Exercise 1 Present Perfect and Past Simple Complete the text with the Past Simple or the Present Perfect form of the verbs in brackets. Carla Brown (1) _has worked_ (worked) in marketing for 10 years. She (2) (study) marketing at college, and then (3) (find) a job with a small advertising agency in Manchester. Since then she (4) (5) ago, she (6) (change) her job several times and she (live) in many different places. Three years (start) working for Jerome and Jerome, a big company with offices all over the world. She (7) (be) a manager with the company for eighteen months. The company has clients in the USA, and Carla (8) (be) there several times on business. Last year she (9) (spend) six months in their New York office.
She studied marketing at college. This means that she went to college and took courses in marketing. The verb "study" is in the Past Simple tense because the action of studying at college is a completed action in the past.
She then found a job with a small advertising agency in Manchester. This means that after finishing her studies, she was able to get a job with a small advertising agency in Manchester. The verb "find" is in the Past Simple tense because finding a job is a specific completed action in the past.
Since then, she has changed her job several times. This means that after finding her first job, Carla has switched jobs multiple times. The phrase "has changed" is in the Present Perfect tense because it indicates a series of completed actions that started in the past and are still relevant in the present.
She has also lived in many different places. This means that in addition to changing jobs, Carla has also moved to and lived in various locations. The phrase "has lived" is in the Present Perfect tense because it indicates a series of completed actions that started in the past and are still relevant in the present.
Three years ago, she started working for Jerome and Jerome, a big company with offices all over the world. This means that three years ago, Carla began her employment with Jerome and Jerome. The phrase "started working" is in the Past Simple tense because it denotes a specific completed action in the past.
She has been a manager with the company for eighteen months. This means that Carla has held the position of a manager in the company for the past eighteen months. The phrase "has been" is in the Present Perfect tense because it indicates an action that started in the past and is still relevant in the present.
The company has clients in the USA, and Carla has been there several times on business. This means that the company that Carla works for has customers located in the USA, and as a part of her job responsibilities, Carla has traveled there multiple times. The phrase "has been" is in the Present Perfect tense because it denotes an action that started in the past and is still relevant in the present.
Last year, she spent six months in their New York office. This means that during the previous year, Carla stayed and worked at the company's New York office for a duration of six months. The verb "spend" is in the Past Simple tense because it denotes a specific completed action in the past.