Present Perfect or Past Simple 2

Choose the present perfect or past simple:

1. I _________________
have seen (see) three police cars this morning (it’s still morning).

2. After he _________________
arrived (arrive) home, he _________________
unpacked
went
(unpack) and _________________ (go) to bed early.

3. A: What’s wrong?

B: I _________________
have broken (break) a glass!

4. My grandparents only _________________

knew (know) each other for a few

months before they _________________

got (get) married.

5. I _________________
have been (be) in London for three years. I love it here.

6. We _________________
saw (see) Julie last night.

7. He _________________
was (be) a teacher before he _________________
became

(become) a musician.

8. When the boss _________________

walked (walk) into the room, we

_________________
knew (know) someone was going to get fired.

9. The children _________________

broke (break) a window in the school last week.

10. He _________________
saw (see) that film last year.

© 2012 www.perfect-english-grammar.com
May be freely copied for personal or classroom use.
11. Lucy _________________
has broken (break) her leg, so she can’t come skiing.

12. Julie _________________

has arrived (arrive)! Come and say hello!

13. They _________________

went (be) cold when they _________________
arrived (arrive)

home.

14. Jack _________________

broke (break) his arm when he _________________
fell (fall)

off a horse in 2005.

15. I _________________
have known (know) about the problem for months, but I

_________________
haven't found (not / find) a solution yet.

16. A: When _________________

did you arrive (you / arrive)?

B: At 10pm last night.

17. She _________________

has been (be) a teacher for ten years, and she still enjoys it.

18. How long _________________

have you known (you / know) Jill? I know you see her often.

19. I _________________
haven't seen (see) the sea before.

20. A: Hello

B: Hi Mum, it’s me. I just wanted to say I _________________

have arrived (arrive) safely

and everything is fine.

© 2012 www.perfect-english-grammar.com
May be freely copied for personal or classroom use.
 www.english-area.com

Past Simple vs. Present Perfect

1. Complete the sentences with the verb in brackets in past simple or present perfect.

1. She loves Paris. She .....................

has been (be) there many times.
2. Bill .......................
has worked (work) in that company for 3 years. (He still works there).
3. They .......................
went (go) to London on holiday last summer.
4. I .......................
have read (read) that book. It´s good.
5. His parents .......................
were (be) here yesterday.
6. They .......................
went (go) to Germany when he .......................
was (be) only 4.
7. ...........
Did you .........
watch (watch) a film last night?
8. I ....................... (have)
9. He .......................
has live (live) in Rome since he was a teenager.
10. The house looks different. .......... Have you ..............
painted (paint) it?
11. I ....................... (not see) you in class last Friday.
didn't see
12. Shakespeare .......................
wrote (write) over one hundred sonnets.

2. Say if the following sentences are right or wrong. Correct them if necessary.

1. Have you ever been to Thailand? ......................................................................................

2. I´ve had sausages for lunch at half past one. ....................................................................
3. She´s enjoyed herself at the party last night. .....................................................................
4. I´ve read that book but I didn´t like it much. .......................................................................
5. Tom has left school one year ago. .....................................................................................
6. My cousins have lived in Dublin since they´ve been children. ...........................................
were
7. We have worked here for a year and a half. ......................................................................
8. My parents lived in Britain for a couple of years. ...............................................................
9. James has made a cake yesterday. ..................................................................................
10. I´ve washed the car. It looks great now. ............................................................................

3. Complete the sentences with a verb from the box in present perfect or past simple.

be finish stop watch

not smoke enjoy win live

1. stopped smoking two months ago.

She ...............
2. She ............... for two months. hasn't smoled
3. .........
Have you ever ..........
been to Florence?
4. .........
Did you ...........
watch that TV show last night?
5. They still live in that town. They ...............
have lived there for ages.
6. A friend of mine ...............
won the lottery three years ago.
7. When ...........
did you ...........
finish your homework?
8. They ...............
enjoyed themselves at the party last summer.

4. Write the past participle of these verbs.

1. write Written
2. wash Washed
3. forget Forgot / Forgotten
4. break Broke
5. make Made

The best free resources to learn and teach English

 Grammar Practice Worksheets ✎
Present Perfect

Present Perfect – Scrambled Sentences

Put the words below in the correct order to make grammatically correct sentences. (Each sentence is in
the present perfect tense.)

Ex. finished they yet homework their haven’t They haven’t finished their homework yet.

1. week I flu had the since have last

________________________________________________________________________________________
I have had the flu since last week

2. time divorced she for been long a has

________________________________________________________________________________________
She has been divorced for a long time

3. been week absent all school from has he

________________________________________________________________________________________
He has been absent from school all week

4. this city apartment lived since I in this have I moved to

________________________________________________________________________________________
I lived in this appartment since I moved to this city

5. lesson already that has teacher taught the

________________________________________________________________________________________
The teacher has already taught that lesson

6. Edith child since glasses was a worn has she

________________________________________________________________________________________
Edith has worn glasses since she was a chil

7. since she at broke work hasn’t her been leg she

________________________________________________________________________________________
Since she broke her leg she hasn't been at work / She hasn't been at work since she broke her leg

8. new very happy the their children puppy they have since got been

________________________________________________________________________________________
The children have been very happy since they got their puppy

10
Copyright 2008. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESLlibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.
 Grammar Practice Worksheets ✎
Present Perfect

Present Perfect Tense Vs. Simple Past Tense (2)

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the verb provided, simple past or present
perfect.

1. We _______________________(move)
moved to Vancouver last April. We _______________________(live)
have lived there
for six months now.

2. I _______________________
have gone (go) to every hockey game this season. I _______________________
went (go) to
the game last night with my brother.

3. I ____________________
lost (lose) my house key last week and I still ______________________
haven't found (not/find) it.

4. When _______________________
did you _______________________(quit)
quit smoking?

I _______________________(not/smoke)
haven't smoked for over five years now and I will never smoke again.

5. Nora _______________________
bought
never _______________________
bought
(buy) a lot of souvenirs yesterday. She _______________________
has
(buy) this many souvenirs on a vacation before.

6. “Would you like another cup of coffee?”

“No thanks. I _______________________

have already _______________________
had (have) three cups.

7. Frank _______________________(work)
worked for ABC Electric from 1990 to 2002. Now he owns his own
business. He _______________________(have)
has had it for six years.

8. Grandma _______________________(fall)
fell and _______________________(break)
broke her hip last week. She
_______________________
has been (be) in the hospital since then.

9. My former teacher _______________________(be)

was Mr. Blair. My present teacher is Mrs. Carter. I
_______________________
have been (be) in her class for three months now.

10. In my whole life, I _______________________

have never _______________________(meet)
met a famous person,
but my brother ____________________
spoke (speak) to three famous actors when he was in Hollywood last year.

11. Last year we _______________________(drive)

drove through three Canadian provinces. Now we are traveling
in Europe. We ____________________
have already ____________________
driven (drive) through eight countries.

12. This French course _______________________

started (start) three months ago. We _______________________
have
already _______________________
learned (learn) several verb tenses and thousands of new words.

13. Mr. Barnes _______________________(die)

died last year. Mrs. Barnes _______________________(move)
moved into
her daughter’s house shortly after that and _______________________
has been (be) there since then.

13
Copyright 2008. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESLlibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.