Topic: Anecdotes

To talk about someone you admire using present perfect and

Learning objective
time adverbials

Activity 1: Vocabulary
Research about Will Smith’s live check (√) which of the following experiences he has had.

 Has he acted in a play? …………….

 Has he been on TV? …………….
 Has he broken a bone? …………….
 Has he gotten seasick? …………….
 Has he lost his phone? …………….
 Has he met a famous person? …………….
 Has he moved to a new city? …………….
 Has he won an award? …………….

Activity 2

A. Read the text below without doing the exercise. In what ways has Will Smith had an
amazing life?
B. Choose the correct verb form.

Will Smith’s life

Will Smith is one of the most popular actors in the world, and many people
still love and admire him.
Read the fact file below.

 Will Smith (1) was / has been born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

on 25th September 1968.
 When he was in high school, he (2) formed /has formed an
alliance with Jeffrey Townes and (3) released / has released their
first single, “Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble,” in 1986.
 He (4) was / has been a TV star almost all his adult life. He
(5) appeared/ has appeared in his first TV show, the popular
American sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990.
 The Fresh Pince of Bel-Air (6) was / has been on air for six years.
The show finally (7) ended / has finally ended in 1996.
 Due to his success in the show, Will Smith (8) expanded / has expanded
into cinema with Where the Day Takes You, in 1992.
 Since 1995, Smith (9) became / has become famous world-wide and has
fan websites in dozens of languages.
 In addition to singing and acting, Will Smith (10) produced / has produced
several films, including some in which he acted, and were / have been a
hit at the box office. So far, his movies (11) made / have made millions of
dollars.
 Will Smith (12) built up / has built up a fortune of at least $350 million
dollars, and in 2019 he (13) was / has been among the world’s highest
paid TV stars.
Activity 3: Grammar analysis

Activity 4: Grammar practice

Match the people in the photos to the texts and write the names in the spaces. Then put the verbs in the
correct form.

a. In 1968 (1) ……………………. (write) the most popular

song of all times, Yesterday. There (2) ……………………. (be) over 2.500 cover version since then.

b. Since he (3) ……………………. (die) in 1977,

(4) ……………………. (have) thirty-one hit singles! During his lifetime he (5) ……………………. (have)

over sixty hits, including eighteen number ones.

c. With a career lasting more than thirty years, is still a major

Hollywood actor. He (6) ……………………. (receive) twelve Oscar nominations – more than any other

actor in the history of Hollywood – and he (7) ……………………. (win) three Oscars. He (8)

……………………. (win) the Best Actor Award in 1975 for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and

again in 1997 for As Good as it Gets, and in 1986 he (9) ……………………. (receive) the Best

Supporting Actor Award for Terms of Endearment.

d. (10) ……………………. (star) in the most successful film of

all time, Titanic. Since its release in 1997, the film (11) ……………………. (make) around $2 billion.

However, it (12) ……………………. (cost) over $200 million to make – the most expensive film ever!

Jack Nicholson Lennon and McCartney Kate Winslet and Elvis Presley
Leonardo DiCaprio