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Would you visit an airport just for fun? Present perfect vs past simple with so far and last summer

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches present perfect vs past simple for unfinished and finished time, with the floatplanes of Lake Hood in Alaska.

Grammar
Have or has + past participle for time that isn't over (So far we've seen twenty floatplanes.) against the past simple for finished time (I flew here on Monday.).
Topic
Lake Hood, a seaplane base beside Anchorage's main airport, and Alaska's small planes, which serve villages off the road system, with words such as taxi, runway and boarding pass.
Activities
Episode notes to read, a dialogue on the shore and a listener's voice message to hear, five self-checking drills, a booking chat and open boxes about flights.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Up, up and away!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: flying in AlaskaVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2This week on the show: an airport on a lake

    • Look at the photo: watching planes at Lake HoodPictureUnlock
    • Read the episode notes: Stories That TravelArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Live from Lake Hood

    • Listen to Riley and Darius at Lake HoodListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Listener's Take: Heather from AlaskaListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: so far this year vs last summer

    • Study the scheme: so far this year vs last summerGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: present perfect or past simpleFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Fill in the table: every personFill in the tableTry it
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Darius's field notesDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Your turn: book a ride!

    • Choose the right replies: book a floatplane rideChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: your flights and tripsOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairsMemory gameUnlock
    • Sort the verb forms into the correct columnsSort into columnsUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: so far or last summer?Fill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct questionQuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Riley's postChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the hosts' group chatDrag and dropUnlock

32 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Airport vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • runway
  • boarding pass
  • ski plane
  • nervous flyer
  • village
  • groceries
  • wilderness
  • plane spotter
  • right of way

Grammar: present perfect vs past simple

The choice between the two tenses comes down to one question: is the time finished? So far this week isn't, so it takes the present perfect: Darius has flown in a floatplane twice this week. Last summer and on Monday are over, so they take the past simple. At Lake Hood, learners match each time word to its tense, build both forms for every person and ask How many times…? and When did…?

So far this year… Last summer…

Is the time finished? No: present perfect (have / has + past participle). Yes: past simple.

Is the time finished?

So far, up to now, in my life and ever point at time that runs up to now: Up to now, I've watched from the shore. Yesterday, last…, ago and When…? close the time, so the past simple follows: He flew again yesterday.

Finished time or not?

pastnow
  • last summer: I flew to Alaska.
  • on Monday: we came here.
  • so far this week: he's flown twice.
  • now

Is the time finished?

No → present perfect

  • so far: We've seen ten so far.
  • up to now: Up to now, I've watched from the shore.
  • in my life: I've never seen a ski plane in my life.
  • How many times have you…?
  • this week / month / year, today (see the tip)
  • Have you ever…?

Yes → past simple

  • yesterday: He flew again yesterday.
  • last night / summer / year
  • two days ago
  • in 2019, on Monday
  • when I was ten
  • When did you…?

Have or has + past participle for every person

He, she and it take has, the rest have: It has taken off twice so far. Many past participles differ from the past simple: flew – flown, saw – seen; regular verbs end in -ed in both. For a visit, use been: I've been to Alaska.

Every person

WhoPresent perfect: positive ✅Present perfect: negative ❌Past simple
II have (I've) seen ten floatplanes so far.I haven't flown in one so far.I flew here on Monday.
youYou have (you've) taken a lot of photos so far.You haven't booked a ride so far.You took this photo an hour ago.
heHe has (he's) flown in a floatplane twice so far.He hasn't seen a bear so far.He first flew in one on Tuesday.
sheShe has (she's) watched planes every day this week.She hasn't flown in a floatplane so far.She closed her eyes at takeoff on Monday.
it (the plane)It has (it's) taken off twice so far.It hasn't taxied on the road so far.It took off ten minutes ago.
weWe have (we've) counted twenty floatplanes so far.We haven't seen a ski plane so far.We came to Alaska on Monday.
theyThey have (they've) flown to the village three times this year.They haven't missed a flight so far.They flew home last summer.

Verb forms

Base formPast simplePast participle
bewas / werebeen
comecamecome
flyflewflown
gowentgone (for a visit: been to)
loselostlost
makemademade
readreadread
rideroderidden
seesawseen
sendsentsent
take, take offtook, took offtaken, taken off
taxi, land, watch (regular)taxied, landed, watchedtaxied, landed, watched

How many times…? or When did…?

How many times have you flown this year? counts up to now: Four times so far. When asks for a finished moment, so it takes did: When did you first fly? – When I was ten. Short answers repeat have, has or did: No, she hasn't.

QuestionAnswer
How many times have you flown this year?Four times so far.
Have you ever flown in a floatplane?Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.
Has Riley flown in one so far?No, she hasn't.
When did you first fly?I first flew when I was ten.
Did you fly here on Monday?Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.

This year and today in American English

With this year, today, recently, already and yet, Americans often use the past simple too, so I flew twice this year is fine. So far and up to now keep the present perfect, and a finished time, such as in 2019, always takes the past simple.

American English: this year, today, already, yet

With this year, today, recently, already and yet, Americans often use the past simple too: I flew twice this year. That's fine! But with so far, up to now and How many times… in your life?, use the present perfect. With a finished time (yesterday, last…, ago, in 2019, When…?), always use the past simple.

At Lake Hood

  • So far we've seen twenty floatplanes.
  • Darius has flown in a floatplane twice this week.
  • He first flew in one on Tuesday.
  • How many times have you flown this year?
  • When did you first fly?
  • Riley hasn't flown in a floatplane so far.

Common mistakes

  • I've flown there last summer.

    I flew there last summer.

    last summer is finished: past simple

  • When have you landed?

    When did you land?

    When…? asks about a finished time

  • I've went to Alaska.

    I've been to Alaska.

    have + past participle (been, gone), not went

  • Yesterday I've seen a ski plane.

    Yesterday I saw a ski plane.

    yesterday is finished: past simple

More lessons on this grammar: Present perfect lessons and exercises · Past simple lessons and exercises

Try the present perfect vs past simple exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 18 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • talk about time that isn't finished with have or has + past participle: So far we've seen twenty floatplanes. Riley hasn't flown in a floatplane so far.
  • use the past simple for finished time such as yesterday, last summer and two days ago: He flew again yesterday. We came to Alaska on Monday.
  • ask and answer How many times have you flown this year? – Four times so far. and When did you first fly? – When I was ten.
  • avoid the common slips: I flew there last summer, not I've flown there last summer; I've been to Alaska, not I've went to Alaska

Lesson 1 opens Travel smart, unit 1 of English B1.1 · Stories That Travel, and introduces the three hosts of a Kansas City podcast. It builds on A2.2 lessons 1 and 2, where the present perfect described experiences and stood against the past simple with yesterday and ago. Lesson 2 adds for and since. A field trip still in progress suits both tenses: what the hosts have seen so far this week, and when each of them flew.

Students spin a wheel of questions about flying, then learn twelve words, from take off and taxi to right of way, with pictures and audio. They read the show's episode notes on Lake Hood, with true-or-false statements and a quiz, then hear Riley and Darius on the shore and a voice message from Heather, who flies home to a village with no road; both are AI-voiced. Five self-checking drills follow the scheme, among them a table that puts every person into both tenses and Darius's field notes. Students then book a floatplane ride in a chat and open boxes about their own trips.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a gap-fill with the lesson's words, a memory game and a sort of past forms and past participles, then gaps for so far or last summer, sentences to put in order, a question for each answer, Riley's post after her ride and the hosts' group chat.

Grammar:
present perfect · past simple · so far / up to now · unfinished vs finished time
Topic:
Lake Hood · Anchorage · Alaska · floatplanes · airports · travel experiences · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Start with two columns on the board, finished and not finished. Students call out time phrases, such as so far, last summer, two days ago and up to now, and place each one before they see the scheme.
  • Ask about places with no road before the episode notes: how do people, mail and groceries get there? Students guess, then read to check what the small planes carry.
  • Play the dialogue on the shore twice: first to find out who has flown in a floatplane and who hasn't, then to catch every time phrase, which students sort into the two columns.
  • Run a ride-desk role-play after the chat: one student asks Have you ever flown in a small plane? and When did you last fly?, the other answers about real trips, then they swap.

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The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, each built around a true story. Riley, Jade and Darius make a podcast in Kansas City about true American stories, and each lesson tells one, from a seaplane airport in Alaska to the Marfa Lights of West Texas. Learners compare the present perfect with the past simple, use future forms, modals and quantifiers, and give their own opinions. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Travel smart

    the present perfect vs the past simple, for and since, indirect questions, be used to and get used to

    1. Lesson 1 · you're hereWould you visit an airport just for fun?Present perfect vs past simple
    2. Lesson 2Would you sleep in a 300-year-old inn?For and since with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 3My suitcase has gone to Honolulu!Indirect questions for polite requests
    4. Lesson 4Can you practice a flight?Be used to and get used to

  2. Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs

    will have to and won't be allowed to, the present perfect continuous, simple vs continuous, would vs used to

    1. Lesson 5Would you jump off a moving boat for a job?Will have to, will be able to and will be allowed to
    2. Lesson 6Working from anywherePresent perfect continuous
    3. Lesson 7Could you be a camp counselor?Present perfect simple vs continuous
    4. Lesson 8Would you live in a lighthouse?Would vs used to for the past

  3. Unit 3 Space and discovery

    it's + adjective + to, What's it like to…?, future forms compared, future time clauses, too and enough + to

    1. Lesson 9What's it like to work in space?It's + adjective + to and What's it like to…?
    2. Lesson 10Who will walk on the Moon next?Future forms compared by meaning
    3. Lesson 11A message for the starsFuture time clauses
    4. Lesson 12A helicopter on Mars?Too and enough + to-infinitive

  4. Unit 4 Life online

    the more…, the more…, be supposed to, ought to and had better, let, make and allow

    1. Lesson 13The internet's first word was “LO”Comparative and comparative; the more…, the more…
    2. Lesson 14Who sent the first spam?Be supposed to for rules, expectations and plans
    3. Lesson 15Is your password really safe?Ought to and had better for advice and warnings
    4. Lesson 16Who writes Wikipedia?Let, make and allow + someone

  5. Unit 5 Screen and page

    -ed and -ing adjectives, gradable and extreme adjectives, present tenses for a plot, articles for things in general

    1. Lesson 17Why do readers still love Nancy Drew?-ed and -ing adjectives for feelings
    2. Lesson 18Movie night in your carGradable and extreme adjectives
    3. Lesson 19Would you review a book on TV?Present tenses to tell a plot
    4. Lesson 20Where are the books about girls like me?Articles for things in general and specific things

  6. Unit 6 Green living

    few and a few, little and a little, all, most, some and none, each and every, fewer and less

    1. Lesson 21A year's trash in one jar?Few, a few, little and a little
    2. Lesson 22No food in the trash!All, most, some and none (of)
    3. Lesson 23A farm in the middle of DetroitEach and every
    4. Lesson 24A trash collector with googly eyesFewer and less

  7. Unit 7 Sporting moments

    could, was able to and managed to, for, during and while, present tenses for live commentary, question tags

    1. Lesson 25From a leg brace to three goldsCould, was able to and managed to
    2. Lesson 26A doctor and an Olympic champion?For, during and while
    3. Lesson 27Who's that runner coming from behind?Present simple and continuous for live commentary
    4. Lesson 28Why do high jumpers go backward?Question tags

  8. Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds

    both… and, either… or and neither… nor, uncountable nouns, how sure we are about the future, unless, as long as and in case

    1. Lesson 29A calendar made of posts?Both… and, either… or, neither… nor
    2. Lesson 30What was the Great House for?Uncountable abstract nouns
    3. Lesson 31What does Newspaper Rock say?Certainty about the future
    4. Lesson 32What are the Marfa Lights?Unless, as long as and in case

Questions about this lesson

What's the difference between the present perfect and the past simple?
The present perfect is for time that isn't over, and the past simple is for finished time. Darius has flown in a floatplane twice this week counts up to now, while He first flew in one on Tuesday names a day that is over. The B1 lesson Would you visit an airport just for fun? on edio.ai builds its grammar chapter on that one question: is the time finished?
When do you use the present perfect instead of the past simple?
Use the present perfect with time phrases that run up to now: so far, up to now, in my life and How many times…? Use the past simple with a finished time: yesterday, last summer, two days ago, in 2019, on Monday, when I was ten and When…? So it's Up to now, we have seen only one plane spotter, but Two years ago, Darius lost his boarding pass.
What are some examples of the present perfect vs the past simple?
These pairs come from Would you visit an airport just for fun?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, each with a time phrase that decides the tense: So far we've seen twenty floatplanes, but We came to Alaska on Monday; Riley hasn't flown in a floatplane so far, but She closed her eyes at takeoff on Monday; The yellow floatplane has taken off three times so far today, but It took off ten minutes ago.
Is it "When have you landed?" or "When did you land?"
It's When did you land?: a When question asks about a finished moment, so it takes the past simple. A finished time phrase works the same way: I flew there last summer, not I've flown there last summer; Yesterday I saw a ski plane, not Yesterday I've seen a ski plane. The sentence quiz in Would you visit an airport just for fun?, an edio.ai lesson for B1, sets each trap beside the right sentence.
Can you use the past simple with "this year" in American English?
Yes. Americans often use the past simple with this year, today, recently, already and yet, so I flew twice this year is fine, and so is I've flown twice this year. So far, up to now and How many times… in your life? still take the present perfect, and a finished time takes the past simple. The scheme in Would you visit an airport just for fun? on edio.ai has a tip on this.
What is Lake Hood Seaplane Base?
Lake Hood is a seaplane base in Anchorage, Alaska, next to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, and the FAA's Alaska office calls it the world's largest and busiest seaplane base. Floatplanes use the water in summer, and in winter the lake freezes and planes use skis; a gravel runway serves planes with wheels all year. In 2016, Alaska's transportation department said 82 percent of the state's communities aren't on the road system, so small planes carry people, groceries and mail.
What airport vocabulary should B1 students know?
Start with the words for each step of a flight: you show your boarding pass, the plane taxis slowly to the runway, then it takes off. A nervous flyer feels afraid on planes, and a plane spotter watches them as a hobby. For Alaska, add floatplane, ski plane and right of way: near Lake Hood, planes go first on the roads. All twelve words in Would you visit an airport just for fun? come with pictures and audio.
How do I teach the present perfect vs the past simple to B1 students?
Teach the time phrase first and the tense second. Put so far, up to now and How many times…? on one side of a timeline and yesterday, last summer and ago on the other, then let students sort real sentences about their week. Would you visit an airport just for fun? on edio.ai moves from episode notes and a dialogue full of both tenses to a timeline scheme, five drills and a booking chat.
What's a good game for practicing the present perfect and the past simple?
Boxes of questions about real trips keep both tenses in play: a student opens one, reads a prompt such as How many times have you flown so far this year? Where did you go? and answers both halves aloud. Another box asks for three things done so far this week and two from last weekend. For a quick race, call out a time phrase and let teams shout the right tense.
What's good homework for the present perfect vs the past simple?
Good homework mixes verb forms, time phrases and a short real text: a sort of past simple forms and past participles, gaps for so far or last summer, word order, and a question to match each answer, such as When did you first fly? for When I was ten. In Would you visit an airport just for fun? on edio.ai, all ten homework tasks check themselves, with Riley's post after her ride among them.
How do you practice the present perfect and past simple one-to-one?
Interview the student about this week, then last week: What have you done so far this week?, then What did you do last weekend? Swap roles, and correct only the tense. The chat in Would you visit an airport just for fun?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, needs no partner: the student books a floatplane ride and picks I came on Monday over I've come on Monday.
Are there interactive exercises for the present perfect vs the past simple?
Yes: tables and chats that mark each answer at once. Without an account, this page plays three parts of Would you visit an airport just for fun?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Riley and Darius's dialogue on the shore of Lake Hood, a table that puts every person into the present perfect and the past simple, and a chat in which the student books a floatplane ride. Other parts open with an account.
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