CELTA pre-interview task

[Ms Learning]

Explain the difference between the following pairs of sentences:
"You look tired!"
"Yes, I've been working hard non-stop all day."
"You look tired!"
"Yes, I was working hard non-stop until seven O'clock."

[Takezo]

Hello,

I'm currently taking a CELTA course, and I didn't do so hot on the pre-interview task. I don't think it's that important to get all right answers; it's just to show the instructors what they'll be working with when the course gets started.

You'll learn all about the grammar in the course. I would recommend getting: An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage (Leech, Cruickshank, Ivanic) published by Longman. It's not as comprehensive as Michael Swan's book, but it's very easy to understand.


As for your question: I'll give you a few hints to work off:

1. What time is it when speaker #1 is talking? What time is it when speaker #2 is talking? How do you know?

2. Is the speaker still working? How do you know?

3. What tense are the sentences? Review the tenses: past simple, present
perfect, past perfect, etc.

4. How do you make the above tenses?

Good luck!