LESSON 12.2 | PRESENT PERFECT & PAST SIMPLE 

Present Perfect vs. Past Simple

El presente perfecto y el pasado simple

Se utiliza el pasado simple para acciones que han terminado en el pasado, incluso si han ocurrido en un pasado reciente. Con el presente perfecto la acción está relacionada con el presente.

Ejemplos:

El pasado simple:

Did you eat breakfast this morning?(Significa: La mañana ya ha terminado.)

I had three exams this week.(Significa: Como en el ejemplo anterior, el uso del pasado simple significa que esta semana acaba de terminar.)

El presente perfecto:

Have you eaten breakfast yet this morning?(Significa: La mañana aún no ha terminado.)

I have had three exams already this week.(Significa: Como antes, el uso del presente perfecto implica que esta semana aún no ha terminado.)

Recuerda también que usamos el presente perfecto para acciones en un tiempo en el pasado no específico. Si quieres limitar el tiempo de las acciones en un período, podemos usar
expresiones de tiempo como “last year”.

Ejemplos:

El pasado simple:

I went to Cuba last year.(Fui a Cuba el año pasado.)

They saw a movie yesterday.(Vieron una película ayer.)

El presente perfecto:

I have been to Cuba in the last year.(He estado en Cuba este último año.)

They have seen a movie.(Ellos han visto una pelicula.)

They have seen a movie
yesterday.

Nota: Fíjate en la diferencia entre los dos primeros ejemplos. En ambos, se usa la expresión de tiempo “last year”, pero en el segundo ejemplo añadimos la preposición “in”. En este caso, “last year” significa dentro de un período de tiempo en que la acción ocurrió, no es un tiempo específico. Sin la preposición “in”, “last year” implica un tiempo específico.

Adverbs vs. Adjectives

English Grammar Rules

Adjectives

Adjectives describe nouns (things).

• My dog is slow.

Slow is an adjective since it describes the noun (my dog).

• How is my dog? Slow

Adverbs

Adverbs describe verbs (actions).

• My dog eats slowly.

Slowly is an adverb since it describes the way my dog eats.

• How does my dog eat? Slowly.

Some adverbs are used to modify an adjective.

Adverbs that do this are: very, extremely, really, totally, absolutely, quite, fairly, well. These are normally placed before the adjective.

• He is very rich.
• They are extremely happy.
• She was totally crazy.
• My dog is well trained.

Adverbs and Adjectives with the same form

There are a number of adjectives / adverbs that take the same form. It therefore depends on the sentence context as to whether it is an adjective or an adverb.

The adjectives / adverbs that take the same form include:
fast, hard, early, late, high, low, right, wrong, straight and long.

• Adam has a fast car. (Adjective)
• Adam speaks fast. (Adverb)

Good vs. Well

Good and Well are two words that tend to create confusion for learners of English.

Good is an adjective
Well is an adverb.

• She is a good singer.
• She sings well.

Though sometimes we use well as an adjective when we are talking about health and well-being.

• A: How are you today?
  B: I'm well, thanks.

(I'm well is a better and more common answer to this question than 'Fine' or 'Good', although these are also reasonably common.)

LESSON 12.1 | PRESENT PERFECT

LESSON 12.1 | PRESENT PERFECT

Present Perfect Tense

English Grammar Rules

The Present Perfect Tense is formed using the following structure:

Affirmative: Subject + Have / Has + Past Participle

Negative: Subject + Haven't / Hasn't + Past Participle

Question: Have / Has + Subject + Past Participle

Affirmative Sentences

Subject	Have	Past Participle	Rest of the Sentence
I	have	studied	for the exam.
You	have	bought	a new computer.
He	has	eaten	my chocolate.
She	has	written	an e-mail.
It	has	been	cold this month.
We	have	won	the championship.
You	have	tried	to learn a lot.
They	have	forgotten	my birthday.

Contractions

The contracted form of the perfect tense is quite common:

Have	Contraction	Examples
I have	I've	I've spent all my money.
You have	You've	You've worn that dress before.
He has	He's	He's slept all morning.
She has	She's	She's lost her purse.
It has	It's	It's fallen off the wall.
We have	We've	We've chosen you for the job.
You have	You've	You've begun to annoy me.
They have	They've	They've drunk too much.

We use contractions a lot when we are speaking.

Negative Sentences

The contraction of the perfect tense in negative form is:
Have not = Haven't
Has not = Hasn't

Subject	Have	Past Participle	Rest of the Sentence
I	haven't	studied	for the exam.
You	haven't	bought	a new computer.
He	hasn't	eaten	my chocolate.
She	hasn't	written	an e-mail.
It	hasn't	been	cold this month.
We	haven't	won	the championship.
You	haven't	tried	to learn a lot.
They	haven't	forgotten	my birthday.

Questions

Have	Subject	Past Participle	Rest of the Sentence
Have	I	been	chosen for the team?
Have	you	bought	a new car?
Has	he	eaten	my sandwich?
Has	she	written	the letter?
Has	it	started	on time?
Have	we	won	a trophy?
Have	you	kept	my secret?
Have	they	driven	there?

When do we use the Present Perfect Tense?

1. Unspecified point in the past

• I have been to Spain three times.
  (At some unspecified time in the past, I went to Spain).

Compare with the simple past:

• I went to Spain three times in 2005.
  (specified time in the past - the year 2005)

2. An action that occurred in the past, but has a result in the present (now)

• We can't find our luggage. Have you seen it?
  (The luggage was lost in the past, do you know where it is now?)

3. Talking about general experiences (ever, never)

It usually refers to an event happening at some moment in your life.

• Has she ever tried Chilean wine before? (in her life)
• I've never eaten monkey brains before. (in my life)

4. Events that recently occurred (just)

• Do you want to go to a restaurant with me?
  No, thanks. I've just eaten lunch. (I recently ate lunch.)

5. Events that have not occurred up to now (yet)

• Are Carlos and Rodrigo here? No, they haven't arrived yet. (they're still not here now)

6. Events that occurred before you expected (already)

• I've already graduated from University. (I expected to graduate at a later date.)

7. Events that began in the past and haven't changed (for, since)

• Mike has worked at Woodward for 3 years.
  (Mike started working at Woodward 3 years ago and he still works there now.)
• Julie has worked at Woodward since September last year.
  (Julie began working at Woodward in September of last year, and that hasn't changed - she still works here now.)

LESSON 11.2 | Adverbs - LY

Adverbs Spelling -LY

English Grammar Rules

Adjective vs. Adverb Review

Adjectives describe nouns (things).

• My dog is slow.

Slow is an adjective since it describes the subject (my dog).

How is my dog? Slow

Adverbs describe verbs (actions).

• My dog eats slowly.

Slowly is an adverb since it describes the way my dog eats.

How does my dog eat? Slowly.

For details see our page about Adjectives vs Adverbs.

Adverbs -LY

Adverbs are normally formed by adding -LY to the end of an adjective.

E.g. Quick - Quickly

For adjectives that end in -l or -e, we simply add -ly:

special + ly	= specially
terminal + ly	= terminally
literal + ly	= literally
nice + ly	= nicely
polite + ly	= politely

There are of course some exceptions:

true	truly
whole	wholly
due	duly
full	fully

Adverbs ending in -Y

For adjectives that end in -y, we remove the -y and add -ily:

crazy	crazily
happy	happily

Adverbs ending in -LE

For adjectives that end in a consonant + le we remove the -e and add -y:

terrible	terribly
horrible	horribly
noble	nobly
idle	idly

Adverbs ending in -IC

If the adjective ends in -ic, we add -ally:

ironic	ironically
enthusiastic	enthusiastically
realistic	realistically

Except: public - publicly

Irregular Adverbs

Some adverbs are irregular:

Adjective	Adverb	Example
fast	fast	The man drives very fast (quickly).
good	well	You speak English very well.