Travel problems now
What to do / Qué hacer: Choose the best first sentence for the traveller, then tap Reveal answer and why.
- AI missed my connection at 10.55.
- BI've missed my connection. Can you help me?
Answer: B. I've missed my connection tells the agent there is a problem now.
Why: Use the present perfect first for the present result; add the exact time later if it matters.
Your route through the lesson · 60 minutes
- 01Meet a real travel problem.Slides 1–4 · 11 min
- 02Notice the meaning and rule.Slides 5–9 · 16 min
- 03Control the choice of tense.Slides 10–13 · 12 min
- 04Use it at an airline and hotel desk.Slides 14–20 · 21 min
Quick diagnostic
What to do / Qué hacer: Choose the clue that requires past simple, then tap Reveal answer and why.
- Aalready
- Bat 11.00
- Cyet
Answer: B: at 11.00.
Why: It gives a completed, finished time. Already and yet usually connect a past event to now.
Marta's missed connection
Marta's flight from Madrid was late. She is standing at the help desk and her onward flight has gone.
What to do / Qué hacer: Choose the fact that is true now, then tap Reveal answer and why.
- AHer flight arrived at 10.55.
- BShe has missed her connection.
Answer: B is the urgent fact now: She has missed her connection.
Why: The missed flight has a result in the present: Marta needs a new plan. A is a finished detail that explains it.
At the airline help desk: hear the situation first
Traveller: My flight from Madrid has been delayed. I've missed my connection to London.
Agent: I'm sorry. What time did your flight arrive?
Traveller: It arrived at 10.55.
Agent: I have already rebooked you on the 14.30 flight. Have you checked in yet?
Traveller: No, I haven't.
What to do / Qué hacer: Answer these three gist questions from the dialogue, then tap Reveal answer and why.
- 1What problem affects the traveller now?
- 2What time did the flight arrive?
- 3What has the agent already done?
Answers: 1) She has missed her connection. 2) It arrived at 10.55. 3) The agent has rebooked her.
Why: Problems and actions that matter now use present perfect; the precise arrival time uses past simple.
Now result or finished time?
What to do / Qué hacer: Put each sentence in the correct meaning group, then tap Reveal answer and why.
Answer: A: I've lost my passport; She has already checked in. B: The gate closed at 11.00; We landed yesterday.
Why: A sentences connect to now and name no finished time. B sentences say when a completed event happened.
Notice the pattern in the dialogue
Look at these words
I've missed my connection.
What time did it arrive?
Find: 1) what follows have/has; 2) what follows the exact-time question.
What to do / Qué hacer: Complete the two observations before looking at the answer.
Answer: 1) a past participle: missed; 2) the base form: arrive.
Why: Present perfect is have/has + past participle. Past-simple questions use did + base verb.
The useful rule: meaning chooses the tense
| Use | Form | Travel example | Question to ask yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect Past event with a result now; no finished time stated. | have / has + past participle | I've missed my connection. Have you checked in yet? | Does this matter now? |
| Past simple Completed event at a stated or known finished time. | past form did + base verb in questions | It arrived at 10.55. What time did it land? | Am I saying when it happened? |
Time clues: which group do they belong to?
What to do / Qué hacer: Sort the clues into “usually present perfect” and “finished time”, then tap Reveal answer and why.
Answer: Usually present perfect: already, yet, just, ever. Finished time: yesterday, at 11.00, last Tuesday, in 2024.
Why: The first group looks toward now. The second closes the event in a named time period.
Spanish Speaker Pitfalls — La trampa del tiempo terminado
What to do / Qué hacer: Repair each sentence before opening the model. Notice what Spanish may lead you to say.
Choose the tense before you choose the verb
What to do / Qué hacer: Say the four completed sentences, then tap Reveal answer and why.
Answers: 1) haven't received; 2) sent; 3) have lost; 4) booked.
Why: Yet and the current lost-pass problem connect to now. At 14.10 and last Tuesday are finished times.
Sentence surgery: repair only what needs repair
What to do / Qué hacer: Correct the wrong sentences and leave the correct ones unchanged, then tap Reveal answer and why.
Answers: 1) I arrived at the hotel yesterday. 2) Correct. 3) What time did you land? 4) Correct.
Why: Yesterday and what time ask for finished time. Ever and already have present relevance.
Build the question pair
Question 1: unfinished task
Question 2: finished detail
What to do / Qué hacer: Reorder both questions aloud or on paper, then tap Reveal answer and why.
Answers: 1) Have you checked in yet? 2) What time did the flight land?
Why: Yet asks about an unfinished task now; what time asks for a completed-time detail.
Complete the help-desk mini-dialogue
Traveller: I ________ just ________ at the airport, but I ________ my connection.
Agent: What time ________ your first flight ________?
Traveller: It ________ at 10.55. I ________ not checked in ________.
What to do / Qué hacer: Use have arrived / have missed / did arrive / arrived / have not checked in yet, then tap Reveal answer and why.
Answer: I've just arrived ... I've missed ... What time did ... arrive? ... It arrived at 10.55. I haven't checked in yet.
Why: Just, a present problem, and yet link to now; the time question and answer describe a completed event.
Retrieval relay: no rule on screen
What to do / Qué hacer: You say a current travel problem. Your teacher asks for the finished-time detail. Then swap, and tap Reveal model exchanges.
Say one problem now: lost passport, missed connection, no confirmation, or delayed flight.
Asks one finished-time question: When ...? or What time did ...?
Models: A: I've missed my connection. B: What time did your flight arrive? / A: I've lost my passport. B: When did you last see it?
Why: This deliberately recycles the first context: present perfect reports the urgent result; past simple asks for the finished detail.
The hotel problem: transfer the meaning
What to do / Qué hacer: Choose what the receptionist needs to solve now, then tap Reveal answer and why.
- AThe guest booked on a finished day.
- BThe guest has no confirmation now.
- CThe guest has a completed booking message now.
Answer: B. The receptionist must solve the missing confirmation now.
Why: I booked ... yesterday is background detail. I haven't received ... yet describes the unfinished present problem.
Role-play 1: airline desk
What to do / Qué hacer: You are the traveller and speak first. Your teacher is the agent. Use the three prompt cards, then tap Reveal model dialogue. Revising alone, say both roles aloud before opening the model.
- Say two present-perfect problems: missed connection; not checked in yet.
- Give one past-simple time: flight arrived at 10.55.
- Ask a finished-time question.
- Offer a present-result solution: rebooked flight.
Model: Traveller: I've missed my connection and I haven't checked in yet. Agent: I'm sorry. What time did your flight arrive? Traveller: It arrived at 10.55. Agent: I've rebooked you on the 14.30 flight.
Why: The report moves naturally from present result, to completed-time detail, to a solution that matters now.
Role-play 2: hotel desk — switch roles
What to do / Qué hacer: You are the guest. Your teacher is the receptionist. Then switch roles, use every prompt, and tap Reveal model dialogue. Revising alone, say both roles before opening it.
- Ask: Have you received a confirmation yet?
- Ask for the booking time.
- You booked a room last Tuesday.
- You haven't received a confirmation yet.
- You have already paid online.
Model: Receptionist: Have you received a confirmation yet? Guest: No, I haven't. I booked the room last Tuesday, and I've already paid online. Receptionist: I'll check it now.
Why: The question, missing message, and payment are relevant now. Last Tuesday supplies the completed booking detail.
Final help-desk decisions: choose the best reply
What to do / Qué hacer: Choose the best reply for each situation before tapping Reveal answers and why.
The agent asks: “Have you checked in yet?”
A. Yes, I checked in at 09.15.
B. Yes, I have checked in at 09.15.
The guest says: “My room is missing.”
A. I booked it last Tuesday.
B. I've booked it last Tuesday.
You need help now.
A. I've lost my passport.
B. I lost my passport at the desk.
Answers: 1) A; 2) A; 3) A.
Why: At 09.15 and last Tuesday need past simple. The last reply makes the present problem clear; add a time only when it helps explain it.
Your 30-second travel update
Build a useful three-move update
- One current problem.
- One finished-time detail.
- One current action or request.
What to do / Qué hacer: Make your three-move update, then tap Reveal model and why. Do not self-grade open production; compare it with the model for ideas.
Model: I've missed my connection. My flight arrived at 10.55. I've already spoken to the help desk, but I need a new boarding pass.
Why: The first and last sentences have a result now. The middle sentence gives the completed-time detail that explains the problem.
Say what matters now. Say when it happened.
Present perfect
Now / no finished time
I've missed my connection.
Past simple
Finished time
It arrived at 10.55.
Use them together
Clear help-desk report
I've missed it. It left at 11.00.
For revision alone: repeat slides 14–19, say both roles yourself, then reveal each model.