📸 Game homework · A2–B1 · 6–8 min
📘 Fits Life Vision Elementary, Unit 8
Present perfect vs past simple: a game homework
Town gossip: churros with Marta, Lucía’s news and Don Ramón on the bench. Have you ever…? When did you…?
holatown.com/play?learn=en&hw=present-perfect-past-simple
The grammar in 3 lines
- Present perfect (have/has + past participle) links the past to now, with no finished time: Have you ever tried churros? I haven’t finished yet.
- Past simple tells a finished story with a time: I tried them yesterday. She moved here two years ago.
- The time word decides it: ever, never, yet, already, for, since with the present perfect; yesterday, last week, ago, in 2019 with the past simple.
| In the game | Why |
|---|---|
| Have you ever tried churros? | experience, no time: present perfect |
| I tried them yesterday. | finished time: past simple |
| He has lived here since 1980. | since + a starting point |
| When did she arrive? | when asks for a time: past simple |
Why a game works for present perfect vs past simple
The question tells them which tense to answer in
Neighbours ask “Have you ever…?” and then “When…?”, the exact switch students get wrong in essays.
Mistakes are funny, not red ink
A wrong tense gets a confused reaction from the neighbour, then a second try.
Short, with a fair score
Eight grammar moments and Carmen’s five-question check. Only first tries count.
Teacher instructions
- Revise the difference in class: finished time vs no time, and the signal words. In Life Vision Elementary it goes with Unit 8.
- Send the homework link to the class chat or your LMS.
- Students type their name and play until the “Homework done” card (6–8 minutes).
- They send you a screenshot of that card: name, score, date and a check code.
- Next lesson: ask three students to retell one piece of gossip, once in each tense.
Homework link: https://holatown.com/play?learn=en&hw=present-perfect-past-simple
What students send you: A “Homework done ✓” card with the student’s name, the topic, the score (first tries only), stars, the date and time, the time spent, a check code (HT-…) and a “To review” list of their first-try mistakes. You can check a code with the student’s name and score: same name, date and score always give the same code.
For the board: “Play the Hola Town mission at holatown.com/play?learn=en&hw=present-perfect-past-simple and send me a screenshot of the ‘Homework done’ screen.”
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Join the free pilotQuestions about this homework
Is this good for B1 students?
Yes for A2 to B1. Stronger B1 students finish it fast, so ask them to aim for a full score on the first try.
Does it cover for, since, yet and already?
Yes: ever, never, yet, for and since come up in the conversations, against yesterday and ago.
Which coursebook unit does it go with?
Life Vision Elementary, Unit 8 (present perfect affirmative, negative and questions). It fits any A2–B1 course.
Is this homework free?
Yes. Teachers and tutors in our pilot (15 places) get every homework mission free for their students. Join from the teachers page.
More game homework
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Countable and uncountable nouns
Shopping for a picnic: make the list with Carmen, buy apples, bread and cheese from Paco, milk and sugar from Marta.
📘 Fits Life Vision Elementary, Unit 2
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Prepositions in, on, at
The party invitation: plan Lucía’s party, invite Carmen and Marta, then find Don Ramón at the bus stop.
📘 Fits Life Vision Elementary, Units 1 and 4