Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end
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| Gapped text | Items |
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| We ______________________ my Russian friends for a very long time | didn't visit / haven't visited |
| Somebody ______________________ the window, this is going to be expensive. | has broken / broke |
| I ______________________ anything today | haven't eaten / didn't eat |
| Look, I ______________________ the walls green, do you like it? | 've painted / painted |
| While I was talking on the phone, somebody ______________________ the window | has broken / broke |
| I ______________________ here since I was born | lived / have lived |
| Last week she ______________________ very sad | has been / was |
| We ______________________ in London in 1998 | lived / have lived |
| She ______________________ music but she can play very well | didn't study / hasn't studied |
| I ______________________ in Malaga from 1990 to 2002 | lived / have lived |
| This week they ______________________ very busy | have been / were |
| It's too late, and I ______________________ my exam yet! | didn't finish / haven't finished |
| We ______________________ to Toledo last weekend. We ______________________ lots of monuments and I ______________________ this wonderful sword. Do you like it? | have bought / have been / visited / bought / went / have visited |
| We're having a coffee. ______________________ coffee at home? Would you like some? | Have you had / did you have |
| At 6:00 somebody ______________________ the window and ran away | broke / has broken |
| What's wrong with her? She ______________________ very quiet all day | has been / was |
| She ______________________ a new pair shoes, she feels so happy | bought / has bought |
| I think you ______________________ too much this evening, go home and sleep | have drunk / drank |
| Now I feel ok, but last week I ______________________ ill. | was / have been |
| No, she ______________________ me on Monday, she ______________________ me yesterday. | hasn't phoned / phoned / didn't phone / has phoned |
| They ______________________ all the trees down, so now this place looks boring | have cut / cut |
| When I was a child my parents ______________________ this house, and I ______________________ here all my life. | bought / lived / have lived / have lived |
| ______________________ my cat? I can't find it anywhere | did you see / Have you seen |
| We ______________________ my Russian friends last year | visited / have visited |
| I feel terrible. I ______________________ ill all this week. | was / have been |
Note: this exercise is designed for British English usage. In American English some examples may prefer a different tense. Sometimes both possibilities look possible, choose the best one considering the context or the absense of context.
To use the present perfect we need two conditions:
1- We can give no information about when the action happens (unless it happened in a present period of time)
2- There must be a connection between past and present
Now we are going to see the specific situations when these two conditions are fulfilled.
THE THREE USES OF THE PRESENT PERFECT
The word PERFECT in grammar means "past", and the word PRESENT means... "present", so the Present Perfect tense is talking about the past and about the present at the same time. There are three cases when this happens.
We will use standard action graphics, so first let's explain the meaning of them:
Remember that the PRESENT is not only this very instant of now, we usually have a wider conception of the present and it usually means "this time around now", which may include the past few minutes, hours or even days. And now let's see every case.
Past and Present action
The action started in the past and continues up to the present (it may stop in the present or continue in the future)
A 
B 
| A- | I've known Kevin for years | (the action still continues in the present) | |
| B- | Here you are! I've been looking for you all day |
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(the action stopped) |
Past action, Present period of time
The action finished in the past but it happens in a present period of time
| I saw Tim yesterday, but I haven’t seen him today | |
("yesterday" is a past period of time, "today" is present) |
| This year he’s passed all his exams | ("this year" is still present) |
Past action, Present consequences
The action is past but the important thing is its present consequence (not the past action). That is, we use a past action to talk about a present consequence.
| Bill is giving a party because he has been elected president |
(he celebrates that now he is president) | |
| You've bought a new car! |
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(now you have a new car) |
