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CHAPTER 6
THE PRESENT PERFECT AND THE PAST PERFECT
6-1 USING THE PRESENT PERFECT
| Jim has already eaten lunch. Jane hasn’t eaten lunch yet. Have you ever eaten lunch at that restaurant? I have never eaten at that restaurant. | The present perfect expresses activities or situations that occurred (or did not occur) “before now”, at some unspecified time in the past.* |
| I have eaten at that restaurant many times. I have flown in an airplane many times. It has rained three times so far this week. | The present perfect often expresses activities that were repeated several or many times in the past. The exact times are unspecified. |
| Alice has lived in this city since 1980. I have known Bob for ten years. We have been in class since ten o’clock in the morning. You’ve learned a lot of English since you came here. | When the present perfect is used with since or for it expresses a situation that began in the past and continues to the present. |
· If the exact time is specified the simple past is used.
Exercise 1: Complete the sentences. Use the words in brackets.
1. (I, meet) I’ve met Ann’s husband. I met him at the party last night.
2. ( I, finish) _____________________ my work. I finished it two hours ago.
3. (she, fly) Ms. Parker travels to Washington, DC frequently.
_____________________________ there many times.
4. (they, know) Bob and Jane are old friends. ___________________ each other for a long time.
5. (it, be) I don’t like this weather. _______ cold and cloudy for a long time.
6. (you, learn) Your English is getting better. ____________ a lot of English since
you came here.
7. (we, be) My wife and I came here two months ago. ____________________
in this city for two months.
8. (he, finish) Tom can go to bed now. ___________ his homework.
Exercise 2: Complete the sentences. Use words in brackets.
1. (I, write, not) _______________ sister a letter in a long time.
2. (I, write, never) _____________ a letter to the President of the US.
3. (he, finish, not) Greg is working on his composition, but __________
it yet. He’ll probably finish it in a couple of hours.
4. (I, meet, never) _______________ Nancy’s parents. I hope I get the chance
to meet them soon.
5. (Ron, never, be) ____________ in Hong Kong, but he would like to go there
some day.
6. (Linda, be, not) ___________ in class for the last couple of days. I hope she
is okay.
7. (they, come, not) The children are late. _______ home from school yet. I hope
nothing’s wrong.
8.(I, call, not) __________ Irene yet. I’ll call her tomorrow.
Exercise 6: Study the examples.
| a) Present Perfect I have been in Europe many times several times a couple of times once (no mention of time) | The present perfect expresses an activity that occurred at an unspecified time in the past. |
| b) Simple Past I was in Europe last year two years ago in 2009 when I was ten years old | The simple past expresses an activity that occurred at a specific time in the past. |
Complete the sentences with the words in brackets. Use the present perfect or simple past.
1. A: Have you ever been in Europe?
B: Yes, I __________ . I (be) _______ in Europe several times. In fact, I (be)
in Europe last year.
2. A: Have you ever eaten at Al’s Steak House?
B: Yes, I _______ . I (eat) ______ there many times. In fact, my wife and I
(eat) ________ there last night.
3. A: Have you talked to Professor Alston about your grades?
B: Yes, I ______ . I (talk) ______ to him about my grades several times.
In fact, I (talk) ______ to him after class yesterday about F I got on the last test.
4. A: What European countries (you, visit) _________ ?
B: I (visit) _________ France, Germany and Switzerland. I (visit) France in 1985.
I (be) ____ in Germany and Switzerland in 1990.
5. A: (Bob, have, ever) __________ a job?
B: Yes, he _______ . He (have) ___________lots of part-time jobs. Last Summer
he (have) a job at his uncle’s bakery.
6-2 USING SINCE AND FOR
SINCE I have been here since eight o’clock.
since Tuesday.
since May
Since is followed by the mention of a specific point of time. It expresses the idea that an activity began at a specific time in the past and continues to the present.
FOR I have been here for ten minutes.
for five days.
for a long time.
FOR is followed by the mention of a length of time: four days, five weeks.
Exercise 7: Complete the sentences with the words in brackets. Use the present perfect or the past simple.
1. Carol and I are old friends. I (know) her since I (be) a freshman in high school.
2. Maria (have) a lot of problems since she (come) to this country.
3. Since the semester (begin) we (have) four tests.
4. I (have, not) any problems since I (come) here.
5. Mike (be) in school since he (be) six years old.
6. My mother (not, be) in school since she (graduate) from college in 1990.
7. Since we (start) doing this exercise we (complete) six sentences.
8. My name is Peter. I’m from Russia. Right now I’m studying English at this school.
I (be) at this school since the beginning of January. I (arrive) here January 2, and
my classes (begin) January 6. Since I (come) here, I (do) many things, and I (meet)
many people. I (go) to several parties. Last Saturday I (go) to a party at my friend’s
house. I (meet) some of the other students from Russia at the party. Of course,
we (speak) Russian, so I (practice, not) my English that night. There (be) only
people from Russia at the party. However, since I (come) here, I (meet) a lot of
other people. I (meet) students from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and
Asia. I enjoy meeting people from other countries.
Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1593
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| A: I have two books. Which book do you want? | | | FORMS OF THE PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE |