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 friends talk about their experiences after school. 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 sixteen-year-old student at a high school in Istanbul, and she has had an exciting few years. She has worked with students in three different countries, and she has learned two foreign languages. Many of her classmates say that she is one of the most active students in the school.
Like most teenagers, Deniz has a very busy timetable, and she often says that her days feel too short. On school mornings she wakes up early, catches the bus with her two best friends, Ela and Mert, and they usually talk about music, films and homework on the way to class. After lessons, she stays for her clubs, and in the evening she does her homework, chats online and reads for a while before she sleeps. She has made a lot of good friends this way, and she has learned that friendship and teamwork can matter just as much as good marks.
Deniz was not always interested in science. When she was younger, she loved drawing, and she dreamed of becoming an artist. However, in 2014 she joined a summer coding club, and everything changed. She loved the fast, creative atmosphere, so after that summer she decided to stay in the club because she wanted a hobby with energy and meaning.
In her first year in the club, Deniz did not know much about computers. She started with very simple games, and she made a lot of small mistakes, but her older teammates were patient and kind. They showed her how to find and fix her code, step by step, and they never laughed at her questions. 'My friends have taught me more than any book,' she often says. That first winter, she and Ela built a tiny quiz app for their class, and their teacher shared it with the whole school. It was a small project, but it gave Deniz real confidence and a clear reason to keep learning.
Since then, Deniz has achieved a lot. She has led her school's coding team, she has spoken at three big student events, and she has helped more than fifty younger students. While she was in Berlin, she also learned German. In 2019 she moved to Berlin with her family for two years, where she took part in a difficult but successful robotics project. 'That project taught me so much,' she says. 'Although I made many mistakes, I have never regretted the move.'
Deniz has never been only about school and coding. She loves sport too, and she has played basketball for her local team since she was twelve. Two years ago, her team reached the city final, and although they did not win, she scored the most points of the whole season. She also enjoys social media, but she tries to use it in a smart way. Recently she has started a small account where she posts short videos with coding tips for beginners, and hundreds of students have already followed her. 'The internet can waste your time,' she says, 'or it can help you share the things you love. I have chosen the second way.'
Languages have become another of Deniz's passions. Besides German, she has been learning English since primary school, and she practises it every day by watching videos and playing online games with friends from other countries. Last summer, she took part in a two-week exchange programme, and she stayed with a family in Spain. She could not speak Spanish well, but she communicated with her hands, her phone and a big smile. 'That trip taught me that you do not need perfect grammar to make friends,' she laughs. Since then, she has kept in touch with her Spanish friends online.
Deniz has also faced hard times. Last year, her team lost an important competition, and everyone 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.
After that difficult competition, Deniz felt sad for a few days, and she almost stopped going to practice. Her friends noticed, so they invited her to play basketball at the weekend to cheer her up. That afternoon reminded her why she loved being part of a team. When she came back to the coding club, she wrote a long, honest message to her teammates, and together they made a better plan for the next year. Little by little, the group became closer and stronger than before.
These days, younger students often ask Deniz for advice about school, hobbies and life. She usually gives the same answer: 'Try new things, make mistakes and never compare your beginning with someone else's middle.' She has set herself two big goals for the future. First, she wants to study computer science at university, and second, she hopes to build a free app that helps other teenagers learn useful skills. She has not reached these goals yet, but she has already taken the first steps, and she works a little towards them almost every week.
Today, Deniz still loves her school and her club. She has already achieved many of her goals, but she says that the best part of her journey 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 coding club?
2. How did Deniz react when her team lost an important competition?
3. What do you think Deniz means when she says the best part of her journey "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 learning the guitar. Although it was hard, I have improved 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.
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