ESL worksheets and activities: Past Simple or Present Perfect

Resource centre - Past simple and present perfect

Download and print a free PDF version of this activity to use in the classroom with accompanying teacher notes.

Aim	To practise the difference between the past simple and present perfect tenses
Activity	Students complete sentences and questions
Organisation	Individual / pair work
Preparation	Make enough copies of the worksheet for the number of students in your class
What do I do?	1 Hand out the worksheet. 2 Students complete the sentences and corresponding questions by choosing verbs from the list and putting them in the correct form

BUY
HAVE
LEAVE
LIVE (x2)
KNOW

1. How long _______________________________________________?
He _____________________________ her since he was five years old.

2. _______________________________________________________?
He _____________________________ in 1990 and never came back.

3. _______________________________________________________?
He _____________________________ his current job for 5 years.

4. _______________________________________________________?
I _____________________________ a newspaper yesterday.

5. _______________________________________________________?
We _____________________________ there for six years.

6. _______________________________________________________?
John _____________________________ here all his life.

Answers
1 How long has he known her? has known
2 When did he leave? left
3 How long has he had his current job? has had
4 What did you buy yesterday? bought
5 How long did you live there? lived
6 How long has John lived here? has lived

ESL worksheets and activities - Past simple and present perfect

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