Present Perfect Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A2

1 Key: (b) Has

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Peter” is the 3rd person singular (he), so we use the auxiliary “has” for the Present Perfect question.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Common Mistake (using Past Simple auxiliary “Did” instead of Present Perfect). (c) is a Structural Error (“Have” is used for I/you/we/they). (d) is a Meaning Trap (“Does” asks about a routine, not a completed action up to now).

2 Key: (a) hasn’t texted

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Negative Present Perfect (has not + V3/ed) is used with “yet” to show an expected action hasn’t happened.

• Distractor Analysis: (b) is a Structural Error (combining “didn’t” with a past tense verb). (c) is a Structural Error (wrong auxiliary “haven’t” for “he”). (d) is a Common Mistake (using Present Simple for a specific missed event).

3 Key: (c) for

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “45 minutes” is a duration/amount of time, so we must use “for”.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Common Mistake (using “since” with a duration instead of a starting point). (b) is a Structural Error (wrong preposition for this tense). (d) is a Meaning Trap (“at” is for exact clock times, not durations).

4 Key: (d) seen

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: The Present Perfect requires the Past Participle (V3). The V3 of “see” is “seen”.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Common Mistake (using the V2 past simple form “saw”). (b) is a Structural Error (using the V1 base form). (c) is a Meaning Trap (Present Continuous form, incorrect with “Have you…”).

5 Key: (d) since

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “6 o’clock” is a specific starting point in the past, which requires “since”.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Common Mistake (using “for” with a specific time). (b) is a Meaning Trap (“until 6 o’clock” means the action stopped at 6, but we want to say it started at 6 and continues to now). (c) is a Structural Error (wrong conjunction).

6 Key: (c) Have you spoken

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: A question about an action happening up to now, combined with “yet”, requires Present Perfect.

• Distractor Analysis: (b) is a Common Mistake (Past Simple is generally incorrect with “yet” in British/Standard English). (d) is a Structural Error (statement word order instead of question word order). (a) is a Meaning Trap (asks about a general habit, not this specific situation).

7 Key: (b) yet

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Yet” is placed at the end of a negative sentence to mean “up until now”.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Common Mistake (“already” is used in positive sentences, not negative ones). (d) is a Meaning Trap (“still” goes before the auxiliary, e.g., “we still haven’t ordered”, not at the end). (c) is a Structural Error (“just” goes between have and V3).

8 Key: (a) has called

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: We use Present Perfect to count how many times an action has happened up to now (“three times already”).

• Distractor Analysis: (d) is a Common Mistake (Past Simple cuts the action off from the present, ignoring “already”). (b) is a Structural Error (“have” is wrong for “She”). (c) is a Meaning Trap (Present Continuous means she is doing it exactly right now).

9 Key: (b) hasn’t said

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Negative Present Perfect (hasn’t + V3). The V3 of “say” is “said”.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Common Mistake (Past Simple instead of Present Perfect with “yet”). (c) is a Structural Error (using V1 instead of V3). (d) is a Structural Error (using V-ing instead of V3).

10 Key: (d) have you been

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Asking about the duration of a state from the past until now (“How long”) requires Present Perfect.

• Distractor Analysis: (c) is a Common Mistake (Present Simple “are you” doesn’t cover the time from the past to now). (b) is a Structural Error (“did” cannot be combined with “been”). (a) is a Structural Error (missing the V3 form “been”).

11 Key: (a) hasn’t left

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: V3 of irregular verb “leave” is “left”.

• Distractor Analysis: (b) is a Common Mistake (Past Simple instead of Present Perfect with “yet”). (d) is a Structural Error (“leaved” is not a word; leave is irregular). (c) is a Structural Error (“haven’t” is wrong for “he”).

12 Key: (a) for

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “A long time” represents a duration, so we use “for”.

• Distractor Analysis: (c) is a Common Mistake (learners often misuse “since” with durations). (b) is a Structural Error (wrong preposition in this tense context). (d) is a Meaning Trap (“during” is used before a noun expressing an event, like “during the movie”, not a length of time).

13 Key: (c) yet

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: In Present Perfect questions, “yet” is used at the end to ask if an expected action has happened.

• Distractor Analysis: (b) is a Common Mistake (using “already” at the end of a question is usually to express surprise, not to check status). (d) is a Meaning Trap (“ever” means “in his whole life”, but we are asking about this specific group chat right now). (a) is a Structural Error (“now” does not fit the Present Perfect structure here).

14 Key: (a) haven’t read

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Negative Present Perfect with V3 The V3 of “read” is “read” (spelled the same, pronounced /red/).

• Distractor Analysis: (c) is a Common Mistake (Past Simple). (b) is a Structural Error (“readed” is not a word; read is irregular). (d) is a Meaning Trap (Present Simple means you generally don’t read menus).

15 Key: (b) for

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Months” indicates a duration of time, requiring “for”.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Common Mistake (using “since” with a duration). (c) is a Meaning Trap (“in months” is used in American English, but “for” is the standard CEFR/British English taught rule). (d) is a Structural Error (wrong preposition).

16 Key: (b) been

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Be online” changes to “been online” in the Present Perfect.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Common Mistake (using V2 “went” instead of V3). (c) is a Structural Error (using base verb “be”). (d) is a Meaning Trap (you don’t “go online” as a state, you “are/have been online”).

17 Key: (a) yet

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Shows an expected event has not happened up to the moment of speaking.

• Distractor Analysis: (d) is a Common Mistake (“already” cannot be used in negative sentences). (c) is a Structural Error (“since” needs a time point following it). (b) is a Meaning Trap (“right now” is for Present Continuous).

18 Key: (d) have been

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Have been to” means you visited a place and returned (or are no longer traveling there).

• Distractor Analysis: (b) is a Common Mistake (“have gone to” means you are still there, but the speaker is back at the cafe texting). (c) is a Meaning Trap (Past simple “went” doesn’t connect well with counting experiences “twice” up to now). (a) is a Structural Error (using V1 instead of V3).

19 Key: (c) haven’t charged

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Action not done from a point in the past (“since yesterday”) up to now.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Common Mistake (Past simple cannot be used with “since”). (b) is a Meaning Trap (Present Simple means I never charge it, which is illogical). (d) is a Structural Error (wrong auxiliary “hasn’t” for “I”).

20 Key: (c) heard

Explanation: – Why it’s correct: The V3 form of “hear” is “heard”.

• Distractor Analysis: (a) is a Structural Error (“heared” is incorrectly formed). (b) is a Common Mistake (using V1 instead of V3). (d) is a Meaning Trap (using V-ing form).

1. The Form: Present Perfect is formed with Have / Has + Past Participle (V3/ed).
• Example: I have waited. / She has called.
2. Using “Yet”:
• Meaning: “Yet” means “up until now”. We use it when we expect something to happen.
• Usage: It is strictly used in Negative Sentences (e.g., He hasn’t arrived yet) and Questions (e.g., Has he arrived yet?).
• Position: “Yet” almost always goes at the very end of the sentence.
3. For vs. Since:
• Use For with a duration or length of time (e.g., for 45 minutes, for a long time, for months).
• Use Since with a specific starting point in the past (e.g., since 6 o’clock, since yesterday, since this morning).
4. Been vs. Gone (Quick Tip):
• Has been means someone went and came back.
• Has gone means someone went and is still there!