florida.

Helen: When ( you/go) ________ to America?

Andy: ( I/go) ________ there with my family in the spring.

Helen: What was it like?

Andy: Great! (I/stay) ___________ with my penfriend.

Helen: Is your penfriend American?

Andy: Yes. ( I/have) ________ an American penfriend for two years. (he/come) __________ to England last summer.

Helen: (I/not meet) _______ him.

Andу: No, (you/be) ______ on holiday in Turkey.

 

Упражнение 13. Choose the correct form of the verb.

1. We went/ ‘ve been to the seaside last summer.
2. I finished / ‘ve finished my homework. Can I go out now?
3. I was /‘ve been ill three months ago.
4. Have you been / Did you to the shop? I needsomestamps.
5. My hobby is fishing. I’ve caught / caught a lot of fish.
6. Jenny is in Oxford today, but she was /has been in London yesterday.
7. I played /'ve played basketball when I was younger, but l don’t play now.
8. I’ve already seen / already saw 'Shrek'.
9. Julie has been / was ill since Tuesday.
10. I didn't see / haven't seen Josh since 1998.
11. We've stayed / stayed at our grandparents for three days. Wearrivedhomeyesterday.
12. The dog went / has gone to sleep an hour ago.
13. I had / ‘ve had a cat for two years. Its nameisWillis.
14. I’ve waited / waited for a bus for twenty minutes. Then I decided to walk.

 

Choose the present perfect or past simple:

1. I ___________________ (never / go) to Vienna. 2. My great great grandfather ___________________ (have) five sisters 3. He ___________________ (live) in Manila for a year when he was a student. 4. Oh no! I ___________________ (lose) my wallet! 5. ___________________ (you / see) Julie today? 6. At the weekend, they ___________________ (play) football, then they ___________________ (go) to a restaurant. 7. I ___________________ (read) six books this week. 8. Amy ___________________ (live) in Portugal when she was young. 9. She ___________________ (visit) her grandmother last month. 10. The Vandals ___________________ (invade) Rome in the year 455. 11. She ___________________ (live) in seven different countries, so she knows a lot about different cultures. 12. I ___________________ (go) to the cinema last night. 13. Ow! I ___________________ (cut) my finger! 14. ___________________ (you / see) ‘The King’s Speech’? 15. John ___________________ (never / understand) the present perfect. 16. She ___________________ (break) her leg the day before her exam. 17. We ___________________ (see) Oliver yesterday. 18. He ___________________ (be) here all morning. 19. They ___________________ (live) here for many years (and they still do). 20. KingHenrytheEighthofEngland ___________________ (have) sixwives.