Present Perfect Continuous Timeline

Affirmative form:

It has been snowing the whole night.

Negative form:

It hasn’t been snowing the whole night.

Question form:

Has it been snowing the whole night?

The present perfect continuous tense is often used (with for or since) to describe how long something has been happening up to now.

For example:- How long have you been studying English?"  -I've been studying English for four years."  Note - You can just say "For four years."  -How long have you been living in Germany? -I've been living here since 1998. Note - You can just say "Since 1998".

The present perfect continuous is also used to refer to an event that may or may not be finished when it's effect can be seen now.

For example:- Look! It's been snowing.  Note - It's not necessarily snowing now but you can see the effect (the snow on the ground).

You should also use the present perfect continuous when talking about how long you have been doing your current job or working on unfinished projects:-

For example:-I have been working at BT for three years.  We have been exporting to China since 1999.

Past Simple

Subject + V(ed)

Simple Past Timeline

Affirmative form:

Sue worked in that company last year.

Negative form:

Sue didn’t work in that company last year.

Question form:

Did Sue work in that company last year?

The simple past tense is used to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past. You state when it happened using a time adverb.

You form the simple past of a verb by adding -ed onto the end of a regular verb but, irregular verb forms have to be learned.

For example:

"Last year I took my exams." "I got married in 1992."

It can be used to describe events that happened over a period of time in the past but not now.

For example: "I lived in South Africa for two years."

The simple past tense is also used to talk about habitual or repeated actions that took place in the past.

For example: "When I was a child we always went to the seaside on bank holidays."

Past Continuous

Subject + was/were + V ing

Past Continuous Timeline

Affirmative form:

Daryl was preparing dinner, when her brother came.

Negative form:

Daryl wasn’t preparing dinner, when her brother came.

Question form:

Was Daryl preparing dinner, when her brother came.?

We use the past continuous tense to describe a past action over a period of time.

For example: "What were they doing yesterday?" -"They were working all day."

It can be used to describe what someone was doing at a particular point in time.

For example: - "What were you doing at 7.30 last night?" -"I was watching television."

The past continuous can also be used to show that an activity frequently took place over a period of time.

For example: "What did you do on holiday?" -"I went skiing a lot."

Often the past continuous is mixed with the past simple to show what was happening when something happened. The past continuous refers to the longer event and the simple past to the event that interrupted it.

For example: "I was driving to work when I crashed my car." or “As I was driving to work, I crashed my car."