THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS + BEEN + GERUND
We have been living here for six weeks
· For an action which began in the past and is still continuing
I have been working as an actor for a year.
Llevo trabajando como actor durante un año
· For an actions that has just finished and its results are still visible.
I’ve been working all day (Now I’m tired)
I’ve got paint in my hair because I’ve been decorating.
He estado trabajando todo el día
TIME EXPRESSIONS:
FOR + PERIOD OF TIME
SINCE + POINT IN TIME
HOW LONG....? "How long have you been learning Spanish?" "For 2 months."
SINCE WHEN? "Since when have they been dating?" "Since October."
ALL MORNING/EVENING/DAY....
LATELY/ RECENTLY
Comparison of the present perfect simple and continuous
· The present perfect simple expresses a completed action (EMPHASIS ON THE RESULT)
I’ve painted three rooms.
· The present perfect continuous expresses an activity over a period of time
( EMPHASIS ON DURATION)
I’ve been painting the rooms for two hours.
PRACTICE: Complete the sentences using Present Perfect Continuous:
1. I PAINT my room. That's why the floor is dirty.
2. She WAIT for him for two hours now.
3. The room smells bad because many people SMOKE here.
4. Where have you been? What DO all morning?
5. You have to rest now, you HELP her since dinner!
6. She LOOK for her key for an hour. I'm afraid she's lost it somewhere.
7. How long HE/LEARN English? Over 10 years?
8. Why are you so dirty? I REPAIR my bicycle.
9. She WRITE that letter since 6 o'clock and she still hasn't finished.
10. It RAIN all morning and I don't think it will ever stop.
11. I'm a teacher. Oh, how long TEACH ?
12. You look tired. WORK hard?
13. I can smell dinner here. SISTER/COOK ?
14. Sorry I'm late. It's fine. I NOT/WAIT long.
15. What YOU/DO here? The floor is all wet.
16. Someone USE my computer! It's broken now!
17. She looks exhausted. SHE/RUN ?
18. I NOT/FEEL well for the past hour. I need a doctor.
19. He CALL Sue all evening, but there's no reply.
20. Tom is still reading a book. He READ all day.
KEY
1. I have been painting my room. That's why the floor is dirty.
2. She has been waiting for him for two hours now.
3. The room smells bad because many people have been smoking here.
4. Where have you been? What have you been doing all morning?
5. You have to rest now, you have been helping her since dinner!
6. She has been looking for her key for an hour. I'm afraid she's lost it somewhere.
7. How long has he been learning English? Over 10 years?
8. Why are you so dirty? I have been repairing my bicycle.
9. She has been writing that letter since 6 o'clock and she still hasn't finished.
10. It has been raining all morning and I don't think it will ever stop.
11. I'm a teacher. Oh, how long have you been teaching ?
12. You look tired. Have you been working hard?
13. I can smell dinner here. Has your sister been cooking ?
14. Sorry I'm late. It's fine. I haven't been waiting long.
15. What have you been doing here? The floor is all wet.
16. Someone has been using my computer! It's broken now!
17. She looks exhausted. Has she been running ?
18. I haven't been feeling well for the past hour. I need a doctor.
19. He has been calling Sue all evening, but there's no reply.
20. Tom is still reading a book. He has been reading all day.
THE PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
SUBJECT + HAD + BEEN + GERUND
Mr. Jones had been living here since 1960
For one action that occurred before another action or state in the past. However, the past perfect continuous emphasizes that the first event was ongoing, and continued up to or
just before the second event.
Past Perfect Continuous (1st Event) Simple Past (2nd Event)
Keiko had been studying all night. She was exhausted at breakfast.
The past perfect continuous is often used in sentences containing past time clauses.
Past Perfect Continuous (1st Event) Simple Past (2nd Event)
Marie had been working for nine and a half hours by the time she left her office.
Comparison of the past perfect simple and continuous
Match each illustration to the sentence that best describes it.
a. We arrived at 9:30 P.M. Julia had been eating her dinner. (Dinner was just ending.) The action was continuing up to or ended just before a specific time in the past.
b. We arrived at 9:30 P.M. Julia had eaten her dinner. (Dinner was over.) The action may or may not have occurred recently.
Order
PRACTICE:
Fill in the following sentences by using PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE:
1. We ………………………………………………… (play) football for half an hour when
it started to rain.
2. I …………………………………………………. (study) English for a short time when
the electricity went off.
3. She ……………………………………………… (do) her homework before you came in.
4. His knees and hands were very dirty. He ………………………………………….. (crawl)
in the garden.
5. I ……………………………………………… (drive) the car for five years when I sold it.
6. We were very tired. We ………………………………………………. (travel) for about
sixteen hours.
7. They were out of breath. They ……………………………………………… (run) for a
long time.
8. He ……………………………………………. (live) in London for ten years when he had
an accident.
9. He was tired because he ……………………………………………….. (write) letters all
morning.
10. He …………………………………………….. (repair) the radio for an hour when you
arrived.
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