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ESL forum >
Message board > Present Perfect or Past Simple - Would you accept the answers in "green"?
Present Perfect or Past Simple - Would you accept the answers in "green"?
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eng789
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Present Perfect or Past Simple - Would you accept the answers in "green"?
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Use Past Simple or Present Perfect.
1.
For the last 10 years I __have tried___ (try) to eat healthier but I still
___haven �t got/gotten____ (not/get) used
to drinking soya milk.
2.
Tomorrow some friends are coming over. I
__haven �t seen (see/not) them for a long time and they __have never been_ (be/never)
to my house before.
3.
Sara and Dan aren�t new. Sara __has worked____ (work) here since 2010 and
Dan _has run /ran (run) the office for six years.
4.
A: I ___called (call) you last week but you __didn �t answer_ (not/answer)
Where ______have you been / were you______
(you/be)?
B: I _have just come_
(come/just) back from Canada.
A: Oh really? What ___did you do there___ (you/do) there?
B: I ____went____ (go) on a nature tour. We saw bears,
wolves and whales in the wild. __Have you ever had _ (you/have/ever) a chance to tour Canada?
A: Yes, I
__have traveled___ (travel) around Canada twice so far. Thanks and have a great weekend. Barbara |
2 Feb 2013
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anitarobi
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3. ran - No, I wouldn �t, because of for six years. 4. were you - Yes, because it all refers to last week. |
2 Feb 2013
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MoodyMoody
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In number 3, if you use "ran," you mean that in the past, Dan ran the office for six years, but he no longer works there. Since the first part implies that Dan works at the office now, that �s a contradiction. We use the present perfect to refer to situations that began in the past but continue up to the present.
In number 4, the past "Where were you?" is correct because you called last week; you didn �t call repeatedly up to the present. If you tried to call several/many times and never received an answer until now, you would use "Where have you been? I have been trying to reach you for a week." |
2 Feb 2013
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yanogator
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Yes, "has run" for #3 and "Where were you?" for #4 Bruce
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2 Feb 2013
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LuciaRaposo
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Moody Moody is right.... Has run and Where were you are the correct options. |
2 Feb 2013
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PhilipR
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Both green answers are correct. Besides, since the context is not crystal clear, I would accept both, otherwise you might get into a discussion that could turn ugly.
Btw, IMO exam questions should always be totally unambiguous and allow for one correct answer only. Having several possible answers where one is �more correct � than the others doesn �t help anyone.
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2 Feb 2013
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cunliffe
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I know it �s not the query, but I don �t like �healthier � in No. 1. �healthier food � or better, �more healthily �.
Maybe I �m just a stickler. |
2 Feb 2013
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Poppingdale
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Hi, cunliffe! It doesn �t sound right to me either, and I �m not a native speaker... I love your avatar...is it your cat? Its eyes are funny! Bye! |
2 Feb 2013
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eng789
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Thanks everyone. I totally agree with you Philip but it is difficult to come up with exercises that only allow for one answer without writing a whole story for each question. That is why when in doubt I like to check here.  Barbara |
2 Feb 2013
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MoodyMoody
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"Eat healthier" is used a lot, at least on this side of the pond. I �d agree that "healthier food" or "a healthier diet" is better, but "more healthily" seems a bit contrived to me.
And Philip, I respectfully disagree about question 3; using the past "ran" strongly implies that he no longer does so. I will concede that perhaps Dan has a different job with the same company, but if Dan still runs the office, you need to use the present perfect, not the past.
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2 Feb 2013
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cunliffe
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No 3. �has been working � and �has been running � are better, I would say.
Edit: I�ve just been watching a great comedian - Sara Millican - and twice she has said that she�s going to �eat more healthily�. We all know she isn�t, but that�s the way she said it!
Thank you Poppingdale, I love your avatar too.
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2 Feb 2013
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