Present Perfect or Past Indefinite?

Exercise 155

Sort these words into two categories. Used with the Present Perfect and Used with the Past Indefinite.

Used with the Present Perfect	Used with the Past Indefinite
_____________________________ _____________________________	_____________________________ _____________________________

ago, since, yesterday, recently, during the 1990s, last year, at 3 o'clock, ever, so far, over the last two years, never, already, yet, just, for the past three weeks, lately

Exercise 156

Choose the correct adverb.

1. I've yet / already / so far spoken to Peter about it.

2. We've made a lot of progress over the past three years / since three years/ during three years.

3. We set up two years ago / during the 1970s / over the last two years.

4. Have you ever / two months ago / yet visited Beijing.

5. We've grown rapidly over the last few years / five years ago / just now.

6. They updated their website a month ago / a month before, for one month.

7. She's been vice-president for 10 years / last year / not yet.

8. I did a lot of work yesterday / already / this week.

9. Who is that woman? I've ever / never / since seen her before.

10. The house is dirty. They haven't cleaned it for weeks / last week / already.

11. Paul was in Egypt recently / lately / not yet / in 1998 / since his childhood.

Exercise 157

Use the Present Perfect or the Past Indefinite.

1. What (learn, you) __________ since you (come) __________ here? How many new friends (make, you) __________ ? I hope you (meet, already) __________ a lot of interesting people.

2. Since classes began, I (have, not) _________ much free time. I (have)

__________ several big tests to study for.

3. Last night my roommate and I (have) __________ some free time, so we (go) __________ to a show.

4. I admit that I (get) __________ older since I last (see) __________ you,

but with any luck at all, I (get, also) __________ wiser.

5.The science of medicine (advance) __________ a great deal in the

nineteenth century.

6. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, medical scientists (make) __________ many important discoveries.

7. Libraries today are different from those in the 1800s. For example, contents of libraries (change) __________ greatly through the years. In the 1800s, libraries (be) __________ simply collections of books. However, today most libraries (become) __________ multimedia centers that contain tapes, computers, disks, films, magazines, music and paintings. The role of the library in society (change, also) __________. In the 1800s, libraries (be) __________ open only to certain people, such as scholars or the wealthy. Today libraries serve everyone.

8. I (not, have) __________ my homework yet.

9. We (not, see) __________ him since he (leave) __________ school.

10. We (go) __________ to bed last night because we (be) __________ tired.

11. Laura (never, be) to France.

12. I (see) __________ an old friend of mine last week.

13. I love winter sports. I (be) __________ ice-skating many times. When I

was younger I (go) __________ to an ice-rink with my school I (fall)

__________ over a lot and I (not, can) __________ skate very well, but

really (enjoy) __________ it. Then last year I (visit) Austria and (skate)

__________ at an outdoor rink there. I (play, also) ice hockey. I never

(ski) __________ though. I (go) __________ on holiday to Switzerland

last month to go skiing, but on the first day I (slip) __________ on some

ice and (break) __________my ankle, so I (not, can) __________ski at all.

Exercise158

Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect or the Past Indefinite.

1. Kevin ….. has lost ….. (lose) his key. He ….. (leave) it on the bus

yesterday.

2. I ….. (not / play) tennis since I was at school but I ….. (be) very good at it

then.

3. Mr. and Mrs. Little ….. (visit) Egypt. They ….. (go) there on their

honeymoon in 1967.

4. I think our teacher ….. (forget) about the test.! He ….. (not / say) anything

about it in the last lesson!

5. Sarah ….. (break) her leg. She ….. (fall) off a horse last week.

6. We ….. (sell) our house. Some people ….. (see) it last month and ….. (buy) it.

7. I ….. (finish) decorating my room. I ….. (paint) it last week and I ….. (put up) the new curtains last night.

8. They ….. (lose) their car. It ….. (run) away last week.

9. Peter ….. (pass) his driving test. He ….. (take) it last Friday.

10. We ….. (know) Kate since last year. We ….. (meet) her at a party.

11. I ….. (never / be) to Australia. I ….. (want) to go last summer but I …..

(can / not).

12. I ….. (not / be) out since we ….. (move) to our new house.

13. Tom ….. (see) this film twice. The last time he ….. (see) it ….. (be) a

week ago.

Exercise 159

Choose between the Present Perfect and the Past Indefinite. The first one has been done for you.

Stella McCartney, Paul McCartney's daughter, joined / has joined the troubled Paris fashion house Chloé barely a year ago. It took / has taken her just one year to reverse its fortunes. Previously Chloé was / has been virtually invisible as a major force in the world of fashion. But almost single-handedly she transformed / has transformed Chloé into the most talked about fashion brand in the world. She increased / has increased sales fivefold. Paris didn't see / hasn't seen anything like it since the young Yves St Laurent took / has taken the city by storm 30 years ago.

When she was / has been appointed it was / has been clear she knew / has known what she had / has had to do. "I want to bridge the gap between the consumer and the press. At the moment fashion is just sort of stuck in the middle."

So far, Stella stuck / has stuck to her philosophy of avoiding outrageous and uncommercial catwalk creations. She kept / has kept to the simple philosophy of designing clothes that she or her friends would want to wear. As her best friends are Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Yasmin Le Bon, it also brings her big publicity.

Exercise 160

Correct the mistakes in the following sentences.

1. My sister have been interested in medicine ever since she was a child.

2. Where and when have you first met your husband?

3. The dentist has asked us to wait during a few minutes.

4. The Red Cross has started in the 19th century.

5. We have posted the parcel three weeks ago. If you still haven't received it, please inform us immediately.

6. I has driven a car recently.

7. Jenny's really excited about going to Spain. She has ever been there before.

8. John is terribly upset. He broke off his engagement to Megan.

9. How many times was Wendy been late for work this week?

10. It's nearly twenty years since my father saw his brother. My father hasn't

seen his brother for nearly twenty years.

CONVERSATIONS

Exercise 161

Complete the dialogues. Fill in the blanks with the Present Perfect or the past Indefinite of the verbs in brackets.

1.	A: B:	_____ you _____ (not / sell) your old car yet? Yes, my cousin _____ (give) me £ 500 for it last week.
2.	A: B:	_____ you _____ (not / chose) a dress for the party next week yet? Yes, _____ (buy) one yesterday.
3.	A: B:	Are you taking Chemistry 101 this semester? No, I _____ (take, already) it. I _____ (take) it last semester. This semester I'm in 102.
4.	A: B:	Hi, Judy. Welcome to the party. _____ (Meet, you, ever) _____ my cousin? No, I _____.
5.	A: B:	Do you like lobster? I don't know. I _____ (eat, never) it.
6.	A: B: A: B: A: B: A: B: A:	Do you do much travelling? Yes, I like to travel. What countries _____ (visit, you)? Well, I _____ (be) in India, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Nepal, among others. I _____ (be, never) in any of those countries. When (be, you) _____ in India? Two years ago. I _____ (visit, also) many of the countries in Central America. I _____ (take) a tour of Central America about six years ago. Which countries _____ (visit, you)? Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. I _____ (want, always) to travel to other countries, but I _____ (have, not) the opportunity to travel extensively. I _____ (go) to England six years ago, but I _____ (go, not) anywhere since then.
7.	A: B:	Look! Somebody _____ (spill) coffee on the carpet. Well, it _____ (be, not) me. I _____ (do, not) it.
8.	A: B: A:	Ben _____ (break) his leg. Really? How _____ (that, happen)? He _____ (fall) off the ladder.
9.	A: B: A: B:	Your hair looks nice. _____ (you, have) a haircut? Yes. Who _____ (cut) it? _____ (you, go) to the hairdresser? No, a friend of mine _____ (do) it for me.
10.	A: B: A:	_____ (you, go) on holiday last year? Yes, I _____ (go) to Spain. _____ (you, ever, be) there? Yes, I _____ (go) there last year too.
11.	A: B: A:	I _____ (sell) my old radio. Really? When _____ (you, sell) it? I _____ (sell) it yesterday.
12.	A: B: A:	I _____ (go) to the new sports centre yesterday. No kidding? I _____ (be, not) there yet. What's it like? It' fabulous! I _____ (see, never) such a fantastic sports centre before.

Exercise 162

A: Complete the text. Use the Present Perfect or the Past Indefinite.

Film maker David Morris has been 1 (be) interested in the cinema since he _____ 2 (be) a small child. He _____ 3 (make) his first film when he _____ 4 (be) just twelve years old. He is now almost 40 and he _____ 5 (make) 30 films. David loves travelling. His work _____ 6 (take) him all over the world. He _____ 7 (be) to Africa, India, Australia, China, the USA and South America. Last year he _____ 8 (visit) Russia for the first time. David is married to the singer, Leena Lennox. They _____ 9 (be) married for ten years. They live with their two children on the Greek Island of Crete. They _____ 10 (buy) a house on the island in 1987 and they _____11 (live) there since then.

B: Ask and answer the questions about the text.

1. - How long has David been interested in the cinema?

- Since he was a small child.

2. - When _____ his first film?

- When he was 16.

3. How many films _____?

- 30.

4. _____ to Russia?

- Yes, he has.

5. When _____ there?

- He went there last year.

6. When _____ David and Leena _____ married?

- Ten years ago.

7. How long _____ on Crete?

- Since 1987.

C: Which countries and cities have you been to in your life? When did you go

to each place?

Example: