REINFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES

Cuando utilizar el Present Perfect y cuando utilizar el Past Simple

Hay dos grandes criterios para decidir si se utiliza el Present Perfect o el Past Simple:

1. El tipo de periodo de tiempo

a. Cuando el período de tiempo incluye el momento presente, se utiliza el Present Perfect. Este periodo puede ser:

Un periodo de tiempo definido:

I have lived in Barcelona for 5 years / since 2004.

Por eso, se utiliza el Present Perfect en preguntas con How long? que hacen referencia a un periodo de tiempo que empieza en el pasado y continúa hasta el momento presente.

How long have you had your car?

Un periodo de tiempo indefinido:

I have seen this film before / recently .

I have already done my homework.

Un periodo de tiempo no expresado:

Have you been to New York?

Si contestamos que si, entonces los detalles se tienen que poner en el Past Simple:

Yes, I have. I went there when I was a student.

b. Cuando no hay vínculo alguno con el momento presente, se utiliza el Past Simple. Esto puede indicarse con:

Expresiones que hacen referencia a momentos de tiempo claramente desconectados del presente:

I went to New York last year / two years ago / in 2006 / yesterday.

Por eso, se utiliza el Past Simple en preguntas con When? que hacen referencia a un momento específico del pasado:

When did you buy your car?

Otro punto es también en el tipo de verbo que se utiliza en esta pregunta: se trata de una acción sin duración (buy a car). En la pregunta con How long?, el verbo es una acción durativa (have a car)

Expresiones que hacen referencia a un periodo de tiempo que no incluye el momento presente:

I lived in Paris for 5 years and then I moved to Barcelona.

Lo que normalmente se dice del Present Perfect – que siempre se utiliza con for / since – no es totalmente una pista. Tampoco es correcto que las preguntas con How long? siempre contengan un Present Perfect. Si se trata de un periodo de tiempo acabado, lo que tenemos que decir es How long did you live in Paris?.

2. El vínculo que una situación tiene con el presente

a. Cuando una situación tiene un vínculo con el presente, se utiliza el Present Perfect. Normalmente, este vínculo lo constituyen los resultados presentes de una acción que se realizó en el pasado:

I have lost my keys – I don’t have them now.

I have written two books – The books exist now.

No es necesario que la acción haya pasado poco antes del momento presente. Lo que importa es que el locutor considere que sus resultados o efectos todavía tienen relevancia en el presente.

I have read this book. – la lectura del libro puede haber pasado hace mucho tiempo, pero el recuerdo de la lectura está todavía presente.

b. Cuando una situación no tiene vínculo alguno con el presente, se utiliza el Past Simple. No es necesario utilizar una expresión de tiempo:

My parents got married in France.

La falta de vínculo con el presente es muy evidente cuando hablamos de una persona que ha muerto:

Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet.

Complete the sentences with the appropriate form of the verbs in brackets.(Past Simple vs Present Perfect)

1.- They _________ (write) their exams yesterday.2.- They _________ (start) building their new house 18 months ago.3.- I ________ (meet) the company manager two weeks ago.4.- I ________ (be born) in 1964.5.- That was the best concert I _____ ever _______ (see).6.- I __________ (not eat) anything since breakfast.7.- I _________ (study) English for 10 years.8.- You ___________ (change) your address recently.9.- When I was 15 I _________ (go) to Dublin.10.- My students _________ (raise) a lot of money for charity.11.- We _________ (not go) to the cinema last night.12.- My uncle ________ (arrive) in Lisbon last night but he _________ (not call)13.- We _________ (not see) Pedro Almodovar’s new film yet.14.- _________ (you go) abroad this year?15.- The shop is probably closed because they _______ (go) for lunch.16.- When I ______ (be) at school I ______ (not like) Maths.17.- What’s the matter with your brother? He ________ (lose) his mobile.18.- Mark Spitz ________(win) seven Olympic gold medals in 1972.19.- Why are you crying? Because I _______ (cut) my finger.20.- When Mary was young she _______ (love) skiing.21.- There _______ (be) a lot of accidents last year, and there _________ (be) a lot this year, too.22.- My students __________ (not study) hardlast term, but they ______ (study) hard this term.

23.- When my niece ______ (be) at school, she ________ (play) in a handball team.24.- After I _____ (leave) school, I ______ (take) a job on the library.25.- I’m afraid the last train ________ (leave) an hour ago. 26.- Thank you for your offer but I _________ (decide) not to accept.27.- Yesterday I __________ (lose) my wallet.28.- We ________ (not speak) to your sister for a long time.29.- When we ________ (reach) the cinema, there _______ (not be) any tickets left.30.- Take your umbrella with you. It ________ (start) raining.

Past Simple / Present Perfect SimpleA 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 PerfectSimple.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?............................................................................ ............................................................................

D Complete the passage with suitable words.I 1.............................. always been very fit and healthy, and I have 2.............................. had a serious illness.However, a couple of weeks 3.............................. , I caught the flu. I must admit that until then, I4.............................. not realized just how unpleasant the flu could be. I had a high temperature for nearly a

week, and my whole body hurt. I don’t think I have 5.............................. felt so miserable. It’s taking me ages toget my strength back. It really bothers me that I haven’t had enough energy to play football 6..............................I got ill. In fact, I have 7.............................. been to the doctor to ask if it’s normal to feel weak for so long. Hesays I’ll soon feel better. Apparently I’m lucky. For some people, especially the old and the weak, the flu can bevery serious. Doctors have tried 8.............................. years to find a cure for the flu, but they haven’t found one9............................... . Fortunately, researchers have developed a vaccine which gives effective protection againstthe disease. According to my doctor, most of his elderly patients have 10.............................. received their flu shots.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRESENT PERFECT AND PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

The present perfect is formed from the present tense of the verb have and the past participle of a verb:

The present perfect continuous is formed with have/has been and the -ing form of the verb:

Use

We use the present perfect tense:

for something that started in the past and continues in the present:

They’ve been married for nearly fifty years.She has lived in Liverpool all her life.

Note: We normally use the present perfect continuous for this:

She has been living in Liverpool all her life.It’s been raining for hours.

 for something we have done several times in the past and continue to do:

I’ve played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.He has written three books and he is working on another one.I’ve been watching that programme every week.

We often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past:

They’ve been staying with us since last week.I have worked here since I left school.I’ve been watching that programme every week since it started.

when we are talking about our experience up to the present:

Note: We often use the adverb ever to talk about experience up to the present:

My last birthday was the worst day I have ever had.

Note: and we use never for the negative form:

Have you ever met George?Yes, but I’ve never met his wife.

for something that happened in the past but is important at the time of speaking:

I can’t get in the house. I’ve lost my keys.Teresa isn’t at home. I think she has gone shopping.I’m tired out. I’ve been working all day.

 We use the present perfect of be when someone has gone to a place and returned:

A: Where have you been?B: I’ve just been out to the supermarket.

A: Have you ever been to San Francisco?B: No, but I’ve been to Los Angeles.

But when someone has not returned we use have/has gone:

A: Where is Maria? I haven’t seen her for weeks.B: She's gone to Paris for a week. She’ll be back tomorrow.

We often use the present perfect with time adverbials which refer to the recent past:

just; only just; recently;

Scientists have recently discovered a new breed of monkey.We have just got back from our holidays.

or adverbials which include the present:

ever (in questions); so far; until now; up to now; yet (in questions and negatives)

Have you ever seen a ghost?Where have you been up to now?Have you finished your homework yet?No, so far I’ve only done my history.

WARNING:

We do not use the present perfect with an adverbial which refers to past time which is finished:

I have seen that film yesterday.We have just bought a new car last week.When we were children we have been to California.

But we can use it to refer to a time which is not yet finished:

Have you seen Helen today?We have bought a new car this week.

PRESENT PERFECT vs PRESENTE PERFECT CONTINUOUSComplete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.1.- At last! I ___________ (solve) the problem.2.- What ______________ recently? (you / do) Anything interesting?3.- My brother ____________ (buy) a new motorbike. It looks great.4.- _____________ (you / swim)? Your hair looks wet.5.- Oh, There you are! I ____________ (look) for you everywhere.6.- Sorry we are late. How long _______________ (you / wait)?7.- I ____________ (know) Peter for a long time.8.- My friends _____________ (run) for two hours already.9..- I ____________ (never / understand) Maths and Physics.10.- The children are tired because they ___________ (play) all day.11.- Susan _____________ (never / believe) in ghosts and fairies.12.- I _______________ (write) emails all day.13.- John ______________ (never / see) this film before.14.- What on earth ___________ (you / do)? You’re covered in mud.15.- _______________ (you / ever / see) Altamira Cave? I hear it’s incredibly beautiful.16.- How long ________________ (he / learn) English?17.- I ____________ (just / speak) to my cousins. They told me the news.18.- I’m sorry. Monica is not here.. She _____________ (go) out.19.- We’re really tired because we ______________ (train) for the marathon since eight o’clock.20.- _______________ (you / finish) doing your homework yet?21.- The students ________ (revise) for their Spanish exam for two hours.22.- Peter, why are you sweating? Because I _________ (hoover) the carpets.23.- Is the lawn finished? Yes, Gonzalo ____________ (cut) the grass.24.- It’s still raining. It _____________ (rain) for hours.25.- How much money _____________ (you / spend) this week.

CÓMO USAR EL FUTURO PERFECTO VS FUTURO PERFECTO PROGRESIVO

FUTURO perfecto progresivo o CONTINUO

USO Utilizamos el futuro continuo para expresar acciones que ocurrirán en un momento concreto del futuro. Por ejemplo:

  Andrew can't go to the party. He'll be working all day tomorrow.

FORMACIÓN

Afirmativa: Sujeto + will be + V-ing + complementos

Negativa: Sujeto + won't be + V-ing + complementos

Interrogativa: Will + sujeto + be + V-ing + complementos?  

FUTURO PERFECTO

USO Utilizamos el futuro perfecto para expresar una acción que acabará en un momento determinado del futuro. Por ejemplo:

By the year 2020 I will have finished my studies at University.

ESTRUCTURA

Afirmativa: sujeto + will have + participio + complementos

Negativa: sujeto + won't have + participio + complementos

Interrogativa: will + sujeto + have + participio + complementos?  

TESTS