Present Perfect or Simple Past Exercises

UNIT 20 Exercises

20.1   Are the underlined parts of these sentences right or wrong? Correct the ones that are wrong.

Examples: Have you heard? Suzanne has gotten married!                        RIGHT.
                    The Chinese have invented printing.                                         WRONG-invented

1.   Who has written the play Hamlet?                                                          ___________

2.   Aristotle has been a Greek philosopher.                                                  ___________

3.   Ow! I've cut my toe. It's bleeding.                                                            ____________

4.   My grandparents got married in Canada.                                                ____________

5.   Einstein was the physicist who has developed the theory of relativity.           _____________

6.   Abraham Lincoln was President of the U.S. rom 1861 to 1865.          ____________

7.   The U.S. has bought Alaska from Russia in 1867.                                   ____________

8.   Helen bought a new car two weeks ago.                                                 ____________

9.   Have you visited many museums when you were in Paris?               ____________

10.   When did you give up Smoking?                                                            ____________

11.   My bicycle isn't here. Somebody has taken it.                                     _____________

12.   I haven't eaten anything yesterday because I  haven't been hugnry.             ______________


20.2   Make sentences using the words given.
Examples: (I/smoke/20 cigarettes yesterday) I smoked 20 cigaretees yesterday.
(how many cigarettes/you/smoke/today?) how many cigarettes have you smoked today?


1.   (I/be/ sick twice so far this year) I______________________________________

2.   (how many times /be/ you/sick last year?) How many times_________________________________

3.   (I/not/drink/any coffee so far today)____________________________________________

4.   (he/be/late three times this week)____________________________________________

5.   (how many games/the team/win last season?)_________________________________________

6.   (how many games/the team/win so far this season?)_____________________________________


20.3   Put the verb into the correct form: present perfect (I have done) or simple past (I did)

Example: I didn't play (not/play) golf when I was on vacation last summer.

1.   Mr. Clark______________(work) in a bank for 15 years. Then he gave it up.

2.   George lives in Athens. He____________________(live) there all his life.

3.   Bob and Alice are married. The______________________(be) married for 20 years.

4.   When we were on vacation, the weather___________________(be) terrible.

5.   The weather______________________(be) very nice lately.

6.   My grandfather died 30 years ago. I______________________(never/meet) him.

7.   I don't know Carol's husband. I________________________(never/meet) him.