How to teach the present perfect online: a 60-minute B1 lesson plan

The present perfect is one of the hardest tenses for learners of English, because many languages use a present tense where English uses it. "I live here since 2020" sounds right to a lot of students. This plan teaches one use of the present perfect: talking about something that started in the past and is still true, with for, since and How long…? It is written for a one-to-one online lesson with an adult B1 student.

Before the lesson

Aim: By the end, the student can ask and answer How long…? questions about their own life, choose between for and since, and tell the present perfect from the past simple.

The student should already know: the past simple, and the present perfect for experiences (Have you ever…?), which most students meet at A2.

Prepare:

• a short text (there is one below);
• a timeline you can draw on the whiteboard or show on a slide;
• three true facts about your own life with for or since.

Stage 1: Warm-up (5 minutes)

Ask two or three questions about the student's life now and in the past:

• Where do you live now?
• When did you move there?
• Where do you work? When did you start?

Don't correct the grammar yet. Write down what the student says. You'll use their answers in stage 7.

Stage 2: A short text (10 minutes)

Show a short text and ask the student to read it. Then ask the questions below it.

Marta is a nurse from Lisbon. She moved to Toronto five years ago. She has lived in Toronto for five years, and she has worked at the same hospital since 2022. She has been to Niagara Falls twice. Her brother lived in Toronto too, but he has gone back to Portugal, so she only sees him in the summer.

Questions:

1. When did Marta move to Toronto? (Five years ago.)
2. How long has she lived in Toronto? (For five years.)
3. Does she still work at the same hospital? (Yes.)
4. Is her brother in Toronto now? (No, he's in Portugal.)
5. Is Marta at Niagara Falls now? (No. She went there twice and came back.)

Stage 3: Meaning, with a timeline (10 minutes)

Write two sentences on the whiteboard:

• She has lived in Toronto for five years.
• She moved to Toronto five years ago.

Draw a timeline. Put a cross five years in the past and an arrow from the cross to "now".

Check meaning with concept-check questions. Keep them short and easy to answer:

For She has lived in Toronto for five years:

• Does she live in Toronto now? (Yes.)
• Did she start living there in the past? (Yes.)
• Is it finished? (No.)

For She moved to Toronto five years ago:

• Is the moving finished? (Yes.)
• Do we know when it happened? (Yes, five years ago.)

Then contrast it with a finished period:

• My grandfather lived in Toronto for five years. Does he live there now? (No.) Is it finished? (Yes.) So we use the past simple.

Stage 4: Form (5 minutes)

Ask the student to find the verbs in the text and tell you the pattern. Then write it on the whiteboard.

• have / has + past participle: I've lived, she's worked, they've known
• Question: How long have you lived here? How long has she worked there?
• Negative: I haven't seen him since Monday.

Then for and since:

• for + a period of time: for five years, for ten minutes, for a long time
• since + the starting point: since 2022, since Monday, since I was a child

Point out the contractions I've and she's. Many students don't hear them, so say the sentences at natural speed and ask the student to repeat.

Stage 5: Controlled practice (10 minutes)

For or since? The student says for or since for each one:

1. three weeks (for)
2. 2019 (since)
3. last Tuesday (since)
4. a couple of months (for)
5. I was a child (since)
6. ages (for)
7. this morning (since)
8. half an hour (for)

Present perfect or past simple? The student puts each verb in the right form:

1. I ___ (know) Sam since university. (have known)
2. We ___ (meet) in 2015. (met)
3. She ___ (work) here for six months. (has worked)
4. When ___ you ___ (start) your job? (did … start)
5. They ___ (not see) each other since the wedding. (haven't seen)
6. ___ you ever ___ (be) to Japan? (Have … been)

After each answer, ask "Is it finished?" or "Is it still true?" The question does more teaching than the answer key.

Stage 6: Been or gone? (5 minutes)

Go back to Marta's text.

• She has been to Niagara Falls twice. She went there and came back.
• Her brother has gone back to Portugal. He went there and he is there now.

Concept-check question: "Where is her brother now?" (In Portugal.) "Where is Marta now?" (In Toronto.)

Then two quick ones for the student:

1. "Where's Tom?" "He's ___ to the store. He'll be back in ten minutes." (gone)
2. "I've never ___ to Brazil, but I'd love to go." (been)

Stage 7: Talk about your own life (12 minutes)

Now the student uses the grammar to talk about real things.

1. Tell the student your three facts, for example: "I've lived in my apartment for six years. I've known my best friend since school. I've taught English since 2018."
2. The student asks you a follow-up How long…? question, and you answer.
3. Swap. The student makes three sentences about their own life from their warm-up answers, and you ask How long…? and When did you…? questions.
4. On the whiteboard, the student draws a timeline of their life with three points, such as when they moved, started their job and started learning English, and talks you through it.

Listen and write down mistakes. Don't stop the student mid-sentence.

Stage 8: Feedback and homework (3 minutes)

Write three of the student's sentences on the screen, two correct and one with a mistake, and ask the student to find the mistake. Then set short homework: three true sentences with for or since, and the gap-fill from stage 5 if it was hard.

Common mistakes to listen for

• I live here since 2020. → I've lived here since 2020.
• I've lived here since three years. → I've lived here for three years.
• I've seen him yesterday. → I saw him yesterday. (A finished time like yesterday takes the past simple.)
• How long are you married? → How long have you been married?
• She has gone to London twice. → She has been to London twice.
• I've worked here since five years ago. → I've worked here for five years.

Teaching it online

• Use the whiteboard for the timeline, and let the student draw their own.
• Type the student's sentences into the chat as they speak. It gives you a record for feedback.
• Keep the text and the exercises on screen, so the student isn't searching through files.

Ready-made lessons on the same grammar

If you'd rather not build the slides yourself, these lessons from the SnappySchool library are ready to teach, and each downloads as a PDF:

• Present perfect with for and since (B1)
• For and since (B1 grammar)
• Life in a new country (B1), a topic lesson that practices the same grammar
• Present perfect or past simple? (A2), for students who need the contrast first

Questions

At what level is the present perfect taught?

Most courses bring it in at A2 for experiences (Have you ever…?). The use with for, since and How long…? is usually B1. The difference between the present perfect simple and continuous comes at B1 or B2.

What's the difference between for and since?

For goes with a period of time: for three years, for a week. Since goes with the point when something started: since 2019, since Monday, since I was a child.

Can I use the present perfect with yesterday?

No. Words for a finished time, such as yesterday, last week, in 2019 and two days ago, take the past simple: I saw him yesterday.

Should I teach the present perfect continuous in the same lesson?

It's better to keep it for the next lesson. One grammar point per lesson gives the student time to use it with confidence. Once for and since are solid, I've been learning English for two years is an easy next step.