Past Simple Versus Present Perfect: Sorting Activity

(TESOL Worksheets--Present Perfect, Past Simple)
Google: drive, docs, pub
Alternate version: drive, docs, pub
[Sorting activity.  This was designed to be used with a textbook which emphasized that the past simple was used for actions that took place in the definite past, and the present perfect for time frames which are not yet finished.]

Sorting activity.  See if you can sort these sentences into two different categories:

I have eaten a lot of food today.

I drank 3 liters of water yesterday.

I have done a lot of exercise this month.

I ate a lot of food yesterday.

I played a lot of video games last night.

I have played a lot of video games in  my life.

I have slept well this week.

I had two cups of coffee yesterday.

I studied a lot last year.

I have drunk 2 liters of water today.

I slept well last week.

I have studied a lot this year.

I did a lot of exercise last month.

I have had six cups of coffee today.

What are the different time expressions used in each column?

Answers

Present Perfect	Past Simple
I have eaten a lot of food today.	I ate a lot of food yesterday.
I have slept well this week.	I slept well last week.
I have drunk 2 liters of water today.	I drank 3 liters of water yesterday.
I have done a lot of exercise this month.	I did a lot of exercise last month.
I have had six cups of coffee today.	I had two cups of coffee yesterday.
I have studied a lot this year.	I studied a lot last year.
I have played a lot of video games in  my life.	I played a lot of video games last night.
Time Expressions
today, this week, this month, this year, in my life	yesterday, last week, last month, last year, last night

Which form is used to talk about a definite time in the past?

Which form is used to talk about an indefinite time that is still not finished?

Update: I also created a second version of this activity in which the students just have to label the sentences.  (This saves them having to re-write the whole sentence, and makes this worksheet less work. drive, docs, pub)

Categorize these sentences into present perfect or past simple.

I have eaten a lot of food today.________________________

I drank 3 liters of water yesterday. ________________________

I have done a lot of exercise this month. ________________________

I ate a lot of food yesterday. ________________________

I played a lot of video games last night. ________________________

I have played a lot of video games in  my life. ________________________

I have slept well this week. ________________________

I had two cups of coffee yesterday. ________________________

I studied a lot last year. ________________________

I have drunk 2 liters of water today. ________________________

I slept well last week. ________________________

I have studied a lot this year. ________________________

I did a lot of exercise last month. ________________________

I have had six cups of coffee today. ________________________

Time Expressions:

in my life, last month, last night, last week, last year, this week, this month, this year, today, yesterday

Which time expressions go with which tense?

Present Perfect	Past Simple