Present Perfect vs P.P. Continuous Theory.pdf

Unit 7 Present perfect 1 (I have done) A Study this example situation: I’ve lost my key. Tom can’t find his key. He’s lost his key. (= He has lost …)...

Unit 7 Present perfect 1 (I have done) A Study this example situation: I’ve lost my key. Tom can’t find his key. He’s lost his key. (= He has lost …) he has lost his key = he lost it and he doesn’t have it now have lost / has lost is the present perfect simple: finished I/we/they/you have (= I’ve etc.) lost done he/she/it has (= he’s etc.) been etc. The present perfect simple is have/has + past participle. The past participle often ends in -ed (finished/decided etc.), but many verbs are irregular (lost/done/written etc.). For a list of irregular verbs, see Appendix 1. B When we say ‘something has happened’, this is usually new information: Ow! I’ve cut my finger. The road is closed. There’s been an accident. (= There has been …) Police have arrested two men in connection with the robbery. When we use the present perfect, there is a connection with now. The action in the past has a result now: Tom has lost his key. (= he doesn’t have it now) He told me his name, but I’ve forgotten it. (= I can’t remember it now) Sally is still here. She hasn’t gone out. (= she is here now) I can’t find my bag. Have you seen it? (= do you know where it is now?) Compare gone (to) and been (to): James is on holiday. He has gone to Italy. (= he is there now or on his way there) Amy is back home now. She has been to Italy. (= she has now come back) C You can use the present perfect with just, already and yet. Just = a short time ago: ‘Are you hungry?’ ‘No, I’ve just had lunch.’ Hello. Have you just arrived? Already = sooner than expected: ‘Don’t forget to pay the bill.’ ‘I’ve already paid it.’ ‘What time is Mark leaving?’ ‘He’s already left.’ Yet = until now. We use yet to show that we are expecting something to happen. We use yet in questions and negative sentences: Has it stopped raining yet? I’ve written the email, but I haven’t sent it yet. D You can also use the past simple (did, went, had etc.) in the examples on this page. So you can say: Ben isn’t here. He’s gone out. or He went out. ‘Are you hungry?’ ‘No, I’ve just had lunch.’ or ‘No, I just had lunch.’ Present perfect ➜ Units 8, 11 been to ➜ Units 8A, 126A Present perfect continuous ➜ Units 9–10 14 Present perfect and past ➜ Units 12–14 yet and already ➜ Unit 111 American English ➜ Appendix 7 Unit 8 Present perfect 2 (I have done) A Study this example conversation: DaVE: Have you travelled a lot, Jane? JaNE: Yes, I’ve been to lots of places. Jane’s life DaVE: Really? Have you ever been to China? (a period until now) JaNE: Yes, I’ve been to China twice. DaVE: What about India? past now JaNE: No, I haven’t been to India. When we talk about a period of time that continues from the past until now, we use the present perfect (have been / have travelled etc.). Here, Dave and Jane are talking about the places Jane has visited in her life, which is a period that continues until now. In the same way we say: Have you ever eaten caviar? We’ve never had a car. I don’t know what the film is about. I haven’t seen it. Susan really loves that book. She’s read it three times. (She’s = She has) It’s a really boring movie. It’s the most boring movie I’ve ever seen. been (to) = visited: I’ve never been to Canada. Have you been there? B In the following examples too, the speakers are talking about a period that continues until now (recently, in the last few days, so far, since I arrived etc.): Have you heard anything from Ben recently? recently I’ve met a lot of people in the last few days. Everything is going well. There haven’t been any in the last few days problems so far. since I arrived The weather is bad here. It’s (= It has) rained every past now day since I arrived. (= from when I arrived until now) It’s good to see you again. We haven’t seen each other for a long time. In the same way we use the present perfect with today, this evening, this year etc. when these periods are not finished at the time of speaking: I’ve drunk four cups of coffee today. today Have you had a holiday this year? I haven’t seen Tom this morning. Have you? past now C We say ‘It’s the (first) time something has happened’. For example: Don is having a driving lesson. It’s his first lesson. We can say: This is the first time I’ve driven a car. It’s the first time he has driven a car. (not drives) or He hasn’t driven a car before. or He has never driven a car before. In the same way we say: Sarah has lost her passport again. This is the second time this has happened. (not happens) Andy is phoning his girlfriend again. It’s the third time he’s phoned her this evening. 16 Present perfect 1 ➜ Unit 7 Present perfect + for/since ➜ Units 11–12 Present perfect and past ➜ Units 12–14 Unit 9 Present perfect continuous (I have been doing) A It’s been raining. Study this example situation: Is it raining? No, but the ground is wet. It’s been raining. (= It has been …) have/has been + -ing is the present perfect continuous: doing I/we/they/you have (= I’ve etc.) been working he/she/it has (= he’s etc.) learning etc. We use the present perfect continuous for an activity that has recently stopped or just stopped: Why are you out of breath? Have you been running? Paul is very tired. He’s been working hard. have/has been + -ing Why are you so tired? What have you been doing? present perfect continuous I’ve been talking to Amanda and she agrees with me. Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you. now B It’s been raining for two hours. Study this example situation: It began raining two hours ago and it is still raining. How long has it been raining? It’s been raining for two hours. (= It has been …) We use the present perfect continuous in this way, especially with how long, for … and since …. The activity is still happening (as in this example) or has just stopped. How long have you been learning English? (= you’re still learning English) Ben is watching TV. He’s been watching TV all day. Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you for the last half hour. Chris hasn’t been feeling well recently. You can use the present perfect continuous for repeated actions: Silvia is a very good tennis player. She’s been playing since she was eight. Every morning they meet in the same cafe. They’ve been going there for years. C Compare I am doing and I have been doing: I am doing I have been doing present continuous present perfect continuous now now Don’t disturb me now. I’m working. I’ve been working hard. Now I’m going to have a break. We need an umbrella. It’s raining. The ground is wet. It’s been raining. Hurry up! We’re waiting. We’ve been waiting for an hour. 18 Present perfect continuous and simple ➜ Units 10–11 Present perfect + for/since ➜ Units 11–12 Unit Present perfect continuous and simple 10 (I have been doing and I have done) A Compare these two situations: I’ve been painting my bedroom. I’ve painted my bedroom. There is paint on Kate’s clothes. The bedroom was green. Now it is yellow. She has been painting her bedroom. She has painted her bedroom. has been painting is the present perfect has painted is the present perfect simple. continuous. Here, the important thing is that something has We are thinking of the activity. It does not matter been finished. ‘She has painted’ is a completed whether it has been finished or not. In this action. We are thinking about the result of example, the activity (painting the bedroom) has the activity (the painted bedroom), not the not been finished. activity itself. B Compare these examples: My hands are very dirty. I’ve been My bike is OK again now. I’ve repaired repairing my bike. it. (= I’ve finished repairing it) Joe has been eating too much recently. Somebody has eaten all the chocolates. He should eat less. The box is empty. It’s nice to see you again. What have you Where’s the book I gave you? What have been doing since we last met? you done with it? Where have you been? Have you been Have you ever played tennis? playing tennis? C We use the continuous to say how long (for We use the simple to say how much, how many something that is still happening): or how many times (for completed actions): How long have you been reading that How many pages of that book have book? you read? Amy is writing emails. She’s been writing Amy has sent lots of emails this morning. emails all morning. They’ve been playing tennis since 2 o’clock. They’ve played tennis three times this week. I’m learning Arabic, but I haven’t been I’m learning Arabic, but I haven’t learnt learning it very long. very much yet. D Some verbs (for example, know) are not normally used in continuous forms (be + -ing): I’ve known about the problem for a long time. (not I’ve been knowing) How long have you had that camera? (not have you been having) For a list of these verbs, see Unit 4A. For have, see Unit 17. But note that you can use want and mean in the present perfect continuous (have/has been + -ing): I’ve been meaning to phone Anna, but I keep forgetting. Present perfect simple ➜ Units 7–8 Present perfect continuous ➜ Unit 9 20 Present perfect + for/since ➜ Units 11–12