🎯 By the end of this 5 minutes, you can:

choose correctly between the present perfect and past simple by understanding the connection to the present.

The key question: is there a connection to the present moment?

Time word signals:

Present Perfect: ever / never / yet / already / just / since / for / recently / so far / today (if the day is not over)

Past Simple: yesterday / last week/year / in 2019 / ago / when / at + time

Task 1: PPS or PS?

Choose the correct tense:
1. I ___ (live) in France since 2017. → Present Perfect or Past Simple?
2. She ___ (work) at The Ivy in 2013. → ?
3. We ___ never ___ (eat) here before. → ?
4. They ___ (arrive) yesterday. → ?

💡 Show answer

1. have lived (still living there — since = PP) · 2. worked (2013 = specific finished time) · 3. have never eaten (ever/never = PP) · 4. arrived (yesterday = specific past time = PS)

Task 2: Spot the error

Find the mistake in each sentence:
1. ‘I have seen her last Tuesday.’
2. ‘Did you ever visit Australia?’
3. ‘She has worked there in 2019.’

💡 Show answer

1. I saw her last Tuesday. (specific past time → past simple) · 2. Have you ever visited…? (ever → present perfect) · 3. She worked there in 2019. (specific year → past simple)

Task 3: Question forms

Write one Present Perfect question and one Past Simple question about someone’s travel experience.

💡 Show answer

PP: Have you ever been to Japan? / How long have you lived in France? · PS: When did you go to Japan? / Where did you travel last year?

Write 6 sentences about your life: 3 using the present perfect (experiences, things that are still true, or recent events) and 3 using the past simple (specific, finished events with a time marker). Underline the time expressions you use.