Simple Past/ Present Perfect

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Quizzes Created: 3 | Total Attempts: 4,077

Questions: 10 | Attempts: 1,795 | Updated: Mar 22, 2023

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Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form, present perfect or past simple.

Questions and Answers

1.

`Where's your purse?´ `I don't know. I think I (lose) _________ it.´

Explanation
The correct answer is "have lost" or "'ve lost". Both options are correct because they are both contractions of "have lost". The speaker is unsure about the location of their purse and believes that they have lost it. The contraction "'ve" is commonly used in informal speech and writing.

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2.

I (be) ________ very tired, so I lay down on the bed and went to sleep.

Explanation
The correct answer is "was" because the sentence is describing a past event. The verb "be" needs to be conjugated in the past tense to match the tense of the sentence. Therefore, "was" is the correct form of the verb to use in this context.

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3.

I did French at school but I (forget) ____________ most of it.

Explanation
The correct answer is "have forgotten" or "ve forgotten" because the sentence is in the present perfect tense. The phrase "I did French at school" indicates a past action, and the use of "have" or "ve" with the past participle "forgotten" shows that the forgetting started in the past and continues to the present.

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4.

I meant to phone Diane yesterday evening but I (forget) ___________.

Explanation
The correct answer is "forgot" because the sentence is in the past tense and the verb "forget" needs to be conjugated in the past tense to match the subject "I".

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5.

Look! There's a police car over there. There (be) ___________ an accident.

Explanation
The correct answer is "has been." This is because the sentence is in the present perfect tense, which is used to talk about an action that started in the past and is still relevant in the present. "Has been" is the correct form of the verb "to be" in the present perfect tense. On the other hand, "`s been" is not a correct form of the verb "to be" and does not fit grammatically in the sentence.

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6.

`Is Mike still here?´ `No, he (just/go) ___________ out.

Explanation
The correct answer is "has just gone." This is because the question is asking about Mike's current whereabouts, indicating that he has recently left. The phrase "has just gone" is used to describe an action that happened in the very recent past, which fits the context of the question.

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7.

We (be) __________ married for twenty-five wonderful years!

Explanation
The correct answer is "have been" or "'ve been". This is because the sentence is referring to a duration of time, specifically twenty-five years. The present perfect continuous tense is used to describe an action that started in the past and is still ongoing in the present. Therefore, "have been" or "'ve been" is the appropriate verb form to indicate that the speaker and their partner have been married for twenty-five years.

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8.

We (work) ____________ for this company 2 years ago.

Explanation
The correct answer is "worked" because the sentence is in the past tense and "worked" is the past tense form of the verb "work". It indicates that the action of working for the company happened in the past, specifically 2 years ago.

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9.

I (see) ____________ a friend of yours a few moments ago.

Explanation
The correct answer is "saw" because the sentence is in the past tense and the verb "see" needs to be conjugated accordingly. "Saw" is the past tense form of "see" and is the correct verb to use in this context to indicate that the speaker saw a friend of yours a few moments ago.

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10.

I (not see) ____________ Peter for ages!

Explanation
The correct answer is "have not seen" or "haven't seen." Both options are in the present perfect tense and indicate that the speaker has not seen Peter for a long time. The use of "have" or "haven't" with the past participle "seen" suggests an ongoing action that started in the past and continues into the present.

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