THE SIMPLE PAST VS. THE PRESENT PERFECT

1. Carol and I are old friends. I (know) have known her since I (be) was in high school.

2. Maria (have) has had a lot of great experiences since she (move) moved to Quebec.

3. My mother (be, not) has not been back to school for a long time.

4. I (visit) have visited many countries. I (go) went to France, Belgium and the Netherlands in 2004 and I (be) have been to the Scandinavian countries twice.

5. I am from the United States. I (arrive) arrived here on January 2 and my classes (begin) began on January 15. Since I (come) came here, I (do) have done many things. I (attend) have attended the Carnival, I (go skiing) gone skiing at Mount Ste-Anne, I (go ice climbing) gone ice climbing at the Montmorency Falls and I (eat) have eaten in Old Quebec. I (meet) met an old friend from the city I (grow up) grew up in when I (be) was at the airport in Ste-Foy. What places (visit, you) have you visited ?

6. You (complete) have completed six examples in this exercise.

7. Linda (teach) has taught English for a very long time. She (start) started to teach when she (finish) finished university.

8. Peter also (teach) taught before he (retire) retired.

9. The Cégep in Charlesbourg (be) has been open for more than twenty years.

10. Try not to be absent from class again for the rest of the term. You (miss, already) have already missed too many classes. You (miss) missed a class again last week.

11. So far this week, I (have) have had two tests.

12. A: Are you taking English 604-802 this term? B: No, I (take, just) ‘ve just taken it. I (take) took it last term.

13. Libraries today are different from the ones in the 1800’s. For example, the content of libraries (change) has changed a lot through the years. In the 1800’s, libraries (be) were simply collections of books. However, today, most libraries (become) have become multi-media centers that contain tapes, computers, disks, films,