English for Phones - Elementary English Course

Bill:	What should I do?
Sally:	I've told you ten times already!
Sally:	I told you ten times already.

Bill:	Where is that letter?
Sally:	I have already posted it.
Sally:	I already posted it.

Bill:	I did not receive your letter.
Sally:	I have posted it ages ago.
Sally:	I posted it ages ago.

Bill:	I'm busy today!
Sally:	What did you do?
Sally:	What have you been doing?

Bill:	Your driving is improving.
Sally:	I took lessons.
Sally:	I've been taking lessons.

Bill:	You were happy last time I saw you.
Sally:	I've had some good news.
Sally:	I'd heard some good news.

Explanations

What should I do?
I've told you ten times already! (Present perfect because I told you in the past, and I am about to tell you again.)

Where is that letter?
I have already posted it. (Present perfect, because the letter is still in the post, so the action is not yet complete.)

I did not receive your letter
I posted it ages ago. ('Ages ago' refers to the past, so use past tense.)

I'm busy today!
What have you been doing? (Bill has used a present tense, so Sally wants to know what he did and is still doing, therefore use the present perfect continuous.)

Your driving is improving
I've been taking lessons. (Sally uses present perfect continuous to show that she started taking lessons in the past, and has not yet finished taking the lessons.)

You were happy last time I saw you
I'd heard some good news. ('Last time' is about a time in the past, so you need to use a past tense.)

1. I have waited since six o'clock for him to call.

The sentence is correct
The waiting started at 6pm and continued until the present. Because this links what happened in the past with what is still true now (I am still waiting), the present perfect is correct.

2. I have found my glasses, but then I lost them again.

The sentence is incorrect
You can only use present perfect for a statement in the past if that statement is still true, so you can only say you have found your glasses if you still have them.

3. I have waited for him at 6 o'clock, but he did not call.

The sentence is incorrect
Because this is set at a time in the past, and nothing is said about the present (we do not know if I am still waiting), this is an event which should be in the past tense. i.e. I waited for him at six o'clock.

4. Who is that man over there? I have forgotten his name.

The sentence is correct
When I saw that man (a few minutes in the past), I realised that I did not remember his name. I still can't remember it now, so a present perfect should be used to link past and present.

5. Bill has not tried to ski until last winter.

The sentence is incorrect
This sentence tells you that Bill tried to ski last winter, so it is not true now that Bill has not tried to ski before the present, so you cannot use the present perfect.

6. I have never been to France before.

The sentence is correct
The present perfect can be used here because you have never been to France in the past, and it is true that you have not been there now as well.


	Perfect tense

Perfect tense