1.3 Paco has already made a decision

Icono IDevice Listening activity

Listen to Jim and Robin in the following interview. Pay as much attention as possible!

 


The interviewer asks them a question using one of these adverbs: just, already, still, ever, yet. Which one does he use in the question and what does he mean?


These adverbs (ever, just, already, still and yet) are very frequently used with perfect tenses. There are two prepositions which are also usually used with the Present Perfect tense: FOR and SINCE. Click on the pictures below to learn what they are used for and pay attention to the examples, as they are very illustrative of their position within the sentence!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Icono IDevice Further knowledge

Time to practice! Click here to complete several exercises about the adverbs studied above. And if you click here you will find a good explanation and more exercises.

As always, do the following exercises in order. In them you will find activities about both the adverbs and the prepositions for and since studied in the topic.

 

Exercise 1 Exercise 2 Exercise 3
Exercise 4 Exercise 5 Exercise 6

 


Icono de iDevice Actividad de Espacios en Blanco

Students normally have lots of problems with the use of the time prepositions for and since. We really hope you have understood them perfectly. Let's see if you've learnt how they are used. Complete the blanks to make correct phrases using for or since.


By joyosity. C. Commons

 

 

1. ... a long time. 6. ... 5 o'clock.
2. ... more than three months
7. ... several days.
3. ... he came to live to Madrid
8. ... a fortnight.
4. ... ages.
9. ... last Christmas.
5. ... March.
10. ... a year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Icono IDevice Curiosity

My Way...


By jasonEscapist. C. Commons
Did you know that My Way is the title of a famous song? In this song the Present Perfect is used several times because the lyrics of the song tell the story of a man who is going to die soon. As he reflects on his life, he has few regrets of how he has lived it, saying that, as he reviews the challenges he has faced, he is comfortable with and takes responsibility for how he has dealt with all the ups and downs of his life while maintaining some respectable degree of integrity.

My Way is the English version of a French song. The English lyrics were written by Paul Anka in 1967, after hearing the French version. From then on, lots of singers have made different versions of it: Dorothy Squires (1970), Elvis Presley (1973), Sid Vicious (1978), or Nina Hagen (1980), among others. However, the song was popularized by Frank Sinatra in his album My Way, released in 1969.

Enjoy the version of My Way by Frank Sinatra twice. The one on the left is a live performance of it in the Madison Square Garden in 1974. It is awesome! If you want to listen to it in a better condition, then, watch the video on the right.



 


That's more than enough about the Present Perfect tense. Now, let's go on to see a couple of interesting modal verbs: need and dare, and how they are used in English, but this will be in next section!