Simple Past vs Present Perfect
We use the simple past for a finished time in the past. We use the present perfect when the past connects to now.
Simple past often goes with: yesterday, last week, ago, in 2020, on Monday.
Present perfect often goes with: already, yet, just, since, for, recently.
Example: I saw the news yesterday.
[Ich sah gestern die Nachrichten.]
Example: I have lost my keys.
[Ich habe meine Schlüssel verloren.]
1. I ______ the news yesterday. (past time expression = yesterday)
saw
a) have seen
b) saw
[Ich sah gestern die Nachrichten.]
2. She ______ the report already. (signal word = already)
has finished
a) has finished
b) finished
[Sie hat den Bericht schon fertiggestellt.]
3. We ______ him last week. (past time expression = last week)
met
a) have met
b) met
[Wir haben ihn letzte Woche getroffen.]
4. I ______ sushi before. (life experience until now)
have never tried
a) never tried
b) have never tried
[Ich habe noch nie Sushi probiert.]
5. They ______ to Berlin in 2020. (finished time = in 2020)
moved
a) have moved
b) moved
[Sie sind 2020 nach Berlin umgezogen.]
6. I ______ my keys! I can’t find them. (result now)
have lost
a) have lost
b) lost
[Ich habe meine Schlüssel verloren! Ich kann sie nicht finden.]
7. He ______ me two hours ago. (past time expression = two hours ago)
called
a) has called
b) called
[Er hat mich vor zwei Stunden angerufen.]
8. We ______ here since 2018. (signal word = since 2018)
have lived
a) have lived
b) lived
[Wir wohnen seit 2018 hier.]
9. I ______ the email this morning. (it is now afternoon)
sent
a) have sent
b) sent
[Ich habe heute Morgen die E-Mail geschickt.]
10. She ______ at the office. She’s here now. (result now)
has arrived
a) has arrived
b) arrived
[Sie ist im Büro angekommen. Sie ist jetzt hier.]
11. We ______ the tickets on Monday. (past time expression = on Monday)
booked
a) have booked
b) booked
[Wir haben die Tickets am Montag gebucht.]
12. I ______ that book three times. (time not stated)
have read
a) have read
b) read
[Ich habe dieses Buch dreimal gelesen.]
13. He ______ the job in January. (finished time = in January)
started
a) has started
b) started
[Er hat im Januar mit dem Job angefangen.]
14. I ______ her for ten years. (signal word = for ten years)
have known
a) have known
b) knew
[Ich kenne sie seit zehn Jahren.]
15. They ______ the meeting yesterday afternoon. (past time expression = yesterday afternoon)
canceled
a) have canceled
b) canceled
[Sie haben das Meeting gestern Nachmittag abgesagt.]
16. We ______ this topic already. (signal word = already)
have discussed
a) have discussed
b) discussed
[Wir haben dieses Thema schon besprochen.]
17. I ______ a new laptop last month. (past time expression = last month)
bought
a) have bought
b) bought
[Ich habe letzten Monat einen neuen Laptop gekauft.]
18. She ______ yet. (signal word = yet)
hasn't replied
a) hasn't replied
b) didn't reply
[Sie hat noch nicht geantwortet.]
19. We ______ them two days ago. (past time expression = two days ago)
saw
a) have seen
b) saw
[Wir haben sie vor zwei Tagen gesehen.]
20. I ______ my password recently. (time not specific = recently)
have changed
a) have changed
b) changed
[Ich habe mein Passwort kürzlich geändert.]
21. He ______ London in 2015. (finished time = in 2015)
visited
a) has visited
b) visited
[Er hat London 2015 besucht.]
22. We ______ with this client since May. (signal word = since May)
have worked
a) have worked
b) worked
[Wir arbeiten seit Mai mit diesem Kunden.]
23. I ______ to her on Tuesday. (finished time = on Tuesday)
spoke
a) have spoken
b) spoke
[Ich habe am Dienstag mit ihr gesprochen.]
24. She ______ her English a lot. (result until now)
has improved
a) improved
b) has improved
[Sie hat ihr Englisch sehr verbessert.]
25. They ______ the contract last Friday. (past time expression = last Friday)
signed
a) have signed
b) signed
[Sie haben den Vertrag letzten Freitag unterschrieben.]
26. I ______ that film several times. (time not stated)
have seen
a) have seen
b) saw
[Ich habe diesen Film mehrmals gesehen.]
27. She ______ this question before. (time not stated = before)
has asked
a) asked
b) has asked
[Sie hat diese Frage schon einmal gestellt.]
28. We ______ that restaurant many times. (time not stated)
have visited
a) have visited
b) visited
[Wir haben dieses Restaurant oft besucht.]
29. He ______ that mistake before. (time not stated = before)
has made
a) made
b) has made
[Er hat diesen Fehler schon einmal gemacht.]
30. They ______ this problem several times. (time not stated)
have discussed
a) have discussed
b) discussed
[Sie haben dieses Problem schon mehrmals besprochen.]