In the first video, a very pleasant couple answers several personal information questions. The questions mainly deal with the past simple and present perfect tenses. However, it's funny to notice the way the interviewer combines the two uses of the present perfect in his questions:
(1) Present perfect to talk about experiences, news or changes (similar to the use of present perfect in Spanish).
(2) Present perfect to talk about a situation which started in the past and continues up to the present (here we usually use a present form in Spanish)
Where were you born?
Was that a long time ago?
Were you good at school?
What did you do yesterday?
What other towns have you lived in apart from New York? (1)
When did you live in Paris?
Has anything ever happened to you? (1)
How did you meet?
How long have you known each other? (2) ('¿Cuánto hace que os conocéis?')
What do you hope to achieve before you die?
You can do an interactive exercise on the Real English site here.
In the second video the interviewer asks the question: What have you done this morning? to ask passers-by about activities they have been involved in during the morning (use 1 of the present perfect above to talk about experiences and give news). As the interviewer is asking the question in the present perfect, we must infer that the interviews are taking place at some time during the morning, ie, before 12am.
The second question is what did you do yesterday?, where we can see the use of the past simple to talk about activities done in a finished period of time.
It's funny to notice the way a lot of the interviewees answer the question What have you done this morning? in the past simple. That is due to the fact that Americans (I think the video was recorded in New York) generally prefer the past simple to give news, whereas in Britain the present perfect is generally used to give news, the same as in Spanish.
In the third video, we keep emphasizing the difference between past simple and present perfect. Again, it's funny to check the way the girl answers in the past simple a question she was asked in the present perfect. Remember the differences between American and British English in this respect.
What did you do yesterday?
Where did you get married?
What have you done this morning?
You can do an interactive exercise on the clip on the Real English site here.
