Study the rules, look at the examples, then do the exercises.
At A2 level you learned the Past Simple for finished actions (I worked, she went, they didn't come). Now, at B1, you meet a second past tense: the Present Perfect (I have worked, she has gone). The two tenses look similar, but English speakers choose between them very carefully, and this choice is one of the most important skills at B1.
Here is the core idea in one line: the Past Simple talks about a finished time (yesterday, in 2019, last week), while the Present Perfect connects the past to now — an experience in your life, or an action whose result we still feel today.
We build the Present Perfect with have or has plus the past participle (the "third form", V3). Regular verbs simply add -ed (worked, lived, played). Irregular verbs have a special V3 that you must learn (go → gone, see → seen, be → been, do → done, write → written).
| Subject | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they | have worked | haven't worked | Have you worked? |
| he / she / it | has worked | hasn't worked | Has she worked? |
This is the heart of the unit. Read every row twice and notice why each tense is chosen.
| Idea | Present Perfect | Past Simple |
|---|---|---|
| Life experience (when? not important) | I have eaten sushi. | I ate sushi last Friday. |
| Finished, specific time | ✗ not used | She arrived at 9 o'clock. |
| Started in the past, still true now | We have lived here since 2015. | We lived there for two years (and then moved). |
| Result matters now | I have lost my keys (I can't get in now). | I lost my keys yesterday. |
| News / recent action | The team has won the prize! | The team won the prize in May. |
The time words in a sentence usually tell you which tense to choose. Learn these two groups well — they decide the answer in most exam questions.
| Signals Past Simple | Signals Present Perfect | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yesterday, ago | just, already | I saw her yesterday. / I have just seen her. |
| last week / month / year | yet (?/−) | We met last week. / Have they arrived yet? |
| in 2019, at 8 o'clock | ever, never | She left in 2019. / I have never flown. |
| when I was a child | for, since, so far | I lived there when I was young. / for two years so far. |
With the Present Perfect we often say how long a situation has continued. We use two little words — and students mix them up all the time, so make the difference automatic.
| Word | Answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| for | a length of time (a duration) | for two years, for a week, for ten minutes |
| since | a point when it started | since 2015, since Monday, since I was a child |
Both are past participles of movement verbs, but they tell a different story:
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| has / have been to | went there and came back (an experience) | She has been to Japan. (She is here now.) |
| has / have gone to | went there and is still there | She has gone to Japan. (She is in Japan now.) |
These are the errors B1 students make most often with these two tenses. Check your own writing against this list.
| Wrong ✗ | Right ✓ | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| I have seen him yesterday. | I saw him yesterday. | "yesterday" is a finished time → Past Simple. |
| She has been to Paris in 2019. | She went to Paris in 2019. | "in 2019" is finished → Past Simple. |
| I have lived here since two years. | I have lived here for two years. | a duration takes "for", not "since". |
| Did you ever been to Rome? | Have you ever been to Rome? | experience question → have + been. |
| He has gone to the shop and he is back. | He has been to the shop. | back now → been, not gone. |
Two colleagues talk about their careers over coffee. Read it twice and notice how they switch between the two tenses. The Present Perfect opens a topic (an experience); the Past Simple adds the finished details.
Choose the correct answer. — 10 questions, each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Learn the words, then use them in your own sentences about your life.
Write 8 sentences about your experiences and achievements. Use at least 8 of the words above.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
Read the text, then answer the questions.
Good readers prepare before they start. Before you read, think about these three questions (you do not need to write the answers):
Words to spot (from the Speaking section): experience · achievement · achieve · skill · improve · challenge · abroad · goal
Deniz is a project manager at a software company in Istanbul, and she has had a fascinating career. She has worked in three different countries, and she has learned two foreign languages. Many of her colleagues say that she is one of the most experienced people in the office.
Every morning, Deniz arrives at the office early with a cup of coffee and a long list of tasks. Her company builds apps for banks and small businesses, and her job is to make sure that each project is finished on time. It is not always easy. She has to talk to designers, programmers, and clients, and she has to solve a new problem almost every day. 'I love my work because it is never boring,' she often tells new employees. Over the years, she has become known as a calm and patient leader, and younger colleagues frequently ask her for advice. When people meet her for the first time, they are often surprised: she is friendly and modest, and she rarely talks about her own success unless someone asks.
Deniz grew up in a small town on the Black Sea coast, far from the busy streets of Istanbul. Her parents were teachers, and they always encouraged her to read, to ask questions, and to work hard. She often says that she owes much of her success to them. 'They taught me that effort matters more than talent,' she explains. 'You do not need to be perfect; you just need to keep going.'
Deniz did not always want to work in technology. When she was at university, she studied economics, and she dreamed of becoming a banker. However, in 2014 she took a summer job at a small start-up, and everything changed. She loved the fast, creative atmosphere, so after she graduated she decided to stay in the industry because she wanted a job with energy and meaning.
That first summer at the start-up was harder than she expected. The team was small — only six people — and everyone had to do a little bit of everything. Deniz answered emails, tested new features, and even helped to design the company logo. She made plenty of mistakes in those early months, but she learned quickly. 'Nobody taught me how to manage a project,' she remembers. 'I learned by doing, and I asked a thousand questions.' By the end of that summer, she had discovered a new skill: she was good at bringing people together and keeping them calm under pressure. This became the foundation of everything she has done since.
Since then, Deniz has achieved a lot. She has managed international teams, she has spoken at three big conferences, and she has trained more than fifty junior developers. While she was in Berlin, she also learned German. In 2019 she moved there for two years, where she led a difficult but successful project. 'That project taught me so much,' she says. 'Although I made many mistakes, I have never regretted the move.'
Before her time in Germany, Deniz had already spent a year working abroad in Ireland, where she joined a small team in Dublin. That was the first time she had lived far from her family, and at the beginning she felt lonely and homesick. Slowly, though, she made friends, improved her English, and grew more confident. Each move abroad has taught her something different. In Dublin she learned how to work with people from many cultures; in Berlin she learned to speak German and to lead a large team. Travelling for work has not always been comfortable, but Deniz says that every trip has made her stronger and more open-minded. 'If you want to grow,' she explains, 'you have to leave your comfort zone.'
Speaking at conferences was another challenge that Deniz slowly turned into a strength. The first time she stood on a big stage, in front of hundreds of people, her hands were shaking and she almost forgot her opening line. 'I have never been so nervous in my life,' she laughs now. But she prepared carefully, practised for weeks, and finished her talk to a warm round of applause. Since that day she has spoken at events in several cities, and she enjoys sharing what she has learned with other professionals. She always tells the audience the same thing: real experience comes from doing difficult things, not from avoiding them.
Deniz has also faced hard times. Last year, one of her biggest projects failed, and the whole team felt disappointed. But Deniz did not give up. She has always believed that failure is part of learning, so she used that experience to help her team grow stronger.
When that project failed, Deniz called a meeting with her whole team. Instead of blaming anyone, she asked a simple question: 'What have we learned?' At first, nobody wanted to speak. Then, one by one, the team members began to share their ideas. They wrote down every mistake and every lesson on a big white board. 'It was a difficult meeting,' Deniz admits, 'but it was also one of the most useful days of my career.' A few months later, the same team launched a new product, and this time it worked. Many of them say that they became better professionals because of that failure, not in spite of it.
These days, Deniz spends part of her time helping younger colleagues. She runs a small workshop once a month, where new developers can ask questions and practise their skills. She tells them that a good career is not a straight line: it is full of surprises, mistakes, and second chances. Her advice is always the same. 'Set clear goals,' she says, 'but stay curious, and never stop learning. The people who improve the most are the ones who are not afraid to try new things.'
Outside work, Deniz tries to keep learning in other parts of her life too. Recently she has started taking photographs, and last month she joined a weekend cooking class. She believes that curiosity is a skill like any other: the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. 'Life is too short to stop being interested in things,' she says with a smile.
Today, Deniz still loves her job. She has already achieved many of her goals, but she says that the best part of her career has not happened yet.
Choose the correct answer.
Are these sentences true or false, according to the text?
Complete each sentence with ONE word from the text. Mind the tense (Present Perfect or Past Simple).
Write your answer in your own words. These questions are not marked automatically.
1. Why did Deniz decide to stay in the technology industry?
2. How did Deniz react when one of her biggest projects failed?
3. What do you think Deniz means when she says the best part of her career "has not happened yet"?
Find these connectors in the text — each one appears at least once: and, but, so, because, when, while, however, although, also. (You will use these same connectors in the Writing section.) Note them down, then check.
Todd and Katie take an "international test" and talk about their experiences.
You will hear two friends, Todd and Katie, asking each other "Have you ever...?" questions about food, languages and people. You will listen TWICE. First listen: answer questions 1-5. Second listen: answer questions 6-10. (Kaydı İKİ kez dinleyeceksin: ilk dinlemede 1-5, ikinci dinlemede 6-10.)
Write and submit your paragraph; your teacher will review it.
A list of short, separate sentences is not real writing. What connects your ideas is linking words. At A2 you used and, but, so, because. At B1 you add four more powerful connectors: also, when, while, although and however. These let you show contrast, background events and extra information like a confident writer.
| Connector | Use it to... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| and | add information | I have travelled a lot, and I have made many friends. |
| but | show a small contrast | It was hard, but I did not give up. |
| so | show a result | I love languages, so I studied French. |
| because | give a reason | I was happy because I passed the exam. |
| also | add an extra point | I have learned German. I have also learned some Italian. |
| when | say at what past time | When I was a child, I lived abroad. |
| while | two things at the same time | While I lived in Berlin, I learned German. |
| although | show a strong contrast | Although I made mistakes, I learned a lot. |
| however | contrast between two sentences | I failed the first time. However, I tried again. |
See the difference — the same facts, written two ways:
| Separate sentences ✗ | Connected, fluent writing ✓ |
|---|---|
| I travelled to Italy. I did not speak Italian. I had a great time. I have visited six countries. I want to see more. | When I travelled to Italy, I could not speak Italian, but I had a great time. Since then, I have visited six countries. However, I still want to see more. |
An experience paragraph has three parts. The skeleton stays the same every time — you change the content, not the structure:
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | A general topic sentence in the Present Perfect | I have had many interesting experiences in my life. |
| 2. Body | Specific experiences and achievements. Open with the Present Perfect, add finished details in the Past Simple, and link with connectors. | Three years ago, I started a business. Although it was hard, I have learned a lot since then. |
| 3. Closing | A final comment about now or the future | I have not reached my main goal yet, but I am proud of my progress. |
Write about your experiences and achievements. Mix the Present Perfect and the Past Simple.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will evaluate your writing.)
Mixed questions from the whole unit, then check what you can do.
14 questions: grammar + vocabulary + reading + listening. Each question is marked instantly.
Tick what you can do now. Honest answers help your teacher.
İşaretlemediğin madde varsa ilgili bölüme dönüp tekrar çalış — soldaki menüden her bölüme geri dönebilirsin.
Oturum kontrol ediliyor...