Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Games, ESL Activities and Worksheets

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Believe it or not!

ESL Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Game - Grammar and Speaking: True or False, Sentence Completion, Asking and Answering Questions, Guessing - Group Work - Intermediate (B1) - 35 minutes

In this amusing past simple and present perfect game, students make surprising true or false present perfect statements about themselves and their classmates determine whether they are lying or telling the truth by asking past simple follow-up questions. One player goes first and picks up a sentence card from one pile and a true or false card from another. If the player picks up a true card, they make a true present perfect statement about themselves from the prompt on the card. If the player picks up a false card, the student makes a false statement but pretends it is true. The other group members then take it in turns to ask past simple follow-up questions to the player to try to determine whether the statement is true or false. After a few questions have been asked, each group member decides if the player's statement is true or false. The player then reveals the answer. Each group member who guessed correctly, scores a point. The turn then passes to the next player. The student with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
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How well do you know your partner?

ESL Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Guessing, Sentence Completion, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts - Pair Work - Intermediate (B1) - 35 minutes

In this free past simple vs. present perfect activity, students see how well they know a partner by completing sentences about them and then verifying the information by asking and answering questions. First, students complete sentences about a partner in the past simple or present perfect using the correct form of the verbs in brackets, e.g. 'James started learning English in 1990'. 'James has had his mobile phone for six months'. Next, students pair up with another student to prepare the questions they need to ask to verify the information, e.g. 'When did you start learning English?' 'How long have you had your mobile phone?' Students then go back to their original partner and find out how many of their sentences are right by taking it in turns to ask and answer questions in the past simple and present perfect. Students score themselves one point for each correct sentence. The student with the highest score wins.
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I Know What You'll Say

ESL Past Simple and Present Perfect Game - Grammar and Speaking: Sentence Completion, Guessing, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts - Pair Work - Intermediate (B1) - 30 minutes

This fun past simple vs. present perfect game helps students practice forming and answering questions in the past simple and present perfect tense. In two groups, students complete questions on the worksheet with verbs in brackets in the past simple or present perfect. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group. Working alone, students predict what their partner's answers will be to the questions and write them down. After that, students take it in turns to ask the questions to their partner to see if their guesses are right or wrong. For each correct guess, students put a tick. The student with the most correct guesses wins the game.
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I've done that!

ESL Past Simple and Present Perfect Game - Speaking: Forming Sentences, True or False, Asking and Answering Questions, Guessing, Freer Practice - Group Work - Intermediate (B1) - 30 minutes

In this engaging past simple and present perfect speaking activity, students play a true or false game where they make present perfect statements and ask and answer Wh questions in the past simple. Students take it in turns to pick up a card and make a present perfect statement, telling the rest of the group they have done the activity on the card, regardless of whether it's true or not, e.g. 'I have been bungee jumping'. The group members then ask the student Wh questions in the past simple to find out the details, e.g. 'Where did you go bungee jumping?' After the student has answered a few questions, each group member decides if the student is telling the truth or lying. The student then reveals the answer. Each group member who guessed correctly scores a point. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins.
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Molly's CV

ESL Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Worksheet - Reading and Grammar Exercises: True or False, Gap-fill, Writing Questions from Prompts - Intermediate (B1) - 25 minutes

In this useful past simple and present perfect worksheet, students read a CV for a person applying to be a toy tester and complete exercises using the past simple and present perfect. To start, students read Molly's CV and write true or false next to statements about Molly. Students then read Molly's cover letter and write each verb in brackets in the past simple or the present perfect. In the last exercise, students write past simple or present perfect questions to go with a set of answers. As an extension, brainstorm past simple and present perfect questions that a job interviewer might ask Molly when applying for a job as a toy tester. Then, in pairs, students role-play the job interview with one student being Molly and the other student being the interviewer.
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Past Simple or Present Perfect?

ESL Past Simple or Present Perfect Worksheet - Grammar Exercises: Categorising, Reading, Binary Choice, Gap-fill, Sentence Completion - Intermediate (B1) - 30 minutes

In this comprehensive past simple and present perfect worksheet, students practice past simple and present perfect time expressions. Students start by putting time expressions into the correct category, according to whether they are past simple time expressions or present perfect time expressions. Next, students read a story and underline either the past simple or present perfect form of the verbs using the time expressions in the text to help them. Students then complete past simple and present perfect sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. In the last exercise, students complete sentences with true information about themselves in the past simple or present perfect, according to the time expression in each sentence.
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Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Parley

ESL Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice - Group and Pair Work - Intermediate (B1) - 30 minutes

This insightful past simple vs. present perfect speaking activity helps students practice forming, asking and answering conversation questions in the past simple and present perfect tense. First, in two groups, students complete each pair of conversation questions with the verbs in brackets and the pronoun 'you'. The first question in each pair is in the present perfect, and the second is in the past simple. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group and take turns asking and answering the conversation questions with their partner, responding in the present perfect or past simple, according to the tense of each question. Afterwards, students share what they found out about their partner with the class.
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Switch It

ESL Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Game - Grammar and Speaking: Forming Sentences from Prompts, Controlled Practice - Group Work - Intermediate (B1) - 25 minutes

In this productive past simple vs. present perfect game, students change sentences from the past simple to the present perfect or vice-versa using adverbs or adverbial time expressions. In groups, students take it in turns to pick up a card and read the top sentence and adverb or adverbial time expression in bold from the bottom sentence to the group, e.g. 'She has lost her phone several times. (last night)' The group members then race to change the sentence into the past simple or present perfect using the adverb or adverbial phrase. The first student to say the bottom sentence on the card wins and keeps the card, e.g. 'She lost her phone last night.' The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
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Two Tenses Talk

ESL Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Freer Practice - Pair Work - Intermediate (B1) - 30 minutes

In this enjoyable past simple and present perfect speaking activity, students form past simple and present perfect conversation questions and then discuss them with a partner. In two groups, students complete conversation questions on the worksheet in the past simple or present perfect using the verbs in brackets. Next, students pair up with a member of the other group and take it in turns to ask and answer the questions with their partner, discussing each question in detail. Afterwards, students share what they found out about their partner with the class.
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Simply Perfect Quiz

ESL Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Activity - Grammar and Vocabulary: Gap-fill, Multiple-choice Quiz, Guessing - Group and Pair Work - Upper-intermediate (B2) - 30 minutes

In this interesting past simple vs. present perfect activity, students complete trivia questions in the past simple or present perfect and then take part in a quiz using the questions. First, in two groups, students complete each trivia question using the words provided, putting the verbs in the past simple or present perfect tense. When the students have finished, they pair up with someone from the other group. Students then take turns reading each trivia question along with three possible multiple-choice answers to their partner, who tries to guess the correct one. For each correct answer, students score one point. The student with the most points at the end of the quiz wins.
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What have I done?

ESL Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Game - Grammar and Speaking: True or False, Forming Sentences, Asking and Answering Questions, Guessing - Group Work - Upper-intermediate (B2) - 40 minutes

In this entertaining past simple vs. present perfect activity, students play a true or false guessing game to practice the past simple and present perfect. Each member of Team A picks up a card. The cards show something they may or may not have done, but each student in Team A tells Team B they have had the experience, regardless of whether it is true or not. The members of Team A take it in turns to do this by either giving true or made up details using the present perfect to introduce the experience and the past simple to give details. After each member of Team A has spoken, Team B asks past simple follow-up questions about the student's experience to see if they can work out whether the student is lying or telling the truth. After questioning all the team members, Team B decides who is telling the truth or lying. Team A then reveals the answers. For each correct guess, Team B scores a point. It's then Team B's turn to play. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins.
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