2A

present perfect and past simple past simple (worked, stopped, went, had, etc.)

present perfect simple: have / has+ past participle (worked, seen, etc.)
I past exp eriences
I've b een ro London, bur I haven 't b een to O xford .
Have vo u ever los t vou r credit card:>
' J
Sally h as never m e t Bill's ex-,vife.
'
2 recent past actions
I've cut rn y finger!
Ton late! O ur train h as just le ft '
3 \Vi th yet and already (for entphasis)
I've already seen rhis fihu t\vice. Can't we ,.vatch another one?
My brother hasn 't found a ne\v job yet. He's stil l looking.
H ave you finish e d your hon1e,vork yet? No, not yet.
1 We use the present perfect for past experiences, \vhen vve don't say exactly
when they happened.
• We often use ever and never 'vhen we ask or talk about past
experiences. They go before the 1nain verb.
2 We use the p resent perfect for recent past actions, often \Vithjust.
• just goes before the 1nain verb.
3 \Ve also use the present perfect 'A'ith yet and already.
• already is used in[Bseotences and goes before the n1ain verb.
• yet is used vvith G sentences and [11. It goes at the end of the phrase.
• For irregular past participles see I rregttlar verbs p.165.
They go t niarried last year. ( 1' 43 l))
\Vhat t i rne did yo u \Vak e up this nlorning?
( 1 42 l)) I didn 't have ti1ne to do 1ny hon1e\vork.
• Use the past si n1ple fo r fin ished past actions
(vvhen \Ve say, ask, or kno\v \Vhen they happened).
present perfect or past simple?
I've b een to Mad rid nvice. 1 44 l))
(= in rny li fe up to no,v)
I went there in 1998 and 2002.
(=on t\vo specific occasions)
I've bough t a nev,; con1puter.
(=I don't say exactly \Vhen, \vhere, etc.)
I boug h t it last Saturday.(= I say \vhen)
• Use the present perfect (NOT the past si n1ple)
to talk about past experiences and recent past
actions when we don't s pecify a time .
• Use the past sin1ple ( NOT the present perfect)
to ask or talk about fin ished actions in the past,
w h en the ti1ne is m entio11ed or understood.
We often use a past ri1ne expression, e.g. yesterday,
la.st ~veek, etc.

a Con1plete the n1ini dialogues ' vith b Right or \vrong? T ick ./ or cross X the
the present perfect forn1 of the verb sentences. Correct the \vrong sentences .
in brackets and an adverb fron1 the list. I've never been in debt . ./
You can use the adverbs n1ore than once.
Ho~' rnucb h as yo ur ne\v can1era cost ? X
already ever just never yet
f To~v niuch did your ne1v earn.era cost?
I D ean h as just inherited €5,000 fro n1 a
A \V hy arc you smiling? relative.
B l'vejustjound a € 50 no te ! (find)
2 Did your sister pay you back yet::>
1 A you a f1ight online? (book)
B Yes, o f cou rse. I've done it loads of t in1es. 3 \\Te booked our holiday online a month ago.
2 A \\! hen are you going to buy a n10torbike? 4 \\! hen have you bought th at leather jacket::>
B Soon . T n early € 1,000. (save)
S They've finished paying back the loan last
3 A you the electricity bill ? (pay)
n10nth.
B o, sorry. I forgot.
4 A your parents yo u money? (lend) 6 V./c haven't paid the gas bill ye r.
B Yes, but l paid it back as soon as I could. 7 Have vou ever \Vasted a lot of n1onev on
I ,

5 A H o\v does eBav \VOrk? I

so1neth in g?
B I don't knovv. l _______ _ _ _ _ _ it. (use)
8 I'rn sure I h aven't borrO\'led an'!
.· n1one'I,
6 A \X/hat a re you celebrating? fron1 yo u last >veek.
B \Ve _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a prize in the lottery' (\vin)
9 I spent rny salary really quickly last n1onth.
7 A \\Thy h aven't yo u got any 111oney?
B l n1y salar y. I bought a nevv tablet 10 Have you seen the Batn1an filn1 on T \ !
last >veek. (spend) yesterday?
8 A Would you like a coffee::> --< p.16
B No, thanks.! _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ one. (have)
2A GRAMMAR present perfect and past simple
0 Qrcl0the correct verb.
Mike So, where shall we go for our honeymoon?
Gina I don't know. Maybe somewhere in North Africa. Have you
ever ~/ gone t o Morocco?
Mike Yes, 2l've been I I went t here.
Gina I didn't know that. When 3 have you been I did you go t here?
Mike The year after I •have finished I finished university.
Gina What about Egypt?
Mike 'I've been I I went there, too.
Gina Who 6have you been I did you go with?
Mike With an ex-girlfriend. But we only ;have been I went to Cairo.
Let 's go there.
Gina No, let's go somewhere else.

C!) Complete the dialogues with the correct form of the verbs in brackets: past simple or present
perfect. Use contractions \vl1ere possible.
1 A How long haveyou been (you I be) married, Glenn? ,..
B Twenty-two years! Maxine and I 2 (have)
our wedding anniversary three weeks ago.
A Where 3 (you I meet)? At university?
B No, it• (be) long before that. Actually,
we s (go) to the same school. We
6 (know) each other for a long t ime.
What about you?
A I'm divorced. I ;_ __ _ _ __ _ (get) divorced a year ago.
B How long 8 (you I be) married?
A Just a couple of years.
B So, you're on your own now?
A Yes, but I 9_ _ __ ____ Qust I meet) someone new
and I really like her.

2 A '- - - - - ---(you I teach) English abroad before,

Ms Jenkins?
B Yes, I 2_ _ _ _ _ __ _ (teach) f rom 2009-2011 in
Bolivia, and I 3 Gust I come) back from
a four-month job in Columbia.
A How long•_ _ _ _ __ _ _ (you I be) a language
teacher?
B Exactly six years. Before that I 5_ _ __ __ _ _ (be)
a primary school teacher.
A Do you have any post-graduate qualifications?
B I; (start) an MA in Linguist ics w ith t he
Open Universit y last year, but I 7 (not
finish) it yet.

activation
G Practise the dialogues in a and b with a partner.

English File 3rd edition Teacher's Book Intermediat e Phot ocopiable © Ox ford Universit y Press 2013
Unit
13 Present perfect and past 1 (I have done and I did)
Study this example situation:

Tom is looking for his key. He can't find it.

He has lost his key. (presentperfect)
This means that he doesn't have his key now.

Ten minutes later:

NowTom 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. It always tells us about the
situation now. 'Tom has lost his key' = he doesn't have his key now (see Unit 7).

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. It 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:
O 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)
It has stopped raining now, so we don't need the umbrella, (it isn't raining now)
It stopped raining for a while, but now it's raining again, (not It has stopped)

You can use the present perfect for new or recent happenings:
O ‘I've repaired the washing machine. It's working OK now.' ‘Oh, that's good.’
‘Sally has had a baby! It's a boy.' 'That's great news.'

Usually, you can also use the past simple:

O I repaired the washing machine. It's working OK now.

Use the past simple (not the present perfect) for things that are not recent or new:
G 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:
G 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 (see Unit 7). But if we continue to talk about it,
we normally use the past simple:
a : Owl I've burnt m y s e lf .

b : How did you do that? (not have you done)

a : I picked up a hot dish. (not have picked)

a : Lookl Somebody has spilt something on the sofa.

b : Well, it w asn 't me. I didn't do it. (not hasn't been ... haven't done)

Past simple ^ Unit 5 Present perfect Units 7-8 Present perfect and past 2 -> Unit 14
26 American English Appendix 7
Exercises
Complete the sentences using the verbs in brackets. Use the present perfect where possible.
Otherwise use the past simple. _________________________
The office is empty now.

I can't get in.

I ve lo st (lose) my
key.

Yes, I .........
(have) a headache, but I'm
fine now.

Are the underlined parts of these sentences right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.
1 Did you hear about Sue? She's given up her job. OK
2 My mother has grown up in Italy.
3 How many poems has William Shakespeare written? ........ ....................
4 Ow! I've cut my finger. It's bleeding. ...........................................................
5 Drugs have become a big problem everywhere. ..
6 Who has invented paper? ..... ...................
7 Where have you been born? ..........
8 ELlie isn't at home. She's gone shopping. ...........................................................
9 Albert Einstein has been the scientist who
has developed the theory of relativity. .................................................. ......

Put the verb into the correct form, present perfect or past simple.
1It stopped raining for a while, but now it's raining again, (it / stop)
2 The town where I live is very different now. It haschavigect a lot. (it / change)
3 I studied German at school, but ....... most of it now. (1 / forget)
4 The police . . three people, but later they let them go. (arrest)
5 What do you think of my English? Do you think ? (it/improve)
6 a : Are you still reading the paper?
b : N o, with it. You can have it. (I / finish)
7 for a job as a tourist guide, but I wasn't successful. (I / apply)
8 Where's my bike? outside the house, but it's not there now. (it /be)
9 Quick! We need to call an ambulance. an accident, (there / be)
10 a : Have you heard about Ben? . ..........his arm. (he / break)
b : Really? How ....... ? (that / happen)
a: off a ladder, (he/fall)

27
Unit
14 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:
It 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 W h at time ... ?:

W hen did your friends arrive? (not have ... arrived)
O W h at time did you finish work?

Compare:

Present perfect Past simple

Tom has Lost his key. He can’t get Tom lost his key yesterday.
into the house. He couldn't get into the house.
Is Carla here or has she left? G W hen did Carla leave?

Compare:

Present perfect (have done) Past simple (did)

I've done a Lot of work today. I did a lot of work yesterday.

We use the present perfect for a period of time We use the past simple for a finished time in
that continues until now. For example: the past. For example:
today / this week / since 2007. yesterday / last week / from 2007 to 2010.

- unfinished - r unfinished -
today yesterday

past now past now

It hasn't rained this week. _ It didn't rain last week.

Have you seen Anna this morning? Did you see Anna this morning?
(it is still morning) (it is now afternoon or evening)

Have you seen Tim recently? Did you see Tim on Sunday?

1 I don't know where Lisa is. I haven't a: W as Lisa at the party on Sunday?
seen her. (= I haven't seen her b: I don't think so. I didn't see her.
recently)

We've been waiting for an hour. We waited (or were waiting) for an
(we are still waiting now) hour, (we are no longer waiting)

O Jack lives in Los Angeles. He has lived Jack lived in New York for ten years.
there for seven years. Now he lives in Los Angeles.

1have never played golf, (in my life) I didn't play golf last summer.

It's the last day ofyour holiday. You say: After you come back from holiday you
It's been a really good holiday. say: It was a really good holiday.
I've really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it.

Past simple Unit 5 Present perfect Units 7-8 Present perfect and past 1 Unit 13
j
 Unit
Exercises 14
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. OK....................... ...................
2Have you eaten a lot of sweets when you were a child? DiA yow eat ...
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 I'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) It Hasn’t rained, this week .............. ..
2 (the weather / be / cold / recently) The w eather......................................................................
3 (it / cold / last week) It ... ........... ........................... ........ ..........
4 (I / not / read / a newspaper yesterday) I
5 (I / not / read / a newspaper today) .
6 (Emily / earn / a lot of money / this year) ..... ..
7 (she / not / earn / so much / last year) ........................... ........ ........
8 (you / have / a holiday recently?) .....

Put the verb into the correct form, present perfect or past simple.
1 ‘What's Madrid like?' ‘I don't know I Haven’t been (| / not / be) there.'
2 When (I / get) home last night, . (I / be)
very tired and (I / go) straight to bed.
3 a: (you/see)Lisa recently?
b : Yes, ...... (I / saw) her a few days ago.
4 I'm tired. .. . . (I/ not / sleep) well last night.
5 The bus drivers were on strike last week. (there / be) no buses.
6 Mr Lee (work)inabank for 15 years. Then (he / give)
it up.Now he works as a gardener.
7 Mary lives in Dublin.............................. (she / live) there all her life.
8 a: (you / go) to the cinema last night?
b: Yes, but (it / be) a mistake. The film (be) awful.
9 My grandfather (die) before I was born. . ...
(I / never / meet) him.
10 I don't know Karen's husband. (I/never/meet)him.
11 It's nearly lunchtime, and (I / not / see) Martin all morning.
I wonder where he is.
12 ‘Where do you live?' 'In Boston.'
'How Long ................................... (you / live) there?' 'Five years.'
‘Where (you / live) before that?' ‘In Chicago.'
‘And how Long (you / Live) in Chicago?' ‘Two years.'

Write sentences about yourself using the ideas in brackets.

1 (something you haven’t done today) ...) Haven’t eaten any -fruit todaxj.....
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 (somethingyou've done a lot recently) ..... .......

-> Additional exercises 2-4 (pages 303-04), 14-15 (pages 310-11) 29

28 COMMUNICATIVE How long have you ...?
~------- - ---------------------T ----- ----------- --- ----------~

OCCUPATION HOUSE

Where do you work or Do you live in a house

study? • or in a flat?
How long I work or How long I live there?
study there?

~-----------------------------+-----------------------------~

INTERESTS GADGETS

Do you have a special What gadgets (e.g.

hobby? e-reader, smartphone,
How long I do it? etc.) do you have?
fI - How long I have
them?
~--- ----- ------ ----------- ----+-- ------- --------- ------ -----~

SPORT HOLIDAYS

Do you do any sport or Is there a place you

exercise? often go to for a
How long I do it? holiday?
How long I go there?

~--- ------ -- -- -- -- ------------+-----------------------------~

SOCIAL NETWORKS GIVING

Are you on Facebook Do you give money to,

or another social or do you work for, a
network? charity, e.g. the World
How long I have an Wildlife Fund?
account? How long I help them?
~-- --------- -- - --- ------------+-----------------------------~

TV FRIENDS

Is there a TV . Who's your oldest

• programme or series
1
friend?
you regularly watch? How long I know him
How long I watch it? or her?

~ ---------- ------ ------------- +------ ----- - - - - -- - - ----------~

LEARNING GYM

Are you learning Do you go to a gym?

anything new at the How long I be a
moment (not English!)? member?
How long I learn it?

L-- ------ ---- ----------- ------·- -------- ---------- ------- ---~

English File 3rd edition Teacher's Book Intermediate Photocopiable ~Oxford University Press 2013 I 177
5 GRAMMAR present perfect and past simple e In pairs, intervie>v each other \Vith the
q ues tio ns. Ask for more inforn1ation.
a Read the convers ation. W ha t a re they argu ing about ?

b lj41 >)) Read t he conversat io n again and put the verbs in the HAVE YOU EVER ...?
present perfect o r the past s in1ple . Then listen and check.
• bought or sold something on
eBay or a similar site

• lost a credit card or your

wallet

• saved for something for a long What? '

• was t ed money on somet hing

you've never used
···-·--···-·----·-····-······----- .......••••
• won any money
(e.g . in a lot t ery)
.... ···---··-········-····
• lent money to someone

• bought something online and t hen

discovered t hat it was a scam

• been c harged t oo much in a restaurant

I i1· \\
01\\.l l
David I 1haven't seen (see) t hose shoes before. Are t hey new? T..,_ 'le S9 . 01 •

li ar
Kate Yes. I 2 (just buy) them. Do you like them? t~-'!9

(,re t" Stied f l 'l9

D They're OK. How much 3 they (cost)? tSM9
O<"on Sov pn d"'•d ' t1·SO
K Oh, not much. They 4 (be) a bargain. Under £100. t \\el!Se 5 8
<.offee
D You mean £99.99. That isn't cheap f or a pair of shoes.
Anyway, we can't aff ord to buy new clot hes at t he moment .
K Why tiot?
f ~1 . 'f7
o 5 you _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (see) t his?
K No. What is it?
o The phone bill. It 6_ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ (arrive) this morning.
And we 7 (not pay) t he electricity bill yet. How
K Well, w hat about t he iPad you 8 (buy) last week? much?
D What about it? What
K You 9_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (not need) a new one. The old one happened?}
10 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (work) perf ectly well. ____,
/~­
D But 1 11 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (need) t he new model. -----:z:::~-----~'-------------
K Well, I 12 (need) some new shoes.
Have you ever bough!~o~ l(
~~~ I sold my
sold something one~ ~computer.
c D o vve use the present perfect (PP) or past simple (P S ) .. .?
1 for a con1pletecl action in the past _ __ Who did you sell it to? ~ow )
2 for recent actions \Vhen we don't ask f say exactly \vhen _ __ much did you sell it for~

3 in sentences \Vitb just, yet, a nd already _ __

d )o- p.134 Grammar Bank 2A. Learn m o re about the present
perfect and past si n1ple, a nd practise them.

m
42 Time and time management
A Timeframes and schedules
‘Time is money,’ says the famous phrase. The timescale or timeframe is
the overall period during which something should happen or be
completed. The lead time for something is the period of time it takes to
prepare and complete or deliver all or part of something.
The times or dates when things in a plan should happen are its schedule or
timetable. If a project is completed at the planned time, the project is on
schedule; completion before the planned time is ahead of schedule and later
is behind schedule. If something happens later than planned, it is delayed:
there is a delay. If you then try to go faster, you try to make up time.
But things can take longer than planned!
A period when a machine or computer cannot be used because it is not working is downtime.
Note

Schedule is far more frequent than timetable, timeframe or timescale.

Schedule is also more used in expressions like ahead of schedule, etc.

B Projects and project management

A project is a carefully planned piece of work to produce something new.
Look at this Gantt chart for building a new supermarket.

Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
 Prepare site
stages  Build walls

Build roof
phases 
 Fitting out
steps  Finish site
tasks  Recruit

employees

 Opening

Building a new These stages overlap – the second These stages are simultaneous: they run in
supermarket one starts before the first finishes. parallel – they happen at the same time.

Project management is managing these stages. Big projects often include bonus payments for
completion early or on time, and penalties for late completion.

C Time tips
Everyone complains that they never have enough time to do things. Lots of company employees go
on time-management courses – looking for guidance on how they should organize their time. Here
are some tips for time management:
Use a diary (BrE) or calendar (AmE) to plan your day, week, etc., also known as personal
organizers. The most modern form are smartphone apps which can display messages and
help you organize your events and even make notes about them.
Plan your day in advance. Make a realistic plan (not just a list) of the things you have to do
and prioritize them – put them in order of importance. Work on the things that have the
highest priority and leave the others until later.
Avoid interruptions and distractions – things which stop you doing what you had planned.
Do jobs to a realistic level of quality in the time available, and only to a level that is really
necessary. Don’t always aim for perfectionism. Try to balance time, cost and quality.

92 Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate

 Exercises
42.1 This is what actually happened in the building of the supermarket in B opposite. Use appropriate
forms of expressions from A and B opposite to complete the text.

J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O
Prepare site
Build walls
Build roof
Fitting out
Finish site
Recruit employees
Opening

‘The overall (1) (2 expressions) was originally 12 months, but the project took
17 months. The project started on (2) in June, but site preparation took
(3) because of very bad weather in the autumn.
Site preparation and building the walls should have (4) , but the walls were started
in January. We were able to (5) a bit of time on the roof:
it took two months instead of three, but we were still (6) schedule. The next
(7) (4 expressions) was fitting out the supermarket, but there was a series of strikes
by the electricians, so there were (8) here too. The store opened in October, but now
there’s a lot of (9) , when the computers don’t work. Everyone seems to have had
bad luck with this project!’

42.2 Harry is a magazine journalist. Give him advice based on the ideas in C opposite. The first one has
been done for you.
1 Harry started the day by making a list of all the things he had to do.
You should make a realistic plan and prioritize the things you have to do, not just make a
list.
2 He started writing an article, but after five minutes a young colleague came over and asked him
for help on an article he was writing. Harry helped his colleague for half an hour and then they
chatted about last night’s television.
3 He started work again on his article, but he heard police cars outside and went to the window to
look.
4 He wanted to make the article look as good as possible on the page, so he spent a lot of time
adjusting the spacing of the lines, changing the characters of the text, etc., even though an editor
would do this later.
5 At 6 pm he realized that he hadn’t started on the other article he had to write, but he went home.
On the train home, he realized that he had arranged to have lunch with an important contact, but
had completely forgotten.
6 Harry decided he needed some training to change his behaviour.

Over to you
• What can a company do if it is behind schedule on a project? Is it always a good idea to increase
the number of people working on it?
• What is your best personal tip on time management?

Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate 93