HOW LONG...?

How long...? se utliza con el present perfect para preguntar cuánto tiempo ha durado una situación o acción que comenzó en el pasado y continúa en el presente.
Eg: How long have you worked here? I have worked here for eight months / since September.

FOR & SINCE

Se utilizan for y since con el present perfect para hablar de la duración de una situación o acción que comenzó en el pasado y continúa en el presente.

Se utiliza for para referirse a la duración de la acción o la situación.
E.g. She has worked in this office for two years.

Se utiliza since para referirse al momento en que se inició la acción o situación.
E.g. We have lived here since 2007.

Para repasar el present perfect con for y since pincha en los siguientes enlaces:
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4

PRESENT PERFECT INTERROGATIVE

Interrogativa
Have I/you/we/they finished?
Has he/she/it finished?

Respuestas cortas
Affirmativas:
Yes, I/you/we/they have
Yes, he/she/it has
Negativas:
No, I/you/we/they haven´t
No, he/she/it hasn´t

Como veis, la forma interrogativa tiene la siguiente estructura:
Have/has + sujeto+ participio
Have you met MC Rex? (¿Has conocido a MC Rex?)

En las respuestas breves afirmativas no se usan las formas contractas; por el contrario, en las respuestas cortas negativas es más frecuente usar las formas contractas:
Have you sent the disk to the magazine?
Yes, I have (NO Yes, I´ve)
No, I haven´t (NO No, I have not)

EXERCISES

1. Write questions with the present perfect.

1 you / be / actor / long time
…………………………………………………………………?
2 you / make / many films
…………………………………………………………………?
3 your brother / act
…………………………………………………………………?
4 you / play / Hamlet
…………………………………………………………………?
5 you / always enjoy / acting
…………………………………………………………………?
6 you / make / many friends
…………………………………………………………………?
7 direct / films
…………………………………………………………………?
8 you / be / unemployed
…………………………………………………………………?
9 you / write / scripts
…………………………………………………………………?
10 you / be married
…………………………………………………………………?

2. Look at the table below. Write true short answers for the questions from exercise 1.

Number of years in acting: 32
Number of films: 55
Brother made first film: Two years ago
Played Hamlet: Seven times!
Opinion of acting: Hated first few years
Friends in the business: Lots!
Director of any films?: 1 (last year)
Unemployed?: Never
Writer of any scripts?: No
Wives: 6

1 ………………………………………………
2 ………………………………………………
3 ………………………………………………
4 ………………………………………………
5 ………………………………………………
6 ………………………………………………
7 ………………………………………………
8 ………………………………………………
9 ………………………………………………
10 ………………………………………………

3. Write the questions for the answers.
1 …………………………………………………………………?
I’ve been an actor for 32 years.
2 …………………………………………………………………?
I’ve made 55 films.
3 …………………………………………………………………?
He’s been an actor for two years.
4 …………………………………………………………………?
I’ve had six wives.
5 …………………………………………………………………?
I’ve directed one film.

PRESENT PERFECT WITH "JUST"

Ahora que ya conoces el Present Perfect es momento para incluir algo más. En numerosas ocasiones usamos la palabra "just" con este tiempo verbal. Observa:

I have just written an email.

Fíjate en la posición que ocupa "just": siempre va entre el auxiliar (have/has) y el past participle. Su traducción varía un poco de la del Present Perfect, normalmente equivale a decir "acabar de".

Acabo de escribir un email.

Para practicar un aquí tienes varios enlaces.
- Juego sobre el Present Perfect. Pincha aquí. Tu misión será volver a tu planeta. Tendrás que ir disparando en orden a las distintas palabras para formar una oración. ¡Cuidado! No debes disparar la palabra "danger". Con el botón del medio y tu ratón podrás dirigir los disparos. A la izquierda tienes el indicador del combustible que te queda. Pulsa a la izquierda para comenzar.
- Ejercicio nivel intermedio. Pincha aquí.

PRESENT PERFECT AFFIRMATIVE & NEGATIVE

El presente perfecto expresa una acción que aún continúa o que se parado recientemente, pero que aún tiene conexión con el presente. Este tiempo verbal pone el enfásis en el resultado de la acción.

FORMA

Afirmativa:
I / you / we / they + have+ participio pasado: I have spoken.
She/he + has+ participio pasado: she has spoken.

Negativa:
I / you / we / they + have+ not + participio pasado: I have not spoken.
She/he + has+ not + participio pasado: she has not spoken.

Para lo verbos irregulares, usa el participio que aparece en el 3ª columna de la lista de los verbos irregulares (list of irregular verbs). Para los verbos regulares, añade -ed al verbo.

Hay ciertas expresiones de tiempo que que se usan con este tiempo verbal:

Already: significa "ya" y se usa siempre en afirmativa, se coloca entre el auxiliar have/has y el participio: I have already studied.

Never: se usa en las negativas y no es necesario usar la partícula "not": I have never been to USA.

Yet: se usa en oraciones negativas e interrogativas. Se traduce como "todavía". Su posición es siempre al final de la oración: He hasn't arrived yet.

Exercises on Present Perfect

Exceptions in Spelling when adding ‘ed’
have or has
Positive Sentences in Present Perfect Simple
Negative Sentences in Present Perfect Simple
Sentences with ‘never’ in Present Perfect Simple
Mixed Exercise on Present Perfect Simple

Tests on Present Perfect

Present Perfect: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3

COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

Adjetivos breves
Si el adjetivo acaba en vocal, se añade -r para el comparativo y -st para el superlativo
large - larger - the largest
Si el adjetivo acaba en consonante, se añade -er para el comparativo y -est para el superlativo.
Small - smaller- the smallest
Si el adjetivo acaba en consonante+vocal+consonante, se duplica la consonante y se añade -er para el comparativo y -est para el superlativo
hot - hotter - the hottest

Adjetivos largos (de más de 2 sílabas)
Cuando el adjetivo tiene dos o más sílabas, va precedido de more en el comparativo y de the most en el superlativo.
beautiful - more beautiful - the most beautiful
Si el adjetivo tiene 2 sílabas y acaba en -y, ésta se transforma en -i antes de añadir -er para el comparativo y -est para el superlativo
easy - easier - the easiest

Adjetivos irregulares
Todos son diferentes y hay que aprenderlos de memoria:
good - better - the best
bad - worse - the worst
Far - further/farther - the furthest/the farthest

Uso
Los adjetivos en grado comparativo se usan para comparar dos cosas o personas entre sí.
Mary is tall, but Helen is taller
Helen is intelligent, but Mary is more intelligent

Recuerda
En las comparaciones se suele usar la partícula than
Helen is taller than Mary/ Mary is more intelligent than Helen

Los superlativos se usan para comparar 3 o más cosas o personas entre sí.
I think science is the most difficult subject
Which is the cheapest camera?

Recuerda
La preposición in sigue con frecuencia al superlativo
The Nile is the longest river in the world
NO The Nile is the longest river of the world
Susan bought the most expensive camera in the shop
NO Susan bought the most expensive camera of the shop

EXERCISES

1 Write sentences. Use the comparative form of the adjectives and than.
1 cats / quiet / dogs
………………………………………………
2 pop music / good / heavy rock
………………………………………………
3 DVDs / expensive / videos
………………………………………………
4 Spain / big / Portugal
………………………………………………
5 Australia / far / Austria
………………………………………………
6 kayaking / exciting / tennis
………………………………………………
7 Serena / successful / her sister Venus
………………………………………………
8 buses / large / cars
………………………………………………

2 Complete the sentences. Use the superlative form of a suitable adjective.
1 In England, February is the……………………… month of the year.
2 June 21st is the ……………………… day of the year.
3 In Spain, August is the ……………………… month of the year.
4 The ……………………… person in the world is 124 years old.
5 The ……………………… man in the world weighed 635 kg.
6 China has the ……………………… population in the world with 1.25 billion people.
7 Tokyo is the ……………………… city in the world; a coffee costs nearly six euros.
8 The Amazon is the ……………………… river in the world; it is sometimes ten kilometres from one side to the other.
9 ‘Macarena’ is the ……………………… Latin recording. It sold more than 10 million copies.
10 Bill Gates is the ……………………… person in the world with $46.6 billion.

3 Complete the text. Use the comparative or superlative form of the adjectives in brackets.
I’m from a very big family. I’ve got ten brothers and sisters and they’re all (1) ……………………… (old) than me – I’m the (2) ……………………… (young). We play in a band. Andy is the singer because he’s got the (3) ……………………… (good) voice. He’s also the (4) ……………………… (confident) person and loves being on stage. I’m (5) ……………………… (shy) than the others and hide at the back! Tanya is the (6) ……………………… (beautiful) sister and she sings with Andy. Joe is the (7) ……………………… (funny) brother and he makes us laugh when we’re tired or nervous. Jack is the (8) ……………………… (serious) – perhaps because he’s the oldest.
Our manager, Christopher, is the (9) ……………………… (patient) person I know. He’s (10) ……………………… (tolerant) than our dad – and a lot (11) ……………………… (polite)!

4 Correct the mistakes in these sentences.
1 The more popular tourist destination in the world is Paris.
…………………………………………………..
2 The successful football team in Europe is Real Madrid.
…………………………………………………..
3 I think chocolate is more nice than pizza.
…………………………………………………..
4 Mike is more hard-working as his sister.
…………………………………………………..
5 Madrid is the highest capital city of Europe.
…………………………………………………..

PAST SIMPLE WITH PAST CONTINUOUS

El Pasado simple se usa para describir una acción que se completó en el pasado:
I made dinner at 6 o´clock last night
El Pasado Continuo hace referencia a una acción que se estaba desarrollando en el pasado:
At eight o´clock yesterday evening I was having a shower
El pasado continuo y el pasado simple se usan en la misma frase para describir una acción que interrumpe a otra más larga en pleno desarrollo:
I was washing myhair when the phone rang/While I was washing my hair, the phone rang

EXERCISES

1. Complete the sentences. Use the past simple and the past continuous in each sentence:

a) The doorbell _____________(ring) while I _______________(have) breakfast
b) It _____________(dark) when I _______________(leave) my friend´s house
c) A thief _________________(steal) my bag while I _________________(take) a photo
d) Mark _______________(ride) to school when he _____________(fall) off his bike
e) It _____________(rain), so I _________________(get) the bus home

2. Circle the correct form of the verb
a) When the earthquake began, we slept/were sleeping
b) The storm hit/was hitting three cities in the south of the country
c) the water rose/was rising quickly, so I was running/ran back to the hotel
d) At nine o´clock last night it rained/was raining
e) We were standing/stood in the garden when the hurricane hit/was hitting
f) Cars crashed/were crashing, so we were stopping/stopped quickly
g) We saw/were seeing the avalanche while we skied/were skiing
h) I drove/was driving home when the blizzard was starting/started

3. Complete the text. Use the past simple or past continuous of the following verbs:

be-cry-erupt-hear-see-stand-start-talk-wait

Everyone ______________in the street. There ________dark clouds of gas above the volcano and everyone _______________ for something to happen. I _____________

to my neighbour when we ______________ the first explosion. We __________ bright orange lava running down the side of the volcano and for a second, everyone was quiet. Then suddenly they all ____________talking at the same time, and some people ________________. The volcano _______________ and it wasn´t safe.