Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous A) Present Perfect Simple Form: Positive, negative: subj. + have/has + (not) + verb-ed … I have (not) lived in Brno for 20 years. Question: Have you lived in Brno for 20 years? Yes, I have. /No, I haven’t. Use: 1 For actions/states that began in the past, still continue are likely to continue in the future. These actions/states have “permanent” character and are often expressed by stative verbs. I have lived in Brno since 1983. She has known him for all her life. Typical time expressions: since 1970/the end of the lesson/August/Christmas… for ten years/ages… 2 For recent actions and events which have present results (=st. that happened not long ago and is linked to the present). I have cut my finger. (I cut it a minute ago and it’s still bleeding.) I’ve lost my wallet. (I don’t have it now and I can’t pay the bill). Peter has shaved his beard off! (He looks different now.) 3 For an experience that happened at some time of one’s life. There is NO EXACT TIME REFERENCE. I have been to Paris twice. (I still remember.) …….(BUT “I was in Paris last year.”) Have you ever been to Morocco? (In your life?) I’ve never tried bungee jumping. NOTE: We often use JUST/ALREADY/YET with Present Perfect: I’ve just met Peter. He looked really smart! (?)In questions: Has she seen Mr. Jakes yet? (+)In the affirmative: She has already seen him today. (-)In the negative: She hasn’t seen him yet. Practice 1 Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect Simple. 1 Someone_________________________ (eat) all the cakes. I’ll have to buy some more. 2 What _________________________ (you buy) your sister for her birthday? 3 How many people _________________________ (she invite) to the party? 4 I _________________________ (do) everything you asked. What should I do now? 5 Margaret _________________________ (not visit) her aunt yet. Past Simple or Present Perfect Simple??? 2 Complete the dialogues with the Past Simple or Present Perfect. 1) A How long __________________________ at university? (you/be) B I ______________________________ two years ago. I’m in my third year now. (start) A Do you live with your parents? B I _________________________ with them for the first two years but then I ______________________ into a student hostel last September and I ___________________ there since then. (live, move, live) 2) A ____________________________ a job yet? (your brother/find) B Yes, he ____________________________ work in a hotel. (just/start) 3) A _________________________ to Marseille – that new French restaurant? (you/ever/be) B Yes, we ________________________ there for my birthday. (go) A What was it like? B The food ________________________fantastic but it _________________a fortune! (be, cost) 4) A Look! Somebody ________________________ (spill) coffee on the carpet. B Well, it ________________________ (not/me). I ________________________ (not do/it). 5) A Ben ___________________________ (break) his leg. B Really? How_________________________ (that/happen)? A He ________________________________ (fall) off the ladder. 3 Complete the sentences with for, since, in, or ago. A I was born __________ 1961. B I went to university __________ three years. C I passed my driving test 15 years__________ . D I’ve had a car __________ 1983. E I met my husband __________ 1997. F We’ve been married __________ 9 years. G We have lived in the same house __________ 1990. B) Preset Perfect Continuous Form: Positive, negative: subj. + have/has + (not) + verb-ing … I have (not) been reading this book for a week. Question: Have you been reading this book for a week? Yes, I have. /No, I haven’t. Use: 1 For recent unfinished temporary actions or repeated actions over a period of time (typically answering: “How long”). I’ve been looking for my cell phone for an hour and I still cannot find it. He’s been working here since May. They’ve been going out together for three years. I’ve been learning English for 10 years. How long have you been playing the violin? 2 For recent actions and events which have present results. She looks very tired. She has been working very hard. You are out of breath. Have you been jogging? The ground is wet. It has been raining. CONTRAST THE SENTENCES BELOW: I have been living in Barcelona since March, but I’m going to move to Madrid soon. I have lived in Oslo my whole life. PRACTICE 1 Complete the sentences with either Present Perfect Simple or Continuous. 1 You’re covered in paint! What _________________ you __________________ ? (do) 2 I sent her an email last week, but she ___________________________________. (reply, yet) 3 He ___________________________________ well recently. (not feel) 4 I can’t believe you ___________________________________ the whole book so quickly. (read) 5 I___________________________________ this report for ages and it seems to be endless. (read) 2 Read this conversation between two people in a sports club. Underline the most suitable form of the verbs. Anna: Excuse me. We’ve waited/We’ve been waiting (1) to play tennis since 10.30. It must be our turn now. How long have you played/been playing (2)? Tim: Since about 9.30. We’ve played /We’ve been playing (3) two matches so far this morning and we haven’t finished/we haven’t been finishing (4) the third yet. You’ll have to wait or do something else. Have you tried/Have you been trying (5) the swimming pool? Anna: We don’t want to swim, we want to play tennis. You’ve played/You’ve been playing for more than two hours and it’s our turn. We’re tired of waiting and we haven’t got anything to do. We’ve read/We’ve been reading (7) the magazines we brought with us. Tim: I said you’ll have to wait. I always play on a Saturday morning. Anyway, we’ve already started/we’ve been already starting (8) the third match. Anna: Oh, well, it looks like we have no choice, but we have booked/we’ve been booking (9) the court for next Saturday so you’ll be unlucky then.