PRESENT PERFECT
Metti i verbi che trovi tra parentesi al present perfect stando attento alle forme negative, interrogative e interrogative negative! Le soluzioni sono in fondo alla pagina.
- “Would you like some coffee? I just (make) some.”
- “Where you (be)?” – “I (be) to the dentist.”
- “I (not finish) the newspaper yet.”
- “Someone (take) my bicycle.”
- “You (hear) from her recently?”
- “You ever (leave) a restaurant without paying the bill?”
- “Why he (not finish)? He (have) lots of time.”
- “I often (see) him but I never (speak) to him.”
- “She (not see) the film and she (not read) the book.”
- “You (not make) a mistake in this exercise?”
PRESENT PERFECT & PAST SIMPLE
Metti i verbi che trovi tra parentesi nel tempo giusto. Entrambe le risposte sono possibili MA in una una delle due il verbo va coniugato con il past simple e nell’altra con il present perfect. A te la scelta! Le soluzioni sono in fondo alla pagina.
- “Have they done their homework?” a) “Yes, they (do) it all.” b) “Yes, they (do) it before they left school.”
- “Have you been here before?” a) “Yes, I (come) here when I was a boy.” b) “Yes, I (be) here three times.”
- “Have you paid the phone bill?” a) “Yes, I (pay) the phone bill and the gas bill.” b) “Yes, I (pay) it while you were away.”
- “Has your dog ever attacked anybody?” a) “Yes, he (attack) a policeman last Tuesday.” b) “Yes, he (attack) me and my brother.”
- “Have you seen his garden?” a) “No, I (not see) it yet.” b) “I (see) the house on Monday but I (not see) the garden.”
PRESENT PERFECT vs. PAST SIMPLE
Metti i verbi che trovi tra parentesi nel tempo giusto scegliendo tra il present perfect e il past simple. In alcuni casi (sono veramente pochissimi) la scelta del tempo potrebbe dipendere dall’interpretazione che si da alle intenzioni comunicative di chi parla! Le soluzioni sono in fondo alla pagina.
- “Shakespeare (write) a lot of plays.”
- “My brother (write) a lot of plays. He just (finish) his second tragedy.”
- “I (fly) over Loch Ness last week.” – “Really? You (see) the Loch Ness monster?”
- “When he (arrive)?” – “He (arrive) at two o’clock.”
- “You (close) the door before you left the house?”
- “I can’t go out because I (not finish) my work.”
- “I (write) the letter but I can’t find a stamp.”
- “He (do) this type of work when he (be) in Germany.”
- “You (have) breakfast yet?” – “Yes, I (have) it at eight o’clock.”
- “You ever (be) to Spain?” – “Yes, I (spend) my holidays there last year.” – “You (have) a good time?” – “No, it (rain) all the time.”
- I (buy) this in Bond Street.” – “How much it (cost)?” – “It (cost) £100.”
- I (lose) my black gloves. You (see) them?” – “No, when you (lose) them?” – “I don’t know. I (wear) them to the theatre last night.” – “Maybe you (leave) them there.”
- “I (read) his books when I was at school. I (enjoy) them very much.”
- “Do you know that lady who just (leave) the shop?” – “Yes, she is Miss Thrift. Is she a customer of yours?” – “Not exactly. She (come) into my shop lots of times but she never (buy) anything.”
- “He (leave) the house at seven o’clock.” – “Where he (go)?” – “I (not see) where he (go).”
- “You (like) your last job?” – “I (like) it in the beginning.”
- “That is Mr Minus who teaches me mathematics. He (not have) time to teach me much because I only (start) lessons a week ago.”
- “You ever (try) to stop smoking?” – “Yes, I (try) last year, but then I (find) that I was getting fat so I (start) again.
- “Where you (find) this knife?” – “I (find) it in the garden.” – “Why you (not leave) it there?”
- “You (see) today’s paper?” – “No, anything interesting (happen)?” – “Yes, some of the patients (escape) from our local mental hospital.”
- “I just (receive) a letter that says we (not pay) our last gas bill. I (not give) you the money for that last week?” – “Yes, but I’m afraid I (spend) it on other things.”
- “You (finish) checking his thesis?” – “No, I (check) about half of it.”
- “What are all those people looking at?” – “There (be) an accident.” – “You (see) what (happen)?” – “Yes, a motor cycle (run) into a lorry.”
- “I (phone) you twice yesterday and (get) no answer.”
- “When I (buy) my new house I (ask) for a telephone. The Post Office (tell) me to wait, but I (wait) for a year now and my phone still (not come).”
ATTENZIONE
VERSIONE CORRETTA QUI SOTTO
PRESENT PERFECT
- “Would you like some coffee? I have just made some.”
- “Where have you been?” – “I’ve been to the dentist.”
- “I haven’t finished the newspaper yet.”
- “Someone has taken my bicycle.”
- “Have you heard from her recently?”
- “Have you ever left a restaurant without paying the bill?”
- “Why hasn’t he finished? He’s had lots of time.”
- “I have often seen him but I have never spoken to him.”
- “She hasn’t seen the film and she hasn’t read the book.”
- “Haven’t you made a mistake in this exercise?”
PRESENT PERFECT & PAST SIMPLE
- “Have they done their homework?” a) “Yes, they have done it all.” b) “Yes, they did it before they left school.”
- “Have you been here before?” a) “Yes, I came here when I was a boy.” b) “Yes, I’ve been here three times.”
- “Have you paid the phone bill?” a) “Yes, I’ve paid the phone bill and the gas bill.” b) “Yes, I paid it while you were away.”
- “Has your dog ever attacked anybody?” a) “Yes, he attacked a policeman last Tuesday.” b) “Yes, he’s attacked me and my brother.”
- “Have you seen his garden?” a) “No, I haven’t seen it yet.” b) “I saw the house on Monday but I didn’t see* the garden.”
* Possibile seconda formulazione: “…but I haven’t seen the garden.” Solo nel caso in cui chi parla nutre ancora delle speranze di poter vedere il giardino qualche giorno.
PRESENT PERFECT vs. PAST SIMPLE
- “Shakespeare wrote a lot of plays.”
- “My brother’s written a lot of plays. He’s just finished his second tragedy.”
- “I flew over Loch Ness last week.” – “Really? Did you see the Loch Ness monster?”
- “When did he arrive?” – “He arrived at two o’clock.”
- “Did you close the door before you left the house?”
- “I can’t go out because I haven’t finished my work.”
- “I’ve written the letter but I can’t find a stamp.”
- “He did this type of work when he was in Germany.”
- “Have you had breakfast yet?” – “Yes, I had it at eight o’clock.”
- “Have you ever been to Spain?” – “Yes, I spent my holidays there last year.” – “Did you have a good time?” – “No, it rained all the time.”
- I bought this in Bond Street.” – “How much did it cost?” – “It cost £100.”
- I’ve lost my black gloves. Have you seen them?” – “No, when did you lose them?” – “I don’t know. I wore them to the theatre last night.” – “Maybe you left them there.”
- “I read his books when I was at school. I enjoyed them very much.”
- “Do you know that lady who’s just left the shop?” – “Yes, she is Miss Thrift. Is she a customer of yours?” – “Not exactly. She’s come into my shop lots of times but she’s never bought anything.”
- “He left the house at seven o’clock.” – “Where did he go?” – “I didn’t see where he went.”
- “Did you like your last job?” – “I liked it in the beginning.”
- “That is Mr Minus who teaches me mathematics. He hasn’t had time to teach me much because I only started lessons a week ago.”
- “Have you ever tried to stop smoking?” – “Yes, I tried last year, but then I found that I was getting fat so I started* again.
- “Where did you find this knife?” – “I found it in the garden.” – “Why didn’t you leave it there?”
- “Have you seen today’s paper?” – “No, has anything interesting happened?” – “Yes, some of the patients have escaped from our local mental hospital.”
- “I have just received a letter that says we haven’t paid** our last gas bill. Didn’t I give you the money for that last week?” – “Yes, but I’m afraid I spent*** it on other things.”
- “Have you finished checking his thesis?” – “No, I’ve checked about half of it.”
- “What are all those people looking at?” – “There has been an accident.” – “Did you see what happened?” – “Yes, a motor cycle ran into a lorry.”
- “I phoned you twice yesterday and got no answer.”
- “When I bought my new house I asked for a telephone. The Post Office told me to wait, but I’ve waited for a year now and my phone still hasn’t come.”
* Possibile seconda formulazione: “…I’ve started again.” Solo nel caso in cui chi parla ha appena ricominciato a fumare.
** Possibile seconda formulazione: “…says we didn’t pay our last gas bill.” Solo nel caso in cui chi parla si riferisce più alla data di scadenza dell’ultima bolletta e non tanto al fatto che dovrà comunque pagarla.
*** Possibile seconda formulazione: “…I’m afraid I’ve spent it on other things.” Solo nel caso in cui chi parla vuole mettere l’enfasi sul fatto che i soldi non ci sono più piuttosto che sulle spese fatte.
Your comments are always very welcome.
Ingliando 
“I read his books when I was at school. I enjoyed them very much.”
I read his books when I was at school. I have enjoyed them very much. E’ sbagliato? Perchè io penso che il piacere prosegue nel tempo e quindi non è solo relativo al passato…
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La secondo frase è legato alla prima nel momento che si esprime con un tempo passato.
Ci sono due modi di pensarlo:
“Ho letto i suoi libri quando ero a scuola. Mi sono piaciuti molto.” (passato + passato)
“Ho letto i suoi libri quando ero a scuola. Mi piaciono molto.” (passato + presente)
Se vuoi rendere la prima frase allora e tutto past simple perché ti sono piaciuti nel momento in cui li hai letti e quindi quando eri a scuola.
Se vuoi rendere la seconda frase, puoi anche usare il presente in inglese, come in italiano:
“I read his books when I was at school. I like them very much.”
Quest’ultimo, credo, è quello che volevi dire, ma vedi che si esprime in quel caso con un presente e non con un passato prossimo.
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Thank you. Il mio inglese non è ancora buono, ma seguendo le tue lezioni credo di migliorarlo. Grazie ancora!
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👍🙂
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ok, so here we go!
1. I’ve just made some.
2. Where have you been? I’ve been to the dentist.
3. I haven’t finished the newspaper yet.
4. Someone has taken my bicycle.
5. Have you heard from her recently?
6. Have you ever left a restaurant without paying the bill?
7. Why hasn’t he finished? He had lots of time.
8. I often see him but I have never spoken to him.
9. She hasn’t seen the film and hasn’t read the book.
10. Haven’t you made a mistake in this exercise?
—————————————————————
1. a) have done, b) did
2. a) came, b) have been
3. a) have paid, b) paid
4. a) attacked, b) has attacked
5. a) haven’t seen, b) saw, haven’t seen
—————————————————————
1. wrote
2. has written
3. flied, have you seen
4. Has arrived, arrived
5. Did you close
6. haven’t finished
7. have written
8. did, was
9. Have you had, had
10. Have been, spent
11. Bought, did it cost, cost
12. Have lost, have you seen, did you lose, wore
13. Read, enjoyed
14. has left, has come, has bought
15. Left, did go, didn’t see, went
16. Did you like, liked
17. Hasn’t had, started
18. Have tried, tried, found, started
19. HAve found, have found, haven’t you left
20. HAve you seen, has happened
21. have received, haven’t paid, didn’t I give
22. HAve you finished, checked
23. Has benn, did you see, ran
24. phoned, got
25. bought, asked, told, have waited, hasn’t come
Some of them were very easy, others tricky!
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Ok, I’ve just checked my own translation and realized I missed some parts in some sentences! I also noticed my mistakes. I got the following sentences wrong:
7. Why hasn’t he finished? He had lots of time. In this case, I thought the fact of having lots of time is a past action compared to the fact of not having finished which is more recent. I was deceived by that.
8. I often see him but I have never spoken to him. This one, instead, can have several meanings:
I often see him but I never speak to him (Lo vedo spesso ma non gli parlo mai)
I often saw him but I never spoke to him ( lo vedevo spesso ma non gli parlavo mai, abitudini nel passato)
I have often seen him but I have never spoken to him (l’ho visto spesso ma non gli ho mai parlato mai in relazione ad un contesto attuale). Mi sbaglio? Si può dire I never spoke to him? So che con never si deve usare il present perfect ma se voglio dire Non gli parlai mai, posso dire I never spoke to him o devo dire I had never spoken to him? Dubbio!
5. a) haven’t seen, b) saw, haven’t seen. After having translated this one, I saw your note about this interpretation, let’s say that the present perfect naturally came out for me without having to question whether the speaker still hopes to see the garden one day!
3. flied, have you seen. OK this one is completely wrong! I didn’t remember to fly to be irregular!
4. Has arrived, arrived. My mistake in this one is quite clear.
15. Left, did go, didn’t see, went. In this one, I’d have never used go. Why go and not went
17. Hasn’t had, started. Ok why start has two past forms, regular and irregular?
19. HAve found, have found, haven’t you left. Ok, in this case, I don’t have any time clue, so how do I choose between the two past tenses?
22. HAve you finished, checked. Ok, in this case, that’s obvious that the second tense must be the same as the first one!
So 9 mistakes out of 40. Have I passed the test?
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7. “So far” is applicable to both verbs.
8. Exclude the present because the exercise regards the past. The past simple would mean that he is dead or that he and I no longer live in the same area.
15. MY mistake. I’ve corrected it. Thanks!
17. MY mistake. I’ve corrected it. Thanks!
19. When there is no time adverb, apply the “finora/adesso vs. allora/in quel momento” technique. Everything revolves around the moment of finding the knife and not the knife in the present. (See the last note here: https://ingliando.net/2015/04/03/past-simple-or-present-perfect-an-introduction/)
So 7 mistakes out of 40 (2 were mine!)
I would say you’ve passed the test very honourably! 🙂
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Hallelujah! 😂 😂 😂
As you have just seen, I myself find some sentences difficult to translate using the right tense. Besides, when you are speaking, you don’t have time enough to make all the necessary reasonings about which tense to use like you do when you are translating a sentence in written form. The only way is to move in the UK and live there! 😂 I had two job interviews in Nottingham and Bristol a couple of years ago but unfortunately none of them was successful. 😣
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You’re right, of course, the best way is to move to the UK and live there. But if that’s not possible, Ingliando’s Daily Translations is the second best way! 😂
I’m sorry to hear about your unsuccessful job applications. Are you still trying?
[enough time] [as you do] [to the UK] [neither of them]
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4 mistakes all at once! My new record! 😂 No, I’m not trying anymore. I also applied for a position at the British Museum shop but got a negative response too. Every time there is a different problem: my age, the fact I live in Italy, sometimes I’m too experienced, other times I don’t have enough experience or requirements and so on. So I have decided to give it up abroad and here in Italy as well. But I still enjoy learning English on ingliando and chatting with you as well! 😉
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Fortunately your mistakes were all “non-impeding”, Giuseppe! 😉
Why don’t you join the Ingliando chatroom on Telegram?
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