Aims Students will be able to: 1. Contrast the simple present perfect with the simple past. 2. Use the simple present perfect to talk about past experiences and accomplishments. 3. Describe the duration of past actions. Instructor notes The students are not required to remember or use any grammatical terms in the lesson. Simple The simple present perfect describes completed actions or events that happened in the past and are relevant to the present (an unfinished period of time), e.g. I've used this software before. This can include actions that started in the past and continue until the present, e.g. I've lived here for ten years. When we use the present perfect, the time is not specified or finished, e.g. I've been to Las Vegas. Been vs. Gone Go has two past participles, been and gone. Been is used when the person went somewhere and came back. I ve been to the bank. Gone is used when the person went somewhere and is still there. He s gone out. Ever vs. Never These are used when talking about lifetime experiences. Ever is only used in the question, for example Have you ever drunk champagne? It is not used in the affirmative statement. I ve drunk champagne is correct. I ve ever drunk champagne is incorrect. Never is used when the speaker has not had such an experience, for example I ve never drunk champagne. Simple vs. Simple Past Students may be initially confused as to when to use the simple present perfect and when to use the simple past. The two points to emphasize when distinguishing the two is that the time is clearly specified with the simple past and that the simple present perfect tense is connected to the present. Yet vs. Already Yet is used when talking about an expected action in a given situation and unfinished time frame. For example, the use of yet in the question Have you finished the report yet? shows the listener that the speaker is expecting the report to be finished, either now, or soon. Already is used to emphasise that an expected action is completed, for example I ve already done it. Progressive The present perfect progressive (continuous) is used to describe actions that started in the past and are either continuing in the present or continued until just recently. It's also used when describing the duration of a recent past action from when it began until the present. This tense is not covered in the lesson, but the differences are included to assist with student questions. Feedback As the students are taking this lesson to target a specific area that they'd like to improve upon, they will be expecting a fair degree of feedback, on that area in particular. Ensure that you are providing feedback, specific praise and correction, during or after every activity, whichever is more appropriate. Materials Beginner Grammar 7 Student Handout: (1 per student and instructor) Yes/No cards (Kids resources) 1 G.education Beginner Grammar 7:
5 min Introduction 1. Today we'll be looking at the present perfect. I ve studied Japanese for (six years). Highlight that the present perfect uses have (or has) with the past participle (in this case, "studied"). 2. Ask the students: How long have you studied English? Have them answer the question. 3. Elicit suggestions on the difference between I studied English for two years and I ve studied English for two years. 4. Confirm that in the first example the start and end points are both in the past, whereas in the second example there is no end point. The action started in the past and continued up to the present. Practice 1: Simple Past vs. Simple 1. Distribute the handouts and divide the students into pairs or groups of three. We use the present perfect when the action is important to the present and when the time isn't specified. 2. Have the groups look at the timelines in Practice 1. I went to Las Vegas in 2006: This refers to one particular past incident that happened within a completed time frame (2006). I ve been to Las Vegas: This refers to one (or more) experiences within a lifetime (unfinished). The experience could have happened at any point from birth up to the present. 3. Have the groups write their own example sentences. 10 min Practice 2: Experiences and Accomplishments 1. We often use present perfect when talking our experiences. I've been to (Germany). Ask the students: Have you ever been to (Germany)? Elicit answers. 2. Point out the question stems for Practice 2 and have the students complete the first one. Have them also note their answer (Yes, I have./no, I haven't.) in the space provided. 3. Go over the question stems. Point out that present perfect questions use has or have and the past participle. Elicit that been is the past participle of go. 4. Demonstrate (students should give real answers): I: go to England. (Gesture to a student.) Have you ever been to England? (Gesture to self.) Yes, I have. I: ride a motorcycle. (Gesture to a student.) Have you ever ridden a motorcycle? (Gesture to self.) No, I haven t. I: go to England. (Gesture to a student.) S1: Have you ever been to England? I: (Gesture to another student.) S2: Yes, I have. / No, I haven t. Continue for see a ghost, eat haggis, drink champagne, meet a famous person, win a prize, etc. 5. Have the students complete 2 and 3 in Practice 2. 2 Follow-up: Interview 1. Pair up members from one group with a member from another group and have them interview each other about their experiences. 2. Confirm that a negative sentence uses never. For example I ve never eaten haggis. 3. Have the students make one negative sentence about their partner. For example: She s never been to Australia. 4. Have the students complete 4 in Practice 2. 5 min Practice 3: How long? 1. We can use the present perfect to describe actions that started in the past and continued up until the present. 2. Point out the first example question for Practice 3: How long have you lived in? and elicit the question they need to ask before this one: Where do you live? 3. Have the students ask you both questions. Answer the second question using for, for example, I've lived in Tokyo for two years. 4. Explain that for is used for a period of time (e.g. years, days, a long time, etc.) and since is used when we mention the start of the period (e.g. 2006, Tuesday, high school, etc.). 5. Have the students rephrase your answer using since, for example, So, you ve lived in Tokyo since 2008? 6. Explain that if we've always lived in the same place, we don't normally use for (30 years), we use I ve lived in (Tokyo) all my life or I ve lived in (Tokyo) since I was born. 7. Have the students ask each other the question and fill in both answers to the question in Practice 3. G.education Beginner Grammar 7:
5 min cont'd Optional Follow-up (Stronger students) (continued) Q&A substitution 1. Let s practice using for and since at the hospital. I: headache (Gesture to a student.) How long have you had a headache? (Gesture to another student.) I ve had it for (two days). (Gesture to another student.) I ve had it since (Tuesday). I: headache S: How long have you..? 2. Continue for stomachache, sore throat, earache, cough, rash 10 min Practice 4: Yet Explain that we use yet when talking about an expected action in a given situation and unfinished time frame. For example, the use of yet in the question Have you finished the report yet? shows the listener that the speaker is expecting the report to be finished, either now or soon, within this timeframe, i.e. the working day. Preparations 1. Have the students look at Practice 4 and cover the right hand side. 2. Read out the first statement. I m going on holiday tomorrow. Elicit a Have you? question they could ask the speaker to see if they were prepared or not. For example, Have you packed yet? 3. Have them work in pairs to do the same for the rest of the statements. 4. Have them uncover and match the statements. 5. (Optional) Have the pairs role-play the situations. Follow-up Can I leave early please? 1. Now we re going to practice yet in order to get to go home early. 2. Lay the Yes and No cards face down. Explain that before answering the question they must turn over a card (Yes or No). 3. Demonstrate: I: write the report. (Gesture to a student.) Can I go home early? (Gesture to another student.) Have you written the report yet? (Gesture for the first student to turn over a Yes/No card.) Yes, I have. / No, I haven t. I: speak to the client. (Gesture to a student.) S1: Can I go home early? S2: Have you spoken to the client yet? I: (Gesture for S1 student to turn over a Yes/No card.) S1: Yes, I have. / No, I haven t. 4. Continue with: reply to that email, fix the problem, make tomorrow s schedule etc. Optional Follow-up (Stronger students) 1. As above, except that the students should expand on their answers to try to convince the boss to let them go home early; for example Yes, I have. I finished it before lunch. / No, but I ll do it in the morning. 2. Have the students role-play in pairs or groups of three. 5 min Review 1. Explain that they re going to do a short review activity. In their groups, they are going to take it in turns to choose a city and imagine they are on vacation there. Their partner or teammates will ask them questions. 2. Demonstrate: I: I m in Sydney! (Gesture to a student) How long have you been there? For two days. (Gesture to another student.) Have you seen any kangaroos yet? No, I haven t. 3. Confirm understanding and start the activity. Have them take turns within their pairs/small groups. 3 Optional Game Have you ever? 1. Explain that one team will ask another team if they have done something that they have done, for example, Have you ever ridden a motorcycle? If a person in the other team has done the activity, they get one point. If they haven't done it, then the asking team gets one point. Whichever team didn't get a point should 'confirm' that the other team actually did the activity by asking follow-up questions, e.g. When did you ride a motorcycle? 2. Start the game and continue until each team has had at least one turn. G.education Beginner Grammar 7:
5 min Wrap Up 1. Review the main points of the lesson and field any questions. 2. Point out Home Study on the handout. 4 G.education Beginner Grammar 7:
Student Handout Practice 1 Simple Past went to Las Vegas I I 2006 Now Example:. Simple been to Las Vegas I Now Example:. Practice 2 1. Have you ever been [go] to? 2. Have you ever [eat]? 3. Have you ever [see]? 4. I ve never. Practice 3 How long have you lived in? I've lived in for/since/. I've lived in for/since/. Practice 4 A. I m going on holiday tomorrow. Have you chosen a name yet? B. I m having a baby soon. Have you bought her a present yet? C. I m going to my friend s birthday tonight. Have you been to the doctor yet? D. I m still feeling ill. Have you packed yet? Home Study: Please fill in the blanks with either the simple past or the simple present perfect. Dear Claudia, How are you? I m fine. I (get) a job in England after I (finish) university. I (live) here for six months now. you ever (go) to England? I (see) Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Stonehenge and I (try) a lot of English food, including shepherd's pie. On Sunday, I even (eat) haggis! There are some Japanese restaurants here, but I (go) to any of them yet. I hope to hear from you soon, Katsushi G.education Beginner Grammar 7: