Grammar E11

UNIT 1: A LONG AND HEALTHY LIFE

GRAMMAR. PAST SIMPLE – PRESENT PERFECT (1)
Exercise 1. Use the past simple in one sentence and the present perfect in the other to fill blanks.
1. a Italy __________ the World Cup in 2006. (win)
b He’s happy because Manchester United __________ all their matches this year. (win)
2. a ‘Can you tidy your room?’ - ‘I __________ it this morning.’ (tidy)
b ‘Can you tidy your room?’ - ‘I __________ it.’ (tidy)
3. a What time __________ you __________ home last night? (arrive)
b ‘ __________ Ben __________ ?’ - ‘Yes, he’s in the living room.’ (arrive)
4. a Come on, let’s eat. Dad __________ dinner. (cook)
b Who __________ this food? It’s delicious. (cook)
5. a I __________ lots of interesting people since I arrived. (meet)
b __________ you __________ anyone interesting while you were on holiday? (meet)
Exercise 2. Choose the correct answer in each of the following question.
1. David has been / was at the beach for hours. I think he’s having a great time there.
2. Have your friends bought / Did your friends buy tickets for the concert yesterday?
3. My younger sister has started / started school six months ago.
4. So far this week we’ve seen / we saw two funny films on TV.
5. I’ve talked / I talked to my grandparents on the phone last week.
6. What’s the noise? Have your neighbours bought / Did your neighbours buy a new dog recently?
7. Have you seen / Did you see Nick this week?
8. We’ve known / We knew Ann and Tom for three years. We’re really good friends now.
9. My school football team hasn’t won / didn’t win a match since the start of the year.
10. I haven’t been / didn’t go to China. What’s it like?
11. It has rained / rained three times this week.
12. I have seen / saw my first Disney film when I was four years old.
13. I feel at home in this village because we have lived / lived here for six years now.
14. I’m a big football fan, but I have never been / never went to the stadium.
15. It hasn’t rained / didn’t rain for a long time, so it’s very hot.
16. I have sent / sent an email to Jack last week, but he hasn’t replied.
Exercise 3. Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or the present perfect
1. I ______ (not/play) football since I was at school but I _____ (be) very good at it back then.
2. A: ______ you ________ (choose) a dress for the party yet?
B: Yes, I ______ (buy) one yesterday.
3. I think our teacher ______ (forget) about the test! He ___________ (not/ say) anything about it in the
last season!
4. A: ____________ (you/ sell) your house yet?
B: Yes, some people _______ (see) it last month and ________ (buy) it.
5. They __________ (lose) their cat. It ___________ (run) away last week.
6. __________ Helen ever __________ (try) sushi?
7. __________ you __________ (go) to the wedding last night?
8. I __________ never __________ (be) to Paris
9. This year I __________ (travel) to Athens 3 times so far.
10. Paul and Judith __________ (be) married since 1998.
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11. __________ you __________ (finish) your homework yet?

12. Last night aunt Betty __________ (come) by. She __________ (tell) us that this summer they are
going to Hawaii.
13. I __________ (visit) many different countries so far. Last summer I __________ (go) to Italy and 3
years ago I __________ (be) in Spain. I __________ (not/ visit) Germany yet.
14. When __________ you __________ (come) to Greece?
15. I __________ (come) in 2007.
16. __________ you __________ (watch) the film E.T. yesterday?
17. They __________ already __________ (leave) the train station
18. How long __________ you __________ (know) Jonathan?
19. I __________ (meet) him in 2009, so I __________ (know) him for 3 years
20. What __________ (happen) to Lucy last night?
21. I (see) ______________ that programme about telepathy last night.
22. He (come) ________________ back from Uganda a week ago.
23. Last week, he (phone) _______________ me to inform me about the matter.
24. He (travel) ___________________ a lot recently.
25. Claire (have) ________________ an appointment at the hairdresser’s yesterday.
26. He’s the most difficult customer I (have to - ever) ______________ deal with.
27. Sales (rise) _______________ in 2001, but then (fall) _________________ again in 2002.
28. We (sign) ________________ a binding contract last year which is still valid.
29. I feel really tired. I (finish - just) ______________________ my homework.
30. Look at George! He (have) __________________ a haircut.
Exercise 4. Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or the present perfect
I (1) _____________ (be) a ski instructor for many years now. I (2) _____________ (take up) the sport
when I (3) _____________ (be) at school. I still remember the first time I (4) _____________ (try) to
ski. I (5) _____________ (slip) on the ice and (6) _____________ (break) my ankle. Thankfully, I (7)
_____________ (not/ have) a serious accident since then. Last year, I (8) _____________ (try) ice-
skating for the very first time. I (9) _____________ (slip) on the ice rink a couple of times since then
but I (10) _____________ (not/ break) anything. Two years ago, I (11) _____________ (take)
snowboarding lessons. I (12) _____________ (not/ like) it because I (13) ___________ (find) it a little
dangerous. I (14) _____________ (not/ play) ice - hockey yet. There’s a game tomorrow. I can’t wait to
go!
Exercise 5. Complete the text about young adventurers with the correct form of the verbs.
Young Adventurers
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Most people __________ (never visit) the North Pole, but Parker Wilson has. Last year, Parker
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__________ (ski) 130 km across the Arctic in freezing temperatures. In the same year, he also
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__________ (start) a Facebook page about climate change. It’s amazing because Parker is only sixteen
years old and still 4__________ (not finish) school - he’s a very young adventurer.
5
__________ you __________ (ever be) to the South Pole? Maybe not, but in 2009, Katie
6
Walter __________ (walk) there and back in twenty days. She was only seventeen years old and she
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__________ (make) a lot of money for charity.
Parker and Katie 8__________ (achieve) great things, but they are both still teenagers.
9
__________ they __________ (do) too much, too young? Some people think so. Some psychologists
say that it’s dangerous for teens to take these risks because their brains 10__________ (not develop)
enough. Katie and Parker probably disagree. What do you think?
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Exercise 6. Complete the text about a veteran’s story with the present perfect or past simple form
of the verbs below. Add already, just, or yet if necessary.

become give have not be not go not produce

raise sail study travel work write
A Veteran’s Story
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Anthony Smith is an old-age pensioner from London. He _______________ a life full of
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adventure. When he was young, he _______________ biology at university. After that, he
_______________ a pilot and also 4_______________ as a science correspondent for a newspaper. He 5

_______________ more than thirty books, but he 6_______________ any films. In January 2012, he 7

_______________ from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas in the Caribbean. He wanted to prove that
old people can still have adventures. He 8 _______________ alone. Three other old adventurers joined
him. He 9 _______________ a lot of money for a charity that provides clean water for people in Africa,
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Asia and Central America. He _______________ through seventy countries, but he
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_______________ to the South Pole. He _______________ an interview for our newspaper. You can
read it in the next issue.

Exercise 7. Fill the blanks with the correct form of verbs in the brackets.
A short history of Brighton

Brighton is a city on the south coast of England. People (live) there for hundreds of years,

although it (only / be) a city since 2000. Brighton (begin) as a village in the

5th century. At that time it was called Beorthelms Tun. The village (grow) bigger, and by the

14th century it (be) a busy market town. It (be) called Brighton since 1660.

Today Brighton is an exciting and popular city but it (experience) problems over the years.

The French (destroy) many of its houses in the 16th century, and at the beginning of the 18th

century a terrible storm (kill) many people. Things (change) in the late 18th

century when the Prince of Wales and his friends (visit) Brighton. Since then, many

tourists (make) Brighton their holiday choice. There (be) a railway station in
Brighton since the middle of the 19th century, as well as a hospital, a museum and a library. The town's

swimming pools and cinemas (open) a few decades after that. In recent years, several music

festivals (bring) a party feeling to the city. Today the population of Brighton is 156,000. In

the last few years, it (become) an expensive place to live, but it is a still a great place to visit.

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Exercise 8. Listen to the mp3 file and put 1-2 words into each space to complete the resume.

Name: Pia Marcotti

Place of Birth: (1) , Italy.

Age: (2)
Post-University Experience

October (3) - September 2002

Worked for mother's (4) company, Meals On Wheels. Main responsibilities:

webmaster and advertising.
September 2002 - February 2003

Travelled mostly in Europe but also a month in (5) .

March 2003 - July 2005

Worked for (6) Footwear, shoe company near hometown. Worked in (7)

department for most of this time.

Languages Spoken:

(8) - fluent

(9) - good after (10) years study.