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Pres Perf Diagnostic

Present Perfect Diagnostic Quiz: a tool to help you identify specific points that need review

• Quiz 1: beginning – intermediate
• Quiz 2: intermediate – advanced 

Up to Now

Up to Now: focusing on duration 

past vs. present perfect

• up to now
• so far
• until now

The Tower of Pisa has been under restoration for ten years.

 Duration/ Repetition

Duration/ Repetition: indicating continuous vs. reoccurring activity

present perfect vs. present perfect progreassive

Engineers have been working to save the Tower of Pisa!

Permanent/Temp

Permanent/ Temporary: Indicating long- or short-term activity

present perfect vs. present perfect progreassive

• permanent
• temporary

The Tower has stood in this location since 1350.

I have been standing in line to get into the Tower since 10:00 a.m.

Experience

Experience: referring to an action or activity in the unspecified past

past vs. present perfect

• ever
• never

Have you ever visited Pisa?

I've never visited Pisa.

I haven't ever visited Pisa.
 

 Ongoing

Ongoing: referring to an activity in progress

present perfect vs. present perfect progreassive

• completed
• ongoing

An art committee has photographed the entire Tower of Pisa.

They have been organizing 64,000 photographs.

Just / Recently

Just/ Recently: relating the past to the present time frame

past vs. present perfect

• just
• recently
• not long ago

The committee has recently made a Quicktime VR from the top of the tower.

 Already / Yet

Already/ Yet:  activities that occur sooner or later than expected

present perfect – soon vs. later

• already
• yet

They have already righted the tower by 14 centimeters.

They haven't straightened it yet. In fact, they don't plan to.

Implied Meanings

Implied Meanings:  using adverb clues to understanding meaning

present perfect progreassive vs. present perfect

• repetitive
• temporary
• ongoing
• has duration
• permanent
• completed

I have been working as a pilot.

I have worked as a pilot.

State of Mind

Present State-of-Mind: connecting the past to the present

past vs. present perfect

Tense choice depends on whether an event continues to influence the mind of the speaker in the present

I spilled my drink on the carpet. I cleaned it up afterwards.  (Done. Finished. I'm not thinking about it anymore.)

You have spilled your drink on the carpet.  (Because the spill remains, it is on my mind.)

Sentence Practice

Sentence Practice: matching verb tense and adverbs

past vs. present perfect:

The weather has been cold since the end of November.

The weather was cold in November.

Paragraph Practice

Paragraph Practice: matching verb tense with adverbs

Mary Morris applied for her passport last month because she will soon be leaving on a trip that she _____ about for many years.

For / Since

For/ Since: indicating a quantity vs. a specfic time

• for (before a quantity of time)
• since (before a specific time)

We have been coming to this beach for fifteen years.

We have been coming to this beach since July, 1995.

Participles1

Participles2

Past / Participle Verb Forms: practice using irregular verb form

Practice 1:  awake – lay

Practice 2:  let – wear

Jaycee (spinned, span, spun?) _____the ball on his finger last night.

Reporting Source

Reporting Source: telling source or emotional impact

Past vs. present perfect

• past – focus: who, what, why, when, where, source
• present perfect  –  focus: duration or recency

• past – focus: action – emotional response
• present perfect  –  focus: time – duration or experience
   

Where did you get those jeans?
Where have you been (for the past few hours)?

Wow! He did a backflip!
He has done lots of backflips in his career.

PresPerf Context

Present Perfect in Context: identifying present perfect tense in context

"When the tower was closed to the public a decade ago, officials said it would be open again in just a few years. The ambitious plan to stop the tower's increasing tilt has taken far longer than expected, but officials say it is succeeding."