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ESL forum > Ask for help > Help plzzzz    

Help plzzzz



caren_630
Egypt

Help plzzzz
 

I need help please to answer the following questions and the reason why

1. He ...................... there for several years.  (worked - has worked).

2. Jenny ................. my best friend since we were eight. (is - has been).
 
3. My friend is a writer. He ...........................  many books. (writes - has written).
 
4. Kathy travels a lot. She ............................. many countries.  (visits - has visited).
 
5. Molly and Henry ......................... us at Christmas. (visited - have visited).
 
 
Are these sentences correct?
 
  1. Her father �s annoyed with her. She hasn �t been to see her grandfather for ages. (to see??)
  2. Sorry I �m so late. I �ve been to look at a new flat. (to look??) 
 
 

23 Apr 2015      





Matthew@ELSP
Japan

Hello.
 
Apart from number 2 they are just fine.
 
For number 2, one of your sentence options is fine, but the other is not.
 
"since", when we use it to talk about time (as opposed to a reason), shows that something has continued from a point in the past until now.
 
So, we cannot say "Jenny is my best friend since we were 8".
We must use have been" if we use "since" in this sentence.
 
The other sentences, including the examples of "to look" and  "to see" are just fine.

Have a nice day :)

23 Apr 2015     



Peter Hardy
Australia

In my humble opinion the answers are:
1) has worked, 2) has been, 3) has written, 4) has visited, 5) visited.
 
1) She hasn �t seen her grandfather for ages
2) I �ve been looking at a new flat (apartment) - Present perfect continuous as looking at a new flat is more of an action.
 
We use the Present Perfect when something happened, or started, in the indefinate past (we don �t know when, and it �s not important) and it �flows � on to the present, i.e. there is a result or outcome, like experiences, unfinished actions.
We may use keywords like: already, yet, just, since, for or �for many years �.
Your fifth sentence uses a more definite past, Christmas, and as such we use the past simple.
Please note that Americans tend to use the past simple more often where British English uses the present perfect. Hence these forms are at times very confusing.
 
Hope this helps. Cheers, Peter
 
 

23 Apr 2015     



caren_630
Egypt

Thx Peter and Mattew

23 Apr 2015     



douglas
United States


 
 
1. He .....has worked/worked..... there for several years.  (worked - has worked). -both are okay, the first indicates he still works there, the second that he worked there at a non-specified time in the past
 
2. Jenny ..has been............... my best friend since we were eight. (is - has been). she still is your friend (incomplete past)
 
3. My friend is a writer. He ....has written.......................  many books. (writes - has written). he will probably write more in the future
 
4. Kathy travels a lot. She ....has visited/ visits....... many countries.  (visits - has visited). both work
 
5. Molly and Henry ..visited/have visited....................... us at Christmas. (visited - have visited). visited: completed action at a specific time in the past; have visited: they �ve done it at some (unspecified) time in the past
 
 
  1. Her father ´s annoyed with her. She hasn ´t been to see her grandfather for ages. (to see??) -sounds fine
  2. Sorry I ´m so late. I ´ve been to look at a new flat. (to look??) -not really wrong, but sounds awkward to a US native speaker

Cheers,
Douglas
 

24 Apr 2015     



yanogator
United States

I agree with Douglas that for 1 and 5, both options are correct. I would add for 5, though, that "visited" works better for a stand-alone sentence. In this one, the present perfect implies that there is more to say about it.

 

They have visited us at Christmas, but they  don �t usually travel in December.
 
Bruce 

24 Apr 2015     



cunliffe
United Kingdom

I agree with Douglas and I agree with Bruce about the Christmas visit. In a test, the required answer would be �visited. �

24 Apr 2015