False Subjects
Cause, Consequence - SO,SO - SUCH, SO - BECAUSE
Linkers
Time
Conditionals
1.1 The Passive - Personal and Impersonal Structures
Comparitives and Superlatives
Like - Seem, As, Appear to be, As though,
Opposites
Wish - Regret
Quantifiers
Common Collocations
1 The Passive - Normal sentences
Advice, Suggestions, Obligations, and Permission
Verbs, Nouns, and Adjectives
Reflexive Pronouns
1.2 The Passive - Causative Form
Multi Word Verbs
Modal Verbs
Verb Patterns
The Present Perfect
Auxilliary verbs - Modal verbs
Reported Speech
PET - AS, LIKE 2
PET - REPORTED SPEECH 1
PET - FOR, SINCE, UNTIL, AGO, BY, DURING
PET - TOO, ENOUGH
PET - GOOD, WELL
PET - AGREE, DISAGREE
PET - GIVING ADVICE
PET - INTERESTED, INTERESTING
PET - SO and BECAUSE
PET - SOME, ANY
PET - IS LIKE, LOOKS LIKE, LIKES
PET - IF, WHEN and UNLESS
PET - MUST, HAVE TO, ALLOWED TO, PROHIBITED 1
PET - MAKING SUGGESTIONS
PET - TALL, TALLER THAN, THE TALLEST, NOT AS TALL AS
PET - NEVER BEFORE - FIRST TIME
PET - TO SWIM, SWIMMING
PET - LEND, BORROW, OWE
PET - HAS, THERE ARE
PET - I, ME, MY, MINE, MYSELF and BY MYSELF
PET - AS SOON AS, AS ... AS
PET - ADVISE, ADVICE
PET - OTHER, ANOTHER, THE OTHER
PET - AS, LIKE 1
PET - REPORTED SPEECH 2 - QUESTIONS
PET - USED TO
PET - FEW, MANY, LITTLE, MUCH
PET - PRACTICE, PRACTISE
PET - EFFECT, AFFECT
PET - PREFER, LIKE MORE THAN
PET - SO and SUCH
The Present Perfect
You are given a block of text which explains the theory of this concept.
Once you have read the theory, do the exercises given below to test how well you have understood the ideas.
How to do the Exercises:
You are given a set of words.
You are also given some sentences with input boxes, and you are required to use the words to complete the sentences correctly.
You can put your chosen word into the input box by first clicking on the word and then in the input box.
The word will appear in the input box.
If it is correct, it will go green, and if not, it will go red.
Before we look at the details of these subjects we need to understand some basic concepts first.
When we discuss the past, there are two different ways of looking at the past, OPEN TIME and FINISHED TIME.
If we use a time element which has happened and is finished, that is finished time, like YESTERDAY, or LAST YEAR.
But if we are in September, and we talk about THIS YEAR, which started in January, in the past, but is still happening, this is OPEN TIME, or a time element which has not finished yet.
TODAY, or THIS MONTH, is the same thing, OPEN TIME.
When we use a FINISHED time element in a sententence, we must use the PAST SIMPLE or the PAST CONTINUOUS, or the PAST PERFECT. We cannot use the PRESENT PERFECT.
I played tennis YESTERDAY. ( Yesterday is finished time.)
When we use a time element which is OPEN TIME, we must use the PRESENT PERFECT.
I HAVE SPOKEN to David TODAY. (Today is open time)
If no time element is used, then that means it is OPEN TIME.
I HAVE spoken to David.
The auxilliary verb we use for the PAST SIMPLE is DID, and the auxilliary verb we use for the PRESENT PERFECT is HAVE or HAS, with the PAST PARTICIPLE.
The verb EAT has the following parts:
EAT, ATE, EATEN, where EATEN is the PAST PARTICIPLE. With the PRESENT PERFECT, we always use the EATEN part of the verb.
I have EATEN my food. this is correct.
I have EAT my food. This is not correct.
I have ATE my food. This is not correct.
Let's look at an example:
I speak to my friend David, and then 2 yesrs go by without my speaking to him. I can say:
I last spoke to David 2 years ago.
( 2 years ago is finished time, so I used the PAST SIMPLE.)
I have not spoken to David for 2 years.
(Here, the 2 years starts in the past and continues to now, so is open time, so I have to use the PRESENT PERFECT, or HAVE NOT SPOKEN.)
It has been 2 years since I last spoke to David.
(Again, the 2 years starts in the past and continues to now, so is open time, so I have to use the PRESENT PERFECT, or HAS BEEN.)
Another important idea is the difference between FOR and SINCE.
FOR is used to measure the duration , to say how long something lasts.
FOR 2 hours, FOR 6 years.
SINCE is used to identify the starting point of an action. It refers to when things began.
SINCE 6 o'clock, SINCE January.
In the question
Have you ever eaten snails?
EVER means at any time in your life, since you were born until now, so it is OPEN TIME, so we use the PRESENT PERFECT, HAVE you EVER.
The same is true with this answer
No, I HAVE NEVER EATEN snails.
BEFORE in this context means before this moment, and so is open time.
I had never met Maria before.
FIRST
It (1) I had ever met Maria.
I applied for the Job a month ago.
MONTH
It (2) I applied for the Job.
That's the strangest film I've ever seen!
STRANGE
I've (3) film before.
It's the most beautiful painting I've ever seen.
SEEN
I (4) beautiful painting.
It's a fairly long time since I last watched this programme.
QUITE
I haven't watched this programme (5) time.
Phil hadn't heard from his brother in China for over five years.
MORE
It was (6) Phil had heard from his brother In China.