Present perfect or simple past

Englisch · Klasse 7/8 · mittel

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1Write the three forms.

go – went – gone. The third form is the past participle — you need it for the present perfect.

  1. a)go
  2. b)see
  3. c)eat
  4. d)have
  5. e)make
  6. f)be

2B have or has? Fill in.

he/she/it → has. All others → have.

  1. a)I … seen the film.
  2. b)She … finished.
  3. c)They … arrived.
  4. d)He … lost his key.
  5. e)We … eaten.
  6. f)It … stopped raining.

3Circle the signal word and write the tense.

last year, ago, yesterday → simple past. never, just, already, yet, ever → present perfect.

  1. a)I visited Rome last year.
  2. b)I have never visited Rome.
  3. c)She has just left.
  4. d)She left an hour ago.

4Choose the correct form.

Look for a finished time. If there is one → simple past.

  1. a)I (saw / have seen) him yesterday.
  2. b)We (went / have been) to Spain twice.
  3. c)She (didn't / hasn't) finished yet.
  4. d)(Did / Have) you ever (eat / eaten) snails?

1Write the three forms.

go – went – gone. The third form is the past participle — you need it for the present perfect.

  1. a)gogo – went – gone
  2. b)seesee – saw – seen
  3. c)eateat – ate – eaten
  4. d)havehave – had – had
  5. e)makemake – made – made
  6. f)bebe – was/were – been

2B have or has? Fill in.

he/she/it → has. All others → have.

  1. a)I … seen the film.have
  2. b)She … finished.has
  3. c)They … arrived.have
  4. d)He … lost his key.has
  5. e)We … eaten.have
  6. f)It … stopped raining.has

3Circle the signal word and write the tense.

last year, ago, yesterday → simple past. never, just, already, yet, ever → present perfect.

  1. a)I visited Rome last year.last year — simple past
  2. b)I have never visited Rome.never — present perfect
  3. c)She has just left.just — present perfect
  4. d)She left an hour ago.ago — simple past

4Choose the correct form.

Look for a finished time. If there is one → simple past.

  1. a)I (saw / have seen) him yesterday.saw
  2. b)We (went / have been) to Spain twice.have been
  3. c)She (didn't / hasn't) finished yet.hasn't
  4. d)(Did / Have) you ever (eat / eaten) snails?Have … eaten

1Write the past participle.

Regular verbs: -ed. Irregular: go – went – gone, see – saw – seen, write – wrote – written, eat – ate – eaten, be – was/were – been, take – took – taken, break – broke – broken, buy – bought – bought

  1. a)go
  2. b)see
  3. c)write
  4. d)eat
  5. e)be
  6. f)take
  7. g)break
  8. h)buy

2Present perfect or simple past? Fill in the correct form.

Simple past: finished time (last year, in 2019, yesterday). Present perfect: no time given, result now, or with ever, never, just, already, yet, since, for.

  1. a)I … (never / be) to London.
  2. b)We … (visit) Rome last year.
  3. c)She … (just / finish) her homework.
  4. d)They … (move) to Berlin in 2019.
  5. e)… you ever … (eat) sushi?
  6. f)He … (lose) his keys — he can't get in.

3Find the signal word and choose the tense. Write the tense and the signal word.

yet, since, already → present perfect. ago, yesterday → simple past.

  1. a)Have you done your homework yet?
  2. b)I saw him two days ago.
  3. c)She has lived here since 2015.
  4. d)We didn't go out yesterday.
  5. e)He has already left.

Text: Amira has just moved to a new town. She has already found a football club, but she hasn't made many friends yet. Last week she started at her new school. On her first day she got lost twice and was late for maths.

4Read and answer in full sentences.

Use the same tense as in the text: has found … / hasn't … yet / she got lost …

  1. a)What has Amira already done?
  2. b)What hasn't she done yet?
  3. c)What happened on her first day?

1Write the past participle.

Regular verbs: -ed. Irregular: go – went – gone, see – saw – seen, write – wrote – written, eat – ate – eaten, be – was/were – been, take – took – taken, break – broke – broken, buy – bought – bought

  1. a)gogone
  2. b)seeseen
  3. c)writewritten
  4. d)eateaten
  5. e)bebeen
  6. f)taketaken
  7. g)breakbroken
  8. h)buybought

2Present perfect or simple past? Fill in the correct form.

Simple past: finished time (last year, in 2019, yesterday). Present perfect: no time given, result now, or with ever, never, just, already, yet, since, for.

  1. a)I … (never / be) to London.have never been
  2. b)We … (visit) Rome last year.visited
  3. c)She … (just / finish) her homework.has just finished
  4. d)They … (move) to Berlin in 2019.moved
  5. e)… you ever … (eat) sushi?Have you ever eaten
  6. f)He … (lose) his keys — he can't get in.has lost

3Find the signal word and choose the tense. Write the tense and the signal word.

yet, since, already → present perfect. ago, yesterday → simple past.

  1. a)Have you done your homework yet?present perfect — yet
  2. b)I saw him two days ago.simple past — two days ago
  3. c)She has lived here since 2015.present perfect — since
  4. d)We didn't go out yesterday.simple past — yesterday
  5. e)He has already left.present perfect — already

Text: Amira has just moved to a new town. She has already found a football club, but she hasn't made many friends yet. Last week she started at her new school. On her first day she got lost twice and was late for maths.

4Read and answer in full sentences.

Use the same tense as in the text: has found … / hasn't … yet / she got lost …

  1. a)What has Amira already done?She has already found a football club.
  2. b)What hasn't she done yet?She hasn't made many friends yet.
  3. c)What happened on her first day?She got lost twice and was late for maths.

1Correct the mistakes.

A finished time (yesterday, in 2020) needs the simple past. since/for and yet need the present perfect. After have/has: past participle.

  1. a)I have seen him yesterday.
  2. b)She has went home.
  3. c)Did you ever been to Paris?
  4. d)We live here since 2018.
  5. e)He didn't finished his homework yet.
  6. f)They have moved to Berlin in 2020.

2Fill in the correct tense and explain your choice in three or four words.

Result now or still going on → present perfect. Finished and over → simple past.

  1. a)I … (lose) my phone. Can you help me look for it?
  2. b)I … (lose) my phone last week, but I found it.
  3. c)She … (work) here for ten years.
  4. d)She … (work) there for ten years before she retired.

3Write the question for the answer.

Have you ever …? When did …? Have you … yet? How long have you …?

  1. a)— Yes, I have. Twice, actually.
  2. b)— In 2019.
  3. c)— No, not yet. I'll do it after dinner.
  4. d)— For about three years.

4Write a short text (six to eight sentences) about a friend who has moved away.

Use both tenses: moved (when), has found (since then), hasn't … yet.

  1. a)Where and when did they move? What have they done since then? What haven't they done yet?

1Correct the mistakes.

A finished time (yesterday, in 2020) needs the simple past. since/for and yet need the present perfect. After have/has: past participle.

  1. a)I have seen him yesterday.I saw him yesterday.
  2. b)She has went home.She has gone home.
  3. c)Did you ever been to Paris?Have you ever been to Paris?
  4. d)We live here since 2018.We have lived here since 2018.
  5. e)He didn't finished his homework yet.He hasn't finished his homework yet.
  6. f)They have moved to Berlin in 2020.They moved to Berlin in 2020.

2Fill in the correct tense and explain your choice in three or four words.

Result now or still going on → present perfect. Finished and over → simple past.

  1. a)I … (lose) my phone. Can you help me look for it?have lost — result now (phone is still missing)
  2. b)I … (lose) my phone last week, but I found it.lost — finished time (last week)
  3. c)She … (work) here for ten years.has worked — still working (for ten years)
  4. d)She … (work) there for ten years before she retired.worked — finished (before she retired)

3Write the question for the answer.

Have you ever …? When did …? Have you … yet? How long have you …?

  1. a)— Yes, I have. Twice, actually.Have you ever been to …?
  2. b)— In 2019.When did you / they …?
  3. c)— No, not yet. I'll do it after dinner.Have you done your homework yet?
  4. d)— For about three years.How long have you lived / worked here?

4Write a short text (six to eight sentences) about a friend who has moved away.

Use both tenses: moved (when), has found (since then), hasn't … yet.

  1. a)Where and when did they move? What have they done since then? What haven't they done yet?Own text. Check: simple past for the move with a time, present perfect for what has happened since, at least one yet.

Two tenses, one question

Ask: is the time finished, or does it reach into the present? A finished time (yesterday, last week, in 2019, two hours ago) takes the simple past. No time given, or a time that includes now (today, this week, since, for, ever, never, just, already, yet) takes the present perfect.

I saw him yesterday.I have seen him twice this week.

Form

Present perfect: have/has + past participle (third form). Regular verbs add -ed; irregular ones you learn: go – went – gone, see – saw – seen, write – wrote – written.

She has just left.Have you ever eaten sushi?

The typical mistake

German uses the Perfekt for stories („Ich habe gestern …"), English does not. Whenever a sentence contains a finished time, use the simple past — even if it feels like Perfekt in German.

Ich habe gestern angerufen. → I called yesterday. (not: I have called)

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