Page 38 - New Grammar with a Smile 8

Remember
You have already studied the similarity and the dissimilarity between the simple
past and the present perfect tenses. However, let us do a quick recap.

We can use both tenses to talk about an action that took place in the past. The
difference however, is:

Simple Past is used... Present Perfect is used...

to talk about an action that happened at to talk about an action that happened
a particular time in the past some time in the past

to put emphasis on point of time to put emphasis on what exactly
of action happened

Example: I bought this laptop yesterday Example: I have bought this laptop

Underline the correct option to complete the sentences.
1. She is a renowned dancer. She has performed/performed at various cultural
festivals around the globe.
2. He has just come/just came home.
3. Have you watched The Lion King? No, I have never watched/didn’t watch
that film.

4. The first time I met/have met him was at your sister’s engagement ceremony.
5. Hey, I have brought/brought all the DVDs I had of old classics. I love watching
these films.

The Past Perfect Tense

1. We use the past perfect tense to talk about an action that was completed before a
given moment in the past. For example,

• The guests turned up after we had cut the cake.
• Tara and Zia came home after everyone had gone to bed.

2. We use the past perfect tense with words like suppose, want, hope, expect,
think, etc. to suggest that an expected action did not take place. For example,
• We had gone there hoping he would turn up.
• I had thought of going to Nainital, but then I decided against it.

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