Present
perfect and past (2) (I have done and I did)
A.
Do not use the present perfect (I have done) when you talk about a finished
time (for example, yesterday/ten minutes ago/in 1985/when I was a child). Use a
past tense:
* The
weather was nice yesterday. (not 'has been nice')
* They
arrived ten minutes ago. (not 'have arrived')
* I ate
a lot of sweets when I was a child. (not 'have eaten')
* A: Did
you see the news on television last night? (not 'Have you seen')
B: No, I
went to bed early. (not 'have gone')
Use a
past tense to ask When ...? or What time ...?:
* When
did they arrive? (not 'have they arrived')
* What
time did you finish work?
Compare:
Present perfect
* Tom
has lost his key. He can't get into the house.
Here, we
are not thinking of the past action. We are thinking of the present result of
the action: Tom doesn't have his key now.
Past
simple
* Tom
lost his key yesterday. He couldn't get into the house.
Here, we
are thinking of the action in the past. We don't know from this sentence
whether Tom has his key now.
B.
Compare present perfect and past:
Present perfect (have done)
* I've
done a lot of work today.
We use
the present perfect for a period of time that continues from the past until
now. For example, today, this week, since 1985.
* It
hasn't rained this week.
* Have
you seen Ann this morning? (it is still morning)
* Have
you seen Ann recently?
* I
don't know where Ann is. I haven't seen her. (= I haven't seen her recently)
* We've
been waiting for an hour. (we are still waiting now)
* Ian
lives in London. He has lived there for seven years.
* I have
never played golf. (in my life)
The
present perfect always has a connection with now. See Units 7-12.
Past
simple (did)
* I did
a lot of work yesterday.
We use
the past simple for a finished time in the past. For example, yesterday, last
week, from 1985 to 1991.
* It
didn't rain last week.
* Did
you see Ann this morning? (it is now afternoon or evening)
* Did
you see Ann on Sunday?
* A: Was
Ann 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)
* Ian
lived in Scotland for ten years.
Now he
lives in London.
* I
didn't play golf when I was on holiday last summer.
The past
simple tells us only about the past. See Units 5-6.
EXERCISES
14.1
Are the underlined parts of these sentences right or wrong? Correct the ones
that are wrong.
1. _I've
lost_ my key. I can't find it anywhere. RIGHT
2. _Have
you seen_ the news on television last night? WRONG: Did you see
3. _I've
bought_ a new car. Do you want to see it? ---
4. _I've
bought_ a new car last week. ---
5. Where
_have you been_ yesterday evening? ---
6. Jenny
_has left_ school in 1991. ---
7. I'm
looking for Mike. _Have you seen_ him? ---
8. I'm
very hungry. _I haven't eaten_ anything today. ---
9. Diane
_hasn't been_ at work yesterday. ---
10. When
_has this book been_ published? ---
14.2
Make sentences from the words in brackets. Use the present perfect or past
simple.
1.
(it/not/rain/this week) It hasn't rained this week.
2. (the
weather/be/cold/recently) The weather ---
3. (it
cold/last week) It ---
4. (I
not/read/a newspaper yesterday) I ---
5. (I
not/read/a newspaper today)
6.
(Ann/earn/a lot of money/this year)
7. (she
not/earn/so much/last year)
8.
(you have/a holiday recently?)
14.3
Put the verb into the correct form, present perfect or past simple.
1. I
don't know where Amy is. Have you seen (you/see) her?
2. When
I --- (get) home last night, I --- (be) very tired and I --- (go) straight to
bed.
3. Your
car looks very clean --- (you/wash) it?
4.
George --- (not/be) very well last week.
5. Mr
Clark --- (work) in a bank for 15 years. Then he gave it up.
6. Molly
lives in Dublin. She --- (live) there all her life.
7 ---
(you/go) to the cinema last night?' 'Yes, but it --- (be) a mistake. The film
(be) awful.
8. My
grandfather --- (die) 30 years ago. I --- (never/meet) him.
9. I
don't know Carol's husband. I --- (never/meet/him).
10. A:
Is your father at home?
B: No,
I'm afraid he --- (go) out.
A: When
exactly --- (he/go) out? B: About ten minutes ago.
11. A:
Where do you live?
B: In
Boston.
A: How
long --- (you/live) there?
B: Five
years.
A: Where
--- (you/live) before that?
B: In
Chicago.
A: And
how long --- (you/live) in Chicago?
B: Two
years.
14.4
Write sentences about yourself using the ideas in brackets.
1.
(something you haven't done today)
I
haven't eaten any fruit today.
2.
(something you haven't done today)
3.
(something you didn't do yesterday)
4.
(something you did yesterday evening)
5.
(something you haven't done recently)
6.
(something you've done a lot recently)
