viernes, 20 de diciembre de 2013

martes, 3 de diciembre de 2013

TO HAVE SOMETHING DONE



En español cuando te cortas el pelo dices: “Me he cortado el pelo” o “Me corté el pelo”. Si te fijas parece como si tú mismo hubieses realizado la acción de cortarte pelo, cuando lo cierto es que un peluquero te corta el pelo, por tanto, se presupone que ha sido otra persona. Pero en inglés no es así, indicamos que la acción la ha realizado otra persona para nosotros:

¿Cómo? Utilizando la fórmula siguiente: 




Verbo “have/had” + objeto + participio pasado

Por ejemplo
I had my hair cut.  Me corté el pelo.  
Nota: También puedo decir: I got a haircut.  Con el verbo comodín “got”  consigo expresar que “alguien me cortó el pelo” (Obtuve un corte de pelo, jejeje).

Utilizando el verbo “have/had” hacemos énfasis en que otra persona hizo el trabajo para nosotros.

La fórmula es muy sencilla, pero hay que saberse bien los participios pasados de los verbos.

Veamos más ejemplos:



have/had object past participle traducción
I had my nails polished. Me hice (pintaron) las uñas.
I need to have my car painted Necesito pintar mi coche.
They are having the school repaired. Están arreglando el colegio.
She had her carpet cleaned. Ella mandó a limpiar la alfombra.
Where did you have that photograph taken? ¿Dónde te tomaron esa foto?
They had an extra room built. Les hicieron una habitación adicional.



Recuerda: También existe una forma informal para expresar la idea de que “alguien hace algo para tí”. Se trata de una fórmula con el verbo “get”. Por ejemplo: “I got my car repaired”  es igual a decir: “I had my car repaired”. Me arreglaron el coche. Todo lo que tengo que hacer es sustituir “have/had” por “get/got” (u otros tiempos verbales).


Ahora vamos a practicar:

miércoles, 27 de noviembre de 2013

THE PASSIVE





Use of Passive BY www.ego4u.com
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.
In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.
In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive

Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

  • the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
  • the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
  • the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

Examples of Passive Level 2

Tense Subject Verb Object
Simple Present Active: Ritawritesa letter.
Passive: A letteris writtenby Rita.
Simple Past Active: Ritawrotea letter.
Passive: A letterwas writtenby Rita.
Present Perfect Active: Ritahas writtena letter.
Passive: A letterhas been writtenby Rita.
Future I Active: Ritawill writea letter.
Passive: A letterwill be writtenby Rita.
V. Modales Active: Ritacan writea letter.
Passive: A lettercan be writtenby Rita.

Examples of Passive Level 4


Tense Subject Verb Object
Present Progressive Active: Ritais writinga letter.
Passive: A letteris being writtenby Rita.
Past Progressive Active: Ritawas writinga letter.
Passive: A letterwas being writtenby Rita.
Past Perfect Active: Ritahad writtena letter.
Passive: A letterhad been writtenby Rita.
Future II Active: Ritawill have writtena letter.
Passive: A letterwill have been writtenby Rita.
Conditional I Active: Ritawould writea letter.
Passive: A letterwould be writtenby Rita.
Conditional II Active: Ritawould have writtena letter.
Passive: A letterwould have been writtenby Rita.

Passive Sentences with Two Objects Level 3

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.


Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2
Active: Ritawrotea letterto me.
Passive: A letterwas writtento meby Rita.
Passive: Iwas writtena letterby Rita.

. As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. Thats why it is usually dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.


Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.


Example: he says – it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.
Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.
The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.

EXERCISE ONE
EXERCISE TWO
EXERCISE THREE
EXERCISE FOUR 

lunes, 25 de noviembre de 2013

CONCURSO DE COCINA Y TARJETAS NAVIDEÑAS 2013.


CONCURSO DE COCINA NAVIDEÑA 2013.

Concursantes:
Podrán participar todos l@s alumn@s matriculad@s en esta escuela oficial de idiomas para el presente curso 2013/2014. Cada concursante sólo podrá participar con un plato, incluso aquellos alumnos que tengan multimatrícula (matriculados en inglés y alemán).
Modalidades:
Habrá tres modalidades:
- plato salado
- plato dulce
- modalidad de decoración
Se valorará el sabor (modalidades salado y dulce) y la presentación del plato (modalidad de decoración), así como que se trate de platos típicos de estas fechas, ya sean españoles, ingleses, alemanes…
Entrega del plato:
Los platos deberán entregarse  el día 19 de diciembre en el aula  20 A PARTIR DE LAS 18:00 HORAS
Premios:
Se entregarán tres premios: al mejor plato salado, al mejor plato dulce y a la mejor presentación. Los premios consistirán en vales valorados en 30 € cada uno a canjear en la librería Siddhartha. Los platos no se podrán retirar pues serán degustados por el alumnado y miembros del jurado.
Comisión evaluadora:
La comisión evaluadora estará integrada por los miembros del claustro de profesores de la escuela y del consejo escolar.
Aceptación de bases:

Los concursantes, por el hecho de participar en el concurso, aceptan todas las cláusulas de estas bases.


CONCURSO DE TARJETAS DE NAVIDAD.



Concursantes: 
Podrán participar todos l@s alumn@s matriculad@s en esta escuela oficial de idiomas para el presente curso 2011/2012. Cada concursante sólo podrá participar con una tarjeta, incluso aquellos alumnos que tengan multimatrícula (matriculados en inglés y alemán).
Temas:
El tema será el de la Navidad en cualquiera de sus aspectos. Podrá introducirse texto bien en inglés, bien en alemán. Se valorará la calidad y creatividad.
Dimensiones:
El formato de la tarjeta ha de ser de Din A5 (15 x 21 cm).
Plazo de entrega:
El plazo de admisión de los trabajos será desde la publicación de estas bases hasta el día 14 de diciembre a las 21 horas.
Entrega del trabajo:
Los trabajos deberán entregarse en la secretaría del centro.
Premios:
Se entregarán tres premios: 1er premio, 2º premio y 3er premio consistentes en vales valorados en 40 €, 30 € y 20 €, respectivamente, a canjear en la librería Idiomátika. Tanto las obras premiadas como las no premiadas permanecerán en la escuela.
Comisión evaluadora:
La comisión evaluadora estará integrada por los miembros del claustro de profesores de la escuela y por compañeros del seminario de artes plásticas del I.E.S. Agustín de Bethencourt.
Aceptación de bases:
Los concursantes, por el hecho de participar en el concurso, aceptan todas las cláusulas de estas bases.

Introducir esta ficha en un sobre cerrado. Graparle un sobre con la tarjeta correspondiente. Poner en el sobre de la tarjeta únicamente el número de la tarjeta e idioma (Ej. Nº1 Inglés/ Nº1 alemán).

miércoles, 6 de noviembre de 2013

NARRATIVE TENSES






NARRATIVE TENSES 
Copyright EOI de Mieres, Asturias

 
1. The Past Simple
The Past Simple is used to narrate past events in chronological order:

Alice left her family home in the morning and moved to the big city. What a busy day it was! She sat and looked at the cosy living room around her. At last the house was hers. She gazed out at the London skyline with awe.

 

2. The Past Perfect
The Past Perfect is used to express an action that happened before a definite time in the past.
A writer can use it to re-order the events of a narrative for dramatic effect:

Alice sat and looked at the cosy living room around her. At last the house was hers. What a
busy day it had been! She had left her family home in the morning and had moved to the big
city. She gazed at the London skyline with awe.
 
Notice that had need not be repeated if the subject of both verbs is the same:

She had said goodbye to her mother and (had) caught the train to London.
 
It is not always essential to use the Past Perfect. If it is clear that the events described in the time clause took place before the one in the main clause, the Past Simple can be used.
 
After she said goodbye to her mother, she caught the train to London.
 
If it is important to show that the first action was completed before the second one began, the Past Perfect must be used.

When she had raised sufficient capital, she put in an offer on the house.
 
For reasons of style, it is unwise (and unnecessary) to have to many verbs in the Past Perfect one after another. Once the time aspect of 'past in the past' has been established, the Past Simple can be used as long as there is no ambiguity.

The furniture suited the room perfectly. She had been to auction rooms looking for just the right period pieces, and had found some excellent examples of Regency workmanship. She bought them at good prices, and didn't pay more than five hundred pounds for anything.
 
 
3. The Past Continuous and the Past Perfect Continuous.
The Past Continuous and the Past Perfect Continuous (as with all continuous tenses) express
ideas of activity in progress or repeated activity.
 
She was wearing a green velvet dress.
She was hoping the phone would ring.
She had been arranging and rearranging the rooms for weeks.
 
4. Past Simple, used to, and would for past habits
 
Used to can be used to express past habits and states:
We used to go out a lot. (habit)
He used to be very short tempered. (state)

Would can express typical behaviour. Whereas used to is quite factual, would looks at past
habits rather nostalgically.
We had some lovely holidays by the sea when I was young. We'd spend the day collecting seashells, or we'd go for long walks on the cliffs.
Would can not be used to express past states.(We cannot say *He'd live in a lovely cottage .)
If the past action happened only once (and is therefore not a habit), the Simple Past must be used.

5. 'At the beginning', 'In the end' etc.
 
The words and expressions that tell us when something happens in a story are not all used in quite the same way.
At the beginning (of the story) tells us the chronological point.
In the beginning and at first suggest a contrast later. We expect to hear but later the
circumstances changed.
At the end of (the story) tells us the chronological point.
In the end suggests a contrast earlier. Before, there were problems and uncertainty.
Finally and eventually suggest a long wait. (Finally usually comes before the verb.) The
outcome may be positive or negative.
At last suggests a very long wait. The outcome is positive.

lunes, 4 de noviembre de 2013

ORDER OF ADJECTIVES



Copyright British Council

Sometimes we use more than one adjective in front of a noun:
He was a nice intelligent young man.
She had a small round black wooden box.

Opinion adjectives:

Some adjectives give a general opinion. We can use these adjectives to describe almost any noun:
good bad lovely  strange
beautiful nice brilliant excellent
awful important wonderful nasty

Some adjectives give a specific opinion. We only use these adjectives to describe particular kinds of noun:
Food: tasty; delicious
Furniture, buildings: comfortable; uncomfortable
People, animals: clever; intelligent; friendly
We usually put a general opinion in front of a specific opinion:
Nice tasty soup.
A nasty uncomfortable armchair
A lovely intelligent animal
Usually we put an adjective that gives an opinion in front of an adjective that is descriptive:
a nice red dress; a silly old man; those horrible yellow curtains
We often have two adjectives in front of a noun:
a handsome young man; a big black car; that horrible big dog
Sometimes we have three adjectives, but this is unusual:
a nice handsome young man;
a big black American car;
that horrible big fierce dog
It is very unusual to have more than three adjectives.

Adjectives usually come in this order:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
General
opinion
Specific
opinion
Size  Shape Age  Colour Nationality Material

We use some adjectives only after a link verb:

afraid alive alone asleep
content glad  ill ready
sorry sure unable well
S
ome of the commonest -ed adjectives are normally used only after a link verb:
annoyed;  finished;  bored; pleased; thrilled
We say:
Our teacher was ill.
My uncle was very glad when he heard the news.
The policeman seemed to be very annoyed
but we do not say:
We had an ill teacher.
When he heard the news he was a very glad uncle
He seemed to be a very annoyed policeman
A few adjectives are used only in front of a noun:

north
south
east
west
northern
southern
eastern
western
countless
occasional
lone
eventful
indoor
outdoor
We say:
He lives in the eastern district.
There were countless problems with the new machinery.
but we do not say:
The district he lives in is eastern
The problems with the new machinery were countless.
Try these tasks to improve your adjective ordering.

EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3


miércoles, 30 de octubre de 2013

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!





Ancient Origins of Halloween

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.






miércoles, 23 de octubre de 2013




Aprobar la expresión escrita de los exámenes de la EOI, 

o de Cambridge, en 5 pasos. 

Copyright: http://elblogdelingles.blogspot.com.es

Quería esperar a tener más posts en el blog sobre temas específicos para mejorar la expresión escrita (puntuación, orden de las palabras), pero hace unos días encontré esta fantástica página donde vienen prácticamente todos los aspectos a tener en cuenta en la expresión escrita. Aunque no quita para que yo escriba en el futuro sobre los mismos temas en este blog -con otro enfoque y en español- he decidido daros ya los consejos para aprobar los "writings" de los exámenes de la EOI o de Cambridge. Así que aquí van.

Razones por las cuales es difícil escribir en inglés correctamente

Hay dos razones por las cuales puede resultar difícil aprobar el "writing" de estos exámenes.



La primera, y principal razón, es que tus pensamientos están escritos en tu cabeza en español y, por tanto, cada vez que intentas escribir una frase en inglés lo que haces es pensarla en español e intentar traducirla.   Como consecuencia de ello, lo que escribes en inglés es casi siempre incorrecto.

Por ello, considero que es inútil empezar a escribir antes de tener cierto dominio de las estructuras en inglés. En este contexto, es importante que aprendas primero las estructuras correctas y luego intentes escribir, y no al contrario.

Para que compruebes hasta qué punto tus pensamientos están escritos en tu idioma materno, haremos una sencilla prueba.

Escribe, por favor, un párrafo sobre el trabajo, o los estudios, que estás realizando actualmente. ¡Venga! Ponte a pensar cómo escribirías ese párrafo corto. ¿Lo tienes ya?

Te pongo, a continuación, un ejemplo de párrafo que he encontrado escrito por un estudiante de inglés.

¿Se parece este párrafo al tuyo?

(1)Actually I'm working in a (2) juridical advising company and (3) my functions in this company is (4) concerning to taxes and financial investment on markets,  (5 y 6) advising to the companies which is the best investment for them.

Estarás conmigo que ese párrafo es la traducción literal de algo así como:

Actualmente estoy trabajando en una empresa de asesoramiento jurídico y mis funciones en esta empresa están relacionadas con los impuestos e inversiones financieras en los mercados, asesorando a las empresas  sobre cuál es la mejor inversión para ellas.

Veremos ahora cuántos errores contiene este texto.

Lista de errores

1. Actually: Es incorrecto. Es una traducción literal de "actualmente". Actually, en inglés, no significa "actualmente", significa "realmente". Podrías decir, por ejemplo: "No, actually, I'm not working there". "No, realmente, no estoy trabajando allí".  Para decir "actualmente" deberás decir: "currently", "at the moment", "in the present". Nunca  "actually".

2. Juridical advising company: No es inglés. El nombre de este tipo de empresas es  "Law Firm", pero quien ha escrito el párrafo piensa directamente en "Empresa de asesoramiento jurídico" y así lo escribe, quizás con la ayuda de un traductor automático. Mira, en estos ejemplos, como aparece "legal advice" o "legal counsel", pero jamás "Juridical advising".

3. My functions:  Nuevamente una traducción literal de "mis funciones". No suena muy inglés, aunque lo he visto en varios párrafos en internet, creo que es más frecuente decir: "My responsibilities" o "My job involves".  Además, "my functions" es plural, por tanto, no se puede decir: "is". Tengo que decir: are... En este caso, el autor del párrafo ha perdido la concordancia sujeto-verbo.

4. Concerning to: Traducción literal de "concerniente a". Se dice: "concerning taxes" (sin "to"). Mira aquí cómo se usa "concerning". Verás que no hay ningún  ejemplo en que "to" vaya detrás de "concerning".

5. Advising to the companies:  Traducción literal de "aconsejando a las empresas". No se dice "advising to the companies". Se dice: "advising companies on". Mira aquí cómo se usa "advising".Verás que no hay ningún ejemplo en que "to" vaya detrás de "advising".

6. El texto tiene, finalmente, errores de estructura, tales como los que hay en esta frase:
"...financial investment on markets, advising to the companies which is the best investment for them..."   No sólo no debió poner "advising to the", sino que además la estructura de la frase es incorrecta ya que no tiene coherencia.  Nota: tres líneas = 6 errores. No está mal.


Este último error, conecta directamente con la segunda razón por la cual es difícil escribir en inglés correctamente. Para escribir bien necesitas conocer la técnica correcta. NO se trata de escribir solamente, se trata de escribir de una determinada manera que debes de aprender.

Veamos cómo escribir el mismo texto en inglés sin recurrir a "la traducción de pensamientos".

I’m currently working in a law firm as a tax advisor. My responsibilities are to provide legal advice on taxes and financial investments for companies.

 ¿Ves las diferencias?

El texto es más corto y da más información más precisa sobre lo que hace el autor del texto.

¿Cómo se logra esto? Aprendiendo una técnica y practicando mucho.

La técnica correcta en 5 pasos

¿Recuerdas que para probar el exámenes orales de la EOI necesitabas un sistema?

También para aprobar la expresión escrita necesitas un sistema. Si no tienes técnica, o tu técnica no es la correcta, no aprobarás.

Esta es la técnica correcta en 5 pasos:

1) Debes conocer el estilo de texto que tienes que escribir.

Aquí tienes ejemplos de diferentes estilos de textos para el FCE (que también te valen para la EOI).  Estudia bien y analiza cada uno de estos estilos. Recuerda que los estilos son tu mapa y sin mapa no puedes llegar a ningún sitio.

2)  Antes de empezar a redactar tu texto, escribe tus ideas.

Para que se te ocurran ideas debes intentar preguntarte y responderte preguntas como: ¿Dónde? ¿Cuándo? ¿Por qué? ¿Cómo? ¿A quién/es? ¿De quién? ¿Qué ocurrió? ¿Qué hacer?


Por ejemplo: Tienes que escribir una carta a editor de un periódico local en relación con los contenedores de reciclaje que han colocado en tu zona para fomentar el reciclaje. Aquí tienes el examen . Fuente: EOI de Durango (País Vasco)

La carta tiene ya escrito el principio y el final. Tú tienes que pensar en todos los problemas que la colocación de estos contenedores ha supuesto.

La carta comienza con:

Sir,


I was extremely pleased when our local council eventually placed special bins in the area to encourage recycling. There are, however, several problems.

For one thing________________________ (a completar)

Y acaba con:

I do think that these suggestions might help solve the situation. The rest depends both on the council and our neighbours' willingnesss to act in a more civilised manner. (Name, Surname and ID Number)
************
Ideas:

- Los contenedores son de material inflamable. Responde a ¿cómo o de qué?
- Unos gamberros quemaron los contenedores. Responde a ¿qué ocurrió?
- Podrían reemplazarse por otro tipo de contenedores no inflamables. Responde a ¿cómo?
- Los contenedores están situados junto a una zona donde hay muchas ramas secas. Responde a ¿dónde?
- Podrían situarse a 100 metros junto a una zona sin vegetación. Responde a ¿cómo y dónde?


3) Empieza a escribir un borrador con frases cortas.

Escribe solo una frase para cada idea. No más. Esto es muy importante así que lo repetiré. Escribe sólo una frase por idea. Luego, las podrás unir con mucho cuidado valiéndote de conectores.

Por ejemplo:
  • For one thing, the recycling bins are made of plastic. --> Material inflamable
  • Unfortunately, they were burnt  by a group of yobs last night.--> ¿Qué ocurrió?
  • They could be replaced by metal bins which are non-flammable--> ¿Qué hacer?
4) Aprende a utilizar las estructuras correctamente y ordénalas. Aquí tienes ejemplos de estructuras de diferentes tipos de oraciones en inglés. Aquí tienes una muy buena página de la BBC para ayudarte a organizar tus frases. 


5) Fíjate en el "word order" u "orden de las palabras". Esto, también, es muy importante porque el orden de las palabras no es tan importante en español como en inglés. Esta página te ayudará a organizarte. Más ayuda.Y más ayuda. No te olvides de los conectores para enlazar tus ideas. Tampoco te olvides de las comas. Y de otros detalles de la puntuación.  Por último, una vez que hayas acabado el texto, no te olvides de revisarlo.

Además, puedes utilizar la demo gratuita de paragraph punch para prácticar. Y Linguee junto a Bab-la.

jueves, 10 de octubre de 2013

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE/CONTINUOUS.



EXERCISE ONE
EXERCISE TWO 
EXERCISE THREE

Present Perfect


FORM

[has/have + past participle]
Examples:
  • You have seen that movie many times.
  • Have you seen that movie many times?
  • You have not seen that movie many times.

USE 1 Unspecified Time Before Now


We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.
Examples:
  • I have seen that movie twenty times.
  • I think I have met him once before.
  • There have been many earthquakes in California.
  • People have traveled to the Moon.
  • People have not traveled to Mars.
  • Have you read the book yet?
  • Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
  • A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
    B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.

How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect?

The concept of "unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners. It is best to associate Present Perfect with the following topics:

TOPIC 1 Experience

You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I have the experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have never had a certain experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific event.
Examples:
  • I have been to France. This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France. Maybe you have been there once, or several times.
  • I have been to France three times. You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
  • I have never been to France. This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to France.
  • I think I have seen that movie before.
  • He has never traveled by train.
  • Joan has studied two foreign languages.
  • A: Have you ever met him?
    B: No, I have not met him.

TOPIC 2 Change Over Time

We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that has happened over a period of time.
Examples:
  • You have grown since the last time I saw you.
  • The government has become more interested in arts education.
  • Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university since the Asian studies program was established.
  • My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.

TOPIC 3 Accomplishments

We often use the Present Perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity. You cannot mention a specific time.
Examples:
  • Man has walked on the Moon.
  • Our son has learned how to read.
  • Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.
  • Scientists have split the atom.

TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting

We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.
Examples:
  • James has not finished his homework yet.
  • Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
  • Bill has still not arrived.
  • The rain hasn't stopped.

TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times

We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.
Examples:
  • The army has attacked that city five times.
  • I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
  • We have had many major problems while working on this project.
  • She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.

Time Expressions with Present Perfect

When we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at some point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is not important.

Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this month, so far, up to now, etc.

Examples:

  • Have you been to Mexico in the last year?
  • I have seen that movie six times in the last month.
  • They have had three tests in the last week.
  • She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has worked for three different companies so far.
  • My car has broken down three times this week
 NOTICE:
"Last year" and "in the last year" are very different in meaning. "Last year" means the year before now, and it is considered a specific time which requires Simple Past. "In the last year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is not considered a specific time, so it requires Present Perfect.
Examples:
  • I went to Mexico last year. I went to Mexico in the calendar year before this one.
  • I have been to Mexico in the last year. I have been to Mexico at least once at some point between 365 days ago and now.

USE 2 Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)


With Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect.
Examples:
  • I have had a cold for two weeks.
  • She has been in England for six months.
  • Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.
Although the above use of Present Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
  • You have only seen that movie one time.
  • Have you only seen that movie one time?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

  • Many tourists have visited that castle. Active
  • That castle has been visited by many tourists. Passive
  •  TAKEN FROM www.englishpage.com