A. Underline the correct tense: (simple past or present perfect simple)
(a) The Earth existed / has existed for more than 4,000 million years.
(b) Dinosaurs have lived / lived on Earth for 160 million years.
(c) Humans have been / were on the planet for just 50,000 years.
(d) For thousands of years, people thought / have thought that the world was flat.
(e) The first Australians - the Aborigines - have lived / lived there for about 40,000 years.
(f) People in Europe have only known / only knew about Australia for about 400 years.
(g) For many years, the United States has been / was a British colony.
(h)The USA has been / was an independent country for over 200 years.
(i) The dollar has been / was the currency of the United States for just over 200 years.
Source: world-english
B. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or present perfect simple).
1. Mother: I want to prepare dinner. (you / wash) the dishes yet?
2. Daughter: I (wash) the dishes yesterday, but I (have / not) the time yet to do it today.
3. Mother: (you / do / already) your homework?
4. Daughter: No, I (come / just) home from school.
5. Mother: You (come) home from school two hours ago!
6. Daughter: Well, but my friend Lucy (call) when I (arrive) and I (finish / just) the phone call.
7. Mother: (you / see / not) Lucy at school in the morning?
8. Daughter: Yes, but we (have / not) time to talk then.
C. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or present perfect simple).
1. I (just / finish) my homework.
2. Mary (already / write) five letters.
3. Tom (move) to this town in 1994.
4. My friend (be) in Canada two years ago.
5. I (not / be) to Canada so far.
6. But I (already / travel) to London a couple of times.
7. Last week, Mary and Paul (go) to the cinema.
8. I can't take any pictures because I (not / buy) a new film yet.
9. (they / spend) their holiday in New Zealand last summer?
10. (you / ever / see) a whale?
D. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. It has a beautiful old city centre and a castle that lies on a hill above the city. In the castle you can see the statues of two Scottish heroes: Robert Bruce and William Wallace (known from the film Braveheart). Several famous people were born in Edinburgh, for example Alexander Graham Bell (who invented the telephone), Tony Blair (former Prime Minister of the UK) and Arthur Conan Doyle (who wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories). By the way, J. K. Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter book in an Edinburgh coffee-shop.
Write the verbs in the correct tense (Simple Past or Present Perfect).
1. My friend (be) to Edinburgh three times.
2. Some years ago he (study) English there.
3. Last month he (visit) some friends in Edinburgh.
4. Unfortunately, I (can / not) go to Edinburgh with him.
5. This is a pity. They are my friends, too, and I (see / not) them for ages.
E. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or present perfect simple).
1. A: (you / taste / ever) sushi?
2. B: Yes, I (eat) sushi at least five times so far.
3. A: When (you / eat) sushi for the first time?
4. B: I (eat) sushi for the first time on my dad's 50th birthday. He (invite) the whole family to a Japanese restaurant.
5. A: (you / like) it?
6. B: Absolutely. In fact, it (be) so good that we (be) to that restaurant three times so far. And on my mum's birthday, we (order) some sushi and (have) it at home.
Source: ego4u
The ANSWER KEY to all the above exercises will be posted shortly.
