Two ways to talk about the past
Señales que eligen el tiempo

| Usa past simple | Usa present perfect |
|---|---|
| yesterday, last year, in 2019 | ever, never, just, already, yet |
| two days ago, when I was a kid | today, this week, this year |
| una hora o momento concreto | for three years, since 2020 |
| The film ended at nine. | I have seen that film twice. |
¿Está conectado al presente?
- Past simple
El momento ya cerró: la línea del tiempo queda cortada del presente.
- Present perfect
El pasado sigue unido al presente: importa el resultado, no la fecha.
- La pregunta clave
Si nombras un momento terminado (in 2019, yesterday), vas al past simple. Si no, al present perfect. ¿Qué tiempo necesita: I lived in Leon in 2019, o I have lived in Leon for years?
for y since, sin error
- for + duración: for ten years, for a long time, for two hours.
- since + punto de inicio: since 2015, since Monday, since I was twelve.
- Van con present perfect: "I have studied English for three years / since 2021."
She (live) in Mexico City since 2020.
They (travel) to Spain last summer.
Compruébalo
Which sentence uses the present perfect correctly?
Si mencionas "in 2019", lo natural es usar present perfect.
Une cada oración con el tiempo que le corresponde
Autoevaluación del PDA: participios, past perfect, voz pasiva e itinerario
Aquí se mira lo que ya fuiste acertando. Pulsa «Comprobar» para saber si puedes seguir.
Write three sentences about your life: one experience using present perfect, one finished event using past simple with a time, and one "for/since" sentence.
Piensa en algo que sigue contando hoy y algo que ya cerraste.
Tu texto se guarda sólo en este dispositivo.
Regular and irregular: two participle teams
Group the past participles in a list of two teams: regular (worked, studied, played) versus irregular (be–been, go–gone, see–seen, do–done). The participle of regular verbs adds -ed and matches the past simple; irregular participles change their stem and must be memorized in families with a similar sound (sing–sung, swim–swum, drive–driven). Add three verbs more to each team and check your list against the appendix of the book.
Speaking: a class survey
Oral production: walk around the classroom and interview five classmates in English — "Have you ever traveled alone?" "Have you seen that movie?" — take notes on their answers and then deliver a short spoken report to the group: "Two of five classmates have tried sushi." Speaking out loud lets you verify your present perfect in real conversation before you write it down.
Ampliación del programa: participios, pasado perfecto, voz pasiva e itinerarios
1. Inventario de participios: los dos equipos
El participio pasado es la tercera forma del verbo, la que acompaña siempre a un auxiliar (have/has/had, was/were). Con verbos REGULARES es idéntico al past simple y se forma añadiendo -ed: work → worked, study → studied (si la raíz termina en consonante + y, la y se convierte en ied), travel → traveled. Con verbos IRREGULARES cambia la raíz y hay que aprenderlo de memoria, normalmente por familias con el mismo sonido: sing-sang-sung, swim-swam-swum, drink-drank-drunk; y con terminación -en: write-written, take-taken, speak-spoken, see-seen. La tabla es tu inventario de trabajo: tápala con la mano y comprueba si recuerdas el participio.
| Infinitivo | Past simple | Past participle | Equipo |
|---|---|---|---|
| work | worked | worked | Regular (-ed) |
| study | studied | studied | Regular (-ed) |
| travel | traveled | traveled | Regular (-ed) |
| visit | visited | visited | Regular (-ed) |
| paint | painted | painted | Regular (-ed) |
| make | made | made | Irregular |
| go | went | gone | Irregular |
| see | saw | seen | Irregular |
| do | did | done | Irregular |
| write | wrote | written | Irregular |
| take | took | taken | Irregular |
| speak | spoke | spoken | Irregular |
| sing | sang | sung | Irregular |
| swim | swam | swum | Irregular |
| eat | ate | eaten | Irregular |
| buy | bought | bought | Irregular |
| be | was / were | been | Irregular |
Clasifica cada forma verbal en su equipo. Pista: si coincide con el past simple y termina en -ed, es regular.
Arrastra cada ficha a su categoría (o tócala y luego toca la categoría). También puedes usar el teclado.
2. Pasado perfecto: had + participio
El presente perfecto conecta una experiencia con el presente (I have finished). El PASADO PERFECTO hace lo mismo pero dentro del pasado: sitúa una acción por delante de otra acción pasada. La fórmula es idéntica, solo cambia el auxiliar: had + past participle. «She had gone to the store before the rain started» (ella ya había ido a la tienda cuando empezó la lluvia). Con los regulares el participio se ve igual que el past simple (had visited); con los irregulares es donde el inventario anterior se vuelve imprescindible: had gone, had seen, had written, had been. Los marcadores típicos son before, after, by the time y already.
When I got to the party, they (already / eat) all the cake.
Which sentence is in the past perfect?
3. Voz pasiva: was / were + participio
| Active voice (past simple) | Passive voice (was/were + participle) |
|---|---|
| A Japanese company made this phone. | This phone was made in Japan. |
| Leonardo da Vinci✦ painted the Mona Lisa. | The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. |
| They built that bridge in 1960. | That bridge was built in 1960. |
| Graham Bell invented the telephone. | The telephone was invented by Graham Bell. |
| Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. | Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. |
| The Mexica built Templo Mayor. | Templo Mayor was built by the Mexica. |
This phone (make) in Japan.
The Mona Lisa (paint) by Leonardo da Vinci.
Which sentence is in the passive voice?
La voz pasiva en pasado se forma con was / were + pasado participio del verbo principal.
«It was made in Japan» está en voz activa porque el sujeto (it) hace la acción.
4. El itinerario: la matriz que pide el programa
El PDA sugiere los itinerarios o agendas como estrategia: matrices escritas que se leen, se escuchan, se escriben y se narran a los pares. Un itinerario es perfecto para este tema porque obliga a usar los cuatro tiempos juntos: el present perfect para la experiencia que ya tienes («I have visited the museum»), el past simple para el momento cerrado («I arrived on Monday»), el past perfect para lo que ocurrió antes de otra cosa («We had visited five sites by the last day») y la pasiva para los datos del lugar («Templo Mayor was built by the Mexica»). Lee la matriz de ejemplo en voz alta con tu equipo y luego construyan la suya.
| Día | Destino | Present perfect (experiencia) | Past simple (momento cerrado) | Voz pasiva (dato del lugar) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico City | I have visited the National Museum of Anthropology. | I arrived there on Monday morning. | Templo Mayor was built by the Mexica. |
| 2 | Oaxaca | I have tried the local food. | We traveled there by bus on Sunday. | Monte Alban was founded about 2,500 years ago. |
| 3 | Palenque | I have seen the waterfalls of Agua Azul. | We took photos at noon. | The Maya temple was built more than 1,300 years ago. |
| 4 | Chichen Itza | I have walked around the Great Ball Court. | We got there early in the morning. | El Castillo was built around the year 1000. |
| 5 | Veracruz | I have swum in the Gulf of Mexico. | We finished the trip in the afternoon. | The fortress of San Juan de Ulua was built by the Spanish. |
Lee el itinerario, día 3: The Maya temple (build) more than 1,300 years ago.
By the last day of the itinerary, we (visit) five archaeological sites.
Completa la pregunta que le haces a tu companero sobre un dia cerrado del itinerario: "___ you visit Palenque on Day 3?"
En equipo, escriban un itinerario de cuatro dias con un destino real. Cada dia debe tener: una oracion en present perfect (experiencia), una en past simple con momento concreto, una en past perfect y una en voz pasiva con was/were + participio. Despues leelo en voz alta a otro equipo y marquen juntos los participios que usaron.
Tu texto se guarda sólo en este dispositivo.
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