Rules
When do we use the simple past tense?
To show that something happened and was completed in the past.
dinner/they/last week/ cook/ together
They cooked dinner together last week.
Last week, they cooked dinner together.
Not / laundry / done / have / my / I
I have not done my laundry.
talk/been/Grandma/ have/ 3 hours/ for
Grandma has been talking for 3 hours.
What tense do you use to describe this situation:
The boy had a bunch of trash, he put all of that trash outside for the garbage truck. This happened last Tuesday. Today is Sunday.
Simple Past Tense: An event in the past that was completed in the past.
Ex. The boy took out the trash last Tuesday.
When do we use the present perfect tense?
To show that something started in the past, but was not completed. This action continues up to the present.
Monday/do/do/what/you/on
What did you do on Monday?
Homework / you / your / done / have / all
You have done all your homework.
study / I / try / been / an hour/ have/ to study / for
I have been trying to study for an hour.
What tense do you use to describe this situation:
There's a girl. She plays the piano. She started when she was 3 years old. She still plays piano today and plans to keep this up.
Present Perfect Continuous- It started at a definite time in the past, continues up to the present and may continue into the future.
ex. She has been playing the piano since she was 3 years old.
When do we use the present perfect progressive tense?
This is used to show that an action started in the past and it is continuing now and may continue into the future.
school/go/he/to/yesterday
He went to school yesterday.
Yesterday, he went to school.
Many / this / how/ Bob / month / has / read / books / ?
How many books has Bob read this month?
7 o'clock / Claire / read / been / have / since
Claire has been reading since 7 o' clock.
What tense is needed to describe this situation:
There is a dog. It's owner realized it was lost yesterday afternoon. The dog is still lost today and they do not know where it is.
Present Perfect Continuous: Started in the past and it is still true in the present and continuing into the future.
Ex: The dog has been missing since yesterday afternoon.
What expressions come after "for"?
Lengths of time
example: for 2 years
see/she/him/yesterday
She saw him yesterday
Yesterday, she saw him.
found / has / street / money / the / on / Who / ?
Who has found money on the street?
English / where / have / classes / take / you / been / ?
Where have you been taking English classes?
What tense is needed to describe this situation?
There was a woman. Her husband asked her if she went to the store. She said she already has.
Present Perfect Tense: Using adverbs of time to show that something in the past at an indefinite time.
Ex. She has already gone to the store.
What expressions come after "since"?
Points in time
For example: Since 2019
last May/break up/ him/with/she
She broke up with him last May.
Last may, she broke up with him.
Toby / anything / has / breakfast / not / eaten / since
Toby has not eaten anything since breakfast
have / George / high school / been / and / date / Cara / since
George and Cara have been dating since high school.
What tense do you use to describe this situation:
It is currently morning time. You drank 3 cups of coffee already this morning. When you are asked how many cups of coffee you drank so far, you respond in WHAT tense?
Present Perfect: When you use time words like This morning and it is STILL this morning, we use present perfect
Ex. I have had 3 cups of coffee this morning.