19

Present Perfect Continuous

We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about:

a) an action which started in the past and continues to the present. Unlike Present Perfect Simple, Present Perfect Continuous emphasizes the duration of an action, especially with time expressions such as for, since, all morning/day/year, over the last few years, etc.

She has been talking on the phone for half an hour. (She began talking half an hour ago and she is still talking)

Sales have been falling slowly over the last few years.

b) an action which has been in progress up to the recent past. The action may have finished, but the result of the action is visible in the present and it shows what has been happening.

Look! There is so much snow on the ground! It has been snowing all night. Why are you so dirty? Have you been fighting?

c) repeated actions or situations in a period up to the present (or up to the recent past).

I’ve been having driving lessons for three month.

She has been playing tennis since she was nine.

We form the present perfect continuous with have/has + been + the -ing form of the verb.

20

Note: When we talk about ‘life up to now’ we can use the present perfect or present perfect continuous with no difference in meaning, especially with the verbs live, work, teach, feel (=have a particular emotion).

We have lived / have been living here for twenty years.

Remember that state verbs like know, understand, hear, belong, etc. do not normally have a continuous form. (NOT I’ve been knowing Kate for five years.) We use present perfect simple with state verbs (I’ve known Kate for five years.)

Practice

Exercise 1

Complete the sentences with the correct present perfect continuous form of the verbs in brackets.

1. “Here you are at last! We ……. (wait) for ages!” 2. “I ……. (think) about your suggestion all week”. 3. “Use another scanner – that one ……. (not|work) for a month”. 4. How long ….. you ….. (learn) English? 5. The price of oil ……. (go up ) steadily since the nineties. 6. “…… you …… (service) this machine regularly?” 7. Her feet hurt. She ……. (walk) in her new shoes all morning. 8. “I’m sorry I’m late. ….. you ….. (sit) here long?” 9. He must see the doctor. He ……. (not|feel) well lately. 10. Mike is tired. He …… (repair) the car. 11. How long .... they….. (take) music lessons?

Exercise 2

What could you say in these situations? Write positive sentences or questions with the Present Perfect Continuous.

Example: George smokes. He started smoking five years ago.

He has been smoking for five years.

1.Hanna is leading her team very effectively. She began doing it half a year ago.

……………………………………………………………

2.The managers are still discussing the first point on the agenda. The meeting began two hours ago. ……………………………………………………….

3.The company is looking for a Sales Manager. They started looking two month ago.

……………………………………………………………

4.Your friend comes in. His face and hands are very dirty. You ask him. What / you / do? …………………………………………………….

5.You interview a person who works as an accountant. You ask him about his experience. How long / you / work as an accountant? …………………………….

21

Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous?

Compare:

Practice

Exercise 1

In each sentence put one verb into the present perfect and the other into the present perfect continuous.

1.I ……. (look) through the contract all morning and I ……. (notice) one or two points that need clarification.

2.We ……. (make) cars on this site for over six years. This financial year we …….

(invest) over $4 million in a new production line.

3.She ……. (lose) her cell phone – she ……. (look) for it since lunchtime.

4.We ……. (email) each other all week and I think that we ……. (make) real progress with the planning process.

22

Exercise 2

Put the verbs into the correct form, present perfect or present perfect continuous.

1. A strong wind ……. (blow) all day. The wind ……. (blow) a tree over. 2. “You’ve got mud on your shoes”. “I’ll take them off. I ……. (work) in the garden”. 3. “Your report is accurate and complete. Well done. You ……. (do) a really good job”. 4. “I …. … (lose) my key. Can you help me look for it?” 5. “There’s a strange smell in here. …. you …… (cook) something?” 6. We ……. (develop) this technology for the last few months. We ……. (not| finish) yet. 7. Bill ……. (play) tennis since he was eleven years old. He ……. recently (win) the national championship for the fourth time. 8. “So, you are a writer. How long …... you ….. (write) books? How many books ….. you ….. (write)?” 9. The company ……. (produce) consumer products since 1986.

Exercise 3

Translate the sentences into English.

1. Наша компания экспортирует автомобили в течение семи лет. 2. Как долго вы изучаете японский язык? 3. Как давно вы знаете Энди Уайта? 4.”Извини, я опоздал. Ты давно ждёшь?” 5. “К сожалению, последние два года продажи постепенно (gradually) падали”. 6. В этом году мы разработали два новых лекарства, но ещё не протестировали их. 7.”Я всё утро пыталась дозвониться Марку. Он недоступен”. 8. “Вы получили наш заказ на пять портативных компьютеров (laptops)?” 9. “Как долго вы работаете над этим проектом?” 10. “Почему вы такие мокрые(wet)? Вы что плавали в море?” 11. Линда уже две недели в Лондоне. Она посетила много достопримечательностей.

23

Review of the present

Exercise 1

Complete the dialogue using a suitable present form of the verbs in brackets.

Alicia: Hi, Joelle. How are things at the Paris office? And when are you going to come to Frankfurt? Every year you ……. (say) you will visit us, but you never do!

Joelle: The thing is, we …… (be) really busy at the moment. Right now we ……. (prepare) all the promotional materials for the new range of summer clothes.

Alicia: Yes, I ……. (see) the designs – they ……. (look) really great. I’m sure they will sell really well in Germany.

Joelle: Thanks for the feedback. We ……. (work) quite hard over the last few months. As well as preparing the summer range, this year we ……. (try) to develop some new distribution channels. We ……. (want) to cut out the wholesalers and sell directly to large stores.

Alicia: Yes, I heard something about that.

Exercise 2

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct present form.

1.– Do you want to have a break now?

–Not yet. I ……. (write) a report for tomorrow’s meeting.

2.– Are you still busy?

–Yes. I ……. (read) this article for an hour and I still ……. (not/finish) it.

3.– Do you do any exercise at all?

–Yes. Actually, we ……. (go) swimming three times a week.

4.– More and more people ……. (go) to university these days.

–Yes. I think it’s a good thing.

5.– Maria ……. (look) very happy today.

–She is. She ……. (just /hear) some good news.

6.– Tom is playing his music very loud.

–Again! He ……. (always/do) that!

7.– Are you new to this company?

–Not really. In fact, I ……. (work) here for almost ten years.

8.– What do I need to do next?

24

–You ……. (add) the sugar to the mixture and you ……. (mix) it well.

9.– It’s ten o’clock. Have you given the manager his letters?

–Yes, and I ……. (also/type) six reports so far this morning.

10.– Why are your shoes wet?

–I ……. (wash) the car.

11.– Kate ……. (learn) to drive at the moment.

–I know. She told me last week.

12.– Tortoises ……. (live) to be very old.

–I’ve heard of one which is over a hundred years old.

13.– That author is very well-known, isn’t she?

–Yes, She ……. (write) twenty novels so far.

14.– Mr. Collins is a very good teacher.

–Well, he ……. (teach) Maths for twenty-five years, you know.

15. – …… Alan …… (find) a job?

–Oh yes. He ……. (be) the manager of a leisure center.

16.– What’s the matter?

–I ……. (break) my ankle.

17.– Is Jeff still in the garden?

–Yes. He ……. (plant) flowers all afternoon.

18.– Are you going to the concert on Saturday night?

–Yes. But, I ……. (not/buy) the tickets yet.