present perfect and past

Lecture No.10
Present Perfect and Past (1) (Ihave done and I did )
Study this example situation :
Tom is looking for his key. He can t find it . He has Lost his key. (present perfect ).
This means that he doesn t have his key now . Now Tom has found his key. He has it now .
Has he lost his key? No, he has found it .
Did he Lose his key? Yes, he did . He lost his key (past simple ).
but now he has found it. (present perfect )
The present perfect (something has happened) is a present tense. lt always tells us about the situation now. Tom has lost his key = he doesn t have his key now .
The past simple (something happened) tells us only about the past. If somebody says Tom lost his key , this doesn t tell us whether he has the key now or not. lt tells us only that he lost his key at some time in the past .
Do not use the present perfect if the situation now is different. Compare :
They ve gone away. They ll be back on Friday. (they are away now )
They went away, but I think they re back at home now. (not They ve gone )
lt has stopped raining now, so we don t need the umbrella. (it isn t raining now)
lt stopped raining for a while, but now it s raining again. (not lt has stopped)
You can use the present perfect for new or recent happenings :
I ve repaired the washing machine. lt s working OK now. Oh, that s good .
Sally has had a baby! lt s a boy. That s great news .
Usually, you can also use the past simple :
I repaired the washing machine. lt s working OK now.
Use the past simple (not the present perfect) for things that are not recent or new:
Mozart was a composer. He wrote more than 600 pieces of music.
(not has been ... has written)
My mother grew up in Italy. (not has grown. )
Compare :
Did you know that somebody has invented a new type of washing machine ?
Who invented the telephone? (not has invented )
We use the present perfect to give new information. But if we continue to talk about it. we normally use the past simple :
A : Ow! I ve burnt myself .
s: How did you do that? (not have you done. )
A: I picked up a hot dish. (not have picked )
A: Look! Somebody has spilt something on the sofa.
s: Well, it wasn t me. I didn t do it. (not hasn t been ... haven t done )
present Perfect and Past (2) (I have done and I did)
Do not use the present perfect (I have done) when you talk about a finished time (for example . yesterday / ten minutes ago / in 2005 / when I was a child). Use a past tense
lt was very cold yesterday. (not has been )
. Paul and Lucy arrived ten minutes ago. (not have arrived)
. Did you eat a lot of sweets when you were a child? (not have you eaten)
I got home late last night. I was very tired and went straight to bed .
Use the past to ask When ... ? or What time ...?:
When did your friends arrive? (not have ... arrived )
What time did you finish work ?
Compare :
Present perfect
Tom has Lost his key. He can t get into the house.
Is Carla here or has she Left ?
Compare :
Present perfect (have done)
I ve done a lot of work today .
We use the present perfect for a period of time that continues until now. For example:
today / this week / since 2007.
(lt hasn t rained this week . Have you seen Anna this morning? ( it is sti ll morning
Have you seen Tim recently ?
I don t know where Lisa is. I haven t seen her. (= I haven t seen her recently.)
(We ve been waiting for an hour . (we a re sti ll waiting now .
Jack lives in Los Angeles. He has lived there for seven years.
I have never played golf. (in my life )
lt s the last day of your holiday. You say : lt s been a really good holiday .
I ve really enjoyed it .
Past simple
Past simple = Tom Lost his key yesterday.
He couldn t get into the house. When did Cart a Leave ?
We use the past simple for a finished time in the past. For example:
yesterday / last week / from 2007 to 2010 .
lt didn t rain last week.
(Did you see Anna this morning ? (it is now afternoon or evening
A: Was Lisa at the party on Sunday ?
B: I don t think so. I didn t see her.
We waited (or were waiting) for an hour. (we are no longer waiting. )
Jack Lived in New York for ten years . Now he lives in Los Angeles.
I didn t play golf Last summer.
After you come back from holiday you say: lt was a really good holiday
I really enjoyed it.
Exercises
Are the underlined parts of these sentences right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.
1.I ve lost my key. I can,t find it anywhere.
2.Have you eaten a lot of sweets when you were a child ?
3.I ve bought a new car. You must come and see it.
4.I ve bought a new car last week.
5.Where have you been yesterday evening ?
6.Lucy has left school in 1999 .
7.I m looking for Mike. Have you seen him ?
. 8. Have you been to Paris?, Yes, many times
9.l m very hungry. I haven t eaten much today.
10.When has this book been published?
Make sentences from the words in brackets. Use the present perfect or past simple .
1.(it / not / rain / this week) ................................ .
............................... . 2.(the weather / be / cold / recently) The weather
.................................................. .(3.(it / cold / last week) lt
(I / not / read / a newspaper yesterday) I........................... . 4.
I .................................................. . (5.(I / not / read / a newspaper today
..................................................... . (Emily/earn / a lot of money / this year) 6.
....................................................... .(she / not / earn / so much / last year) 7.
......................................................... . (you / have / a holiday recently ?) 8.
Put the verb into the correct form, present perfect or past simple.

1.When I ............... ( get) home last night, I......... ( be) very tired and I ..... .............. ( go) straight to bed.
..................................................... . 2.A: (you / see) Lisa recently ?
B: Yes, (I / see) her a few days ago.................................................. .
3.l m tired. (1 I not / sleep) well last night .
. 4.The bus drivers were on strike last week. (there / be) no buses
5.Mr Lee (work) in a bank for 15 years. Then ........... (he I give )
it up. Now he works as a gardener .
6.Mary lives in Dublin. (she / live) there all her life.
7. (you / go) to the cinema last night ?