Mastering Verb Tenses: Past Simple and Present Perfect

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Mastering Verb Tenses

Past Simple and Present Perfect

Learning Objective

To understand the differences between past simple and present perfect and use them correctly in sentences.

What do you already know about past simple and present perfect?

Past Simple

Wordt gebruikt om te zeggen dat iets in het verleden is afgerond --> we weten wanneer het is gebeurd.

Yesterday

A day/week/month/year/century ago.

(number) days ago

Last week/month/year/century

In… (jaartal voor nu)

A long time ago

Present Perfect

Wordt gebruikt:

• Om te zeggen dat iets in het verleden is begonnen maar het is niet belangrijk wanneer.
• Om te zeggen dat iets in het verleden iets is begonnen en je ziet nu nog resultaat.
• Om te zeggen dat iets net (just) gebeurd is.

Present Perfect

For

Yet

Never

Ever

Just

Already

Since

Lately

Interactive Exercise 1

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in past simple or present perfect.

1. She (finish) her homework before she went to bed.

1. has finished
2. finishes
3. finished
4. finishing

2. I (read) that book last month and I really enjoyed it.

1. have read
2. read
3. reading
4. reads

3. They (not/start) their journey until they had packed everything.

1. have not started
2. do not start
3. did not start
4. did not starting

Interactive Exercise 2

Match the sentences with the corresponding signal words for past simple and present perfect.

Match the sentence with the corresponding signal word for past simple: 'She finished her work.'

1. then
2. already
3. yet
4. just

Select the signal word for present perfect.

1. seldom
2. often
3. always
4. recently

Choose the signal word for present perfect.

1. in
2. since
3. last
4. ago

Which signal word is used for past simple?

1. just
2. for
3. already
4. yesterday

Common Mistakes Past Simple

Onjuist gebruik onregelmatige werkwoorden.

Example error: "Yesterday, I goed to the park."

-ed vergeten toe te voegen aan regelmatige ww. 

Example error: "I walk to school yesterday."

Common Mistakes Present Perfect

Misuse or forgetting of 'have'/'has': 

Example error: "I has visited Paris last year."

Incorrect formation of past participles:

Example error: "I have eated already."

Interactive Exercise 3

Identify and correct the errors in the given sentences.

Which sentence demonstrates the correct use of present perfect tense?

1. She did already finished the project.
2. He has went to the gym yesterday.
3. We have lived in this city for five years.
4. I have just saw that movie.

Select the sentence with the correct past simple tense usage.

1. They have never been to Europe before.
2. She has just gone to the gym.
3. I finished reading the book yesterday.
4. We have already saw that play.

Which sentence has no mistake in the present perfect tense?

1. She has just saw that movie.
2. They have already ate dinner.
3. We have went to the concert last night.
4. He has never been to Asia before.

Identify the sentence with a correct use of the past simple tense.

1. We have went to the beach yesterday.
2. I have already visited Paris last summer.
3. They arrived at the airport on time.
4. She has just saw the new exhibit.

Which sentence contains a correct use of the present perfect tense?

1. I have just finished my homework.
2. He has gone to the store yesterday.
3. She did already eat lunch.
4. We have seen that movie last week.

Review and Recap

Past simple wordt gebruikt voor de afgeronde verleden tijd --> het is belangrijk wanneer het is gebeurd.

Present perfect wordt gebruikt om te zeggen om te zeggen dat iets in het verleden is begonnen --> maar het is onbelangrijk wanneer.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.