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ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR A2

Present Perfect vs Past Simple ESL Lesson Plan (A2, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute A2 lesson on Present Perfect vs Past Simple, built round the theme "Sharing News".

  • CEFR A2
  • 60 minutes
  • Teenagers and adults
  • Grammar
  • Perfect Tenses
  • Present Perfect vs Past Simple

About this lesson

Who it is for. Elementary students who know the present perfect for experiences and the past simple. They mix the two tenses and use time words like yesterday with the present perfect.

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

At a glance

Level
CEFR A2 (Elementary)
Learners
Teenagers and adults
Length
60 minutes. For 45 minutes, run only "Pairs" of the two tasks in "Freer practice" and cut "Feedback and wrap-up" to board-based error correction.
Skills
Speaking and writing
Language focus
Grammar: Present Perfect vs Past Simple (just, already, yet)
Framework
PPP (presentation, practice, production)
Materials
Handout 1 (social media posts), Handout 2 (practice), Handout 3 (news cards).
Preparation
About 10 minutes: print Handouts 1 to 3, one per learner, and read the language analysis. The answer key is for you, not the class.

Aims

Main aim. To clarify and practise the difference between the present perfect (news, no time, recent with just / already / yet) and the past simple (finished time, details).

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can share a piece of news in the present perfect and give or ask for details in the past simple, e.g. I've bought a new phone! I bought it yesterday.

  • Subsidiary aim. To develop fluency in sharing news and asking follow-up questions.
  • Subsidiary aim. To read social media posts for specific information.

Language analysis

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

Meaning and use

Present perfectPast simple
News, no time given: I've lost my keys!Finished time given: I lost my keys yesterday.
Recent actions with just: I've just finished.Details and questions about the news: Where did you lose them?
already (sooner than expected): She's already left.Time words: yesterday, last week, in 2022, ago, when
yet (questions and negatives): Have you finished yet? I haven't finished yet.
Unfinished time: this week, today, this year

Word position

  • just and already go between have and the participle: I've just eaten. She's already gone.
  • yet goes at the end: Have you done it yet? I haven't done it yet.

been vs gone

  • She's been to Paris. (She went and came back.)
  • She's gone to Paris. (She is there now.)

Pronunciation

  • I've just /aɪv dʒʌst/ – the 've is short but must be heard.
  • yet at the end often has rising intonation in questions: Have you finished yet? ↗

Concept-checking questions

  • I've lost my keys! Do I have my keys now? (No.) · Do we know when I lost them? (No.) · Is it news? (Yes.)
  • I lost my keys yesterday. Do we know when? (Yes, yesterday.) · Is yesterday finished? (Yes.) So which tense? (Past simple.)

Anticipated problems and solutions

ProblemSolution
Present perfect with finished time (I have seen him yesterday).Time-word sort; rule on the board: finished time = past simple.
Did you finish yet?Show yet belongs with the present perfect (in British English).
Wrong position of just / already.Colour-code the position in board examples.

Board plan

Left: time wordsCentre: grammarRight: positions
PRESENT PERFECT: just, already, yet, ever, never, this week, today · PAST SIMPLE: yesterday, last week, in 2022, two days ago, when
NEWS (no time): I've lost my keys! → DETAILS (time): I lost them yesterday. Where did you lose them?
have just + pp · have already + pp · haven't + pp ... yet · Have ... + pp ... yet?

CEFR A2 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults

Procedure: Present Perfect vs Past Simple, step by step

Warm-up5 minutes · Whole class, then pairs

Aim: To generate interest in sharing news.

Act excited. Say: "Guess what! I've bought a new bicycle!" Let students react. Ask: "What questions can you ask me?" Answer naturally in the past simple: "I bought it on Saturday. It cost 40,000 rupees."

Ask: "Do you have any news this week?" Students tell a partner (1 minute).

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class

Aim: To present the present perfect and past simple in context and clarify the difference, including just, already, yet and been / gone.

Part A: Reading (6 minutes)

Give out Handout 1. Say: "Read the posts. What is each person's news? Three minutes."

ICQs: "How many people?" (Four.) "What do you find?" (Their news.)

Pairs check; then students answer the four questions. Check as a class.

Part B: Noticing (3 minutes)

Say: "Underline present perfect verbs with a straight line and past simple verbs with a wavy line." Pairs compare.

Part C: Clarification (11 minutes)

Meaning. Board Priya's post: I've passed my driving test! I took it this morning. Ask the CCQs. Elicit the rule: news with no time → present perfect; details and finished time → past simple.

Time words. Pairs sort the time words in Handout 2, Exercise A. Check and build the left of the board.

just / already / yet. Board examples from the posts. Ask: "Where does just go? Where does yet go? Do we use yet in positive sentences?" (No: questions and negatives.)

been vs gone. Board Kamal has gone to Jaffna and Kamal has been to Jaffna. Ask: "Where is Kamal now?"

Pronunciation. Drill: I've just passed my test! Have you finished yet? She's already left.

Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class

Aim: To practise choosing the correct tense and placing just, already, yet.

Say: "Now do Exercises B and C on Handout 2. Six minutes."

Pairs compare and explain: "Yesterday is finished time, so past simple."

Check as a class.

Freer practice18 minutes · Pairs, then mingle

Aim: To use the present perfect for news and the past simple for details in fluent conversation.

Give each student two news cards (Handout 3) or let them use real news. Model with a strong student: "I've adopted a puppy!" "Really? When did you get it?" "I got it on Sunday."

Pairs (7 minutes): students share their news in the present perfect; the partner asks at least three past simple questions. Swap.

ICQs: "Which tense for the news?" (Present perfect.) "Which tense for the questions?" (Past simple.)

Mingle (7 minutes): students share one real piece of news from this week with three different people. Each listener asks one question.

Ask: "Who had the best news?" Students report: "Ravi has adopted a puppy! He got it on Sunday."

Monitor throughout and note errors.

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To give feedback and consolidate.

Board four sentences heard in Stage 4 (two with errors). Students correct them.

Quick test: say a time expression; students say present perfect or past simple.

Set the homework.

Homework Write a social media post (80 words) with a piece of news. Add three comments from friends asking questions, and your replies.

PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.

Differentiation

Support
Provide question starters: When did you ...? Where did you ...? How much did it ...? Who did you ...? Allow weaker students to read the news cards directly.
Stretch
Stronger students use just, already, yet at least once each in the freer practice. They write a short social media post with three comments and replies.

Adapting the lesson

ForWhat to change
A large class (40 or more)Keep the pairwork in "Freer practice" in fixed pairs rather than a mingle, and take feedback from four or five pairs instead of the whole room. Run "Pairs" once, with two pairs reporting, rather than hearing every pair. Monitor one half of the room during "Controlled practice" and the other half during "Freer practice".
A class with no photocopierPut the exercises from Handout 2: Practice on the board for learners to copy into their notebooks, and read any text aloud twice instead of printing it. Handout 3: News Cards (cut up) works read out from the front: learners note what they need rather than holding a card. The board plan above is this lesson's minimum - with that on the board, it runs on no paper at all.
An online classSend Handouts 1 to 3 in the chat before the lesson and put the board plan on a shared slide. Use breakout rooms for "Pairs" and visit each room once. Have learners type the controlled answers in the chat, so you see every answer at once instead of nominating.
A different age groupWith young learners, cut the writing at the end and give that time to the speaking task; keep the drilling short, and let them draw or mime where the plan allows it. With adults, keep the writing and ask for a short spoken summary in place of anything drawn or mimed.

Checking learning

Students introduce news with the present perfect and give details in the past simple. 8 out of 10 or better on Handout 2, Exercise B. Correct position of just, already, yet in written practice.

Teacher's reflection

Did students understand the news / details distinction? Did they understand yet in questions and negatives?

Handout 1: Social Media Posts

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Read the posts. What is each person's news?

Priya: I've passed my driving test! I took it this morning and I was SO nervous. Now I need a car! Comment from Kasun: Congratulations! Did you pass first time? Priya: No, I failed last year, but I've practised a lot since then.

Malik: Has anyone seen my black cat? She went out on Monday and she hasn't come home yet. Please call me!

Shalini: We've just moved into our new flat! We moved on Saturday. I haven't unpacked my boxes yet, but I've already put my plants on the balcony.

Ravi: Bad news: I've broken my phone. I dropped it in the canteen yesterday. I've already ordered a new one.

Answer the questions.

  • When did Priya take her test? ______________________________
  • Has Malik's cat come home? ______________________________
  • What hasn't Shalini done yet? ______________________________
  • When did Ravi break his phone? ______________________________
PersonNews
Priya
Malik
Shalini
Ravi

Handout 2: Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Sort the time words.

yesterday · just · last week · already · in 2022 · yet · two days ago · this week · ever · when I was a child

B. Choose the present perfect or the past simple.

C. Put the word in the correct place.

  • I ______________ (lose) my keys! Can you help me look?
  • We ______________ (go) to Nuwara Eliya last month.
  • ______________ you ______________ (finish) your homework yet?
  • She ______________ (start) her new job two weeks ago.
  • I ______________ (just / see) your message.
  • ______________ you ______________ (see) the match last night?
  • They ______________ (already / eat). They aren't hungry.
  • He ______________ (not / call) me yet.
  • My grandparents ______________ (get) married in 1975.
  • I ______________ (never / be) to Japan.
  • I have finished my lunch. (just) → ______________________________
  • Have you done your homework? (yet) → ______________________________
  • She has left the office. (already) → ______________________________
  • We haven't decided. (yet) → ______________________________
Present perfectPast simple

Handout 3: News Cards (cut up)

Useful questions: When did you ...? Where did you ...? How did you ...? Who did you ... with? How much did it cost? How did you feel?

You've bought a new phone.You've lost your wallet.
You've passed an important exam.You've adopted a puppy.
You've broken your arm.You've won a competition.
You've met a famous cricketer.You've started a new hobby.
You've moved house.You've found some money in the street.
You've been to a wedding.You've learned to drive.

Answer Key

Handout 1

Handout 2, Exercise A

Handout 2, Exercise B

Handout 2, Exercise C

Common errors to watch for

  • Priya: she's passed her driving test · Malik: his cat has disappeared / hasn't come home · Shalini: she's moved into a new flat · Ravi: he's broken his phone
  • This morning · 2. No, not yet · 3. She hasn't unpacked her boxes · 4. Yesterday
  • Present perfect: just, already, yet, this week, ever
  • Past simple: yesterday, last week, in 2022, two days ago, when I was a child
  • have lost · 2. went · 3. Have ... finished · 4. started · 5. have just seen · 6. Did ... see · 7. have already eaten · 8. hasn't called · 9. got · 10. have never been
  • I have just finished my lunch. · 2. Have you done your homework yet? · 3. She has already left the office. · 4. We haven't decided yet.
ErrorCorrection
I have seen him yesterday.I saw him yesterday.
Did you finish yet?Have you finished yet?
I have finished already my work.I have already finished my work.
He has gone to London three times.He has been to London three times.

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About this lesson plan

Written by RCF English to the RCF English international standard: levelled by the CEFR, original throughout, and suitable for classrooms in any country. Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

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