Revision of Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous Tenses

—   Hello, friends! My name is Martin Green. My friend’s name is James Wilson.

—   Welcome to our grammar lesson!

Yesterday morning our friend Nathaniel was texting his pen friend Kyle. Let’s look at their conversation.

—   Hello, Kyle. I haven’t talked to you since yesterday morning. Where have you been?

—   Well… I have been working on my fifth book.

—   Oh, cool! How long have you been writing your book?

—   For five weeks already. I have made a lot of amazing characters. I have been so busy today. You know I haven’t had a single cup of tea since morning.

—   Oh, you need to have some rest!

—   Yeah, you’re right! I’ll have a break and continue tomorrow.

—   Good luck to you! Bye, Kyle.

—   Thanks. Bye.

Look at these verbs in bold: haven’t talked, have been, have been working, have been writing, have made, haven’t had.

Can you remember what tense forms they are? Let me help you.

Haven’t talked, have been, have made, haven’t had. These are the forms of Present Perfect Tense.

Have been working, have been writing. These are the forms of Present Perfect Continuous Tense.

Today in the lesson we will:

·        Revise the use of Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous Tenses;

and

·        Revise the formation of these tenses.

First of all, we’ll tell you when we can use Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous Tenses. Our friend Nathaniel will help us. Let’s start with Present Perfect Tense.

One. We use Present Perfect Tense to describe the action or situation that started in the past and continues in the present.

For instance: Fiona has lived in Toronto since 1975.

Two. This tense is used to describe the action performed during a period that hasn’t finished yet.

For instance: Emma has been to the museum twice this month.

Three. We use this tense to talk about an action that was completed in the recent past. In this case we use the word “just”.

For instance: Miranda has just finished her school project.

Four. Present Perfect is used when we want to show the result of the action, which was completed. We emphasize the result with the help of this tense.

For instance: I have lost my keys, so now I can’t get in my house.

Five. We can use this tense to talk about our personal life experience.

For instance: Madison has been to Argentina, but she hasn’t been to Georgia.

Six. We use Present Perfect when we want to underline how many times the action was completed. In such sentences we usually use the construction: “It’s the first/ second/ third time something has happened”.

For instance: It’s the second time Dylan has called his best friend Tyler this afternoon.

Seven. Present Perfect Tense is also used in complex sentences. To show the concrete time when the action started, we use the conjunctions: since, ever since.

For instance: Rory hasn’t played football since he broke his leg.

Eight. We use this tense in the subordinate clause of time after the conjunctions: after, before, when, until, as soon as.

For instance: After Max has graduated from Oxford, he will find a good job.

Now we’ll find out when we can use Present Perfect Continuous Tense.

One. We use Present Perfect Continuous if the action started in the past, lasted for some period of time and it’s not finished yet.

This function shows the duration of the action. In such sentences we can use the following words: lately, recently, quite a while, all day, for and since.

For instance: Kate and Leo have been watching horror films all day.

Two. Present Perfect Continuous is used to show that the action was completed recently and now we see the result. We use this tense to underline the duration of the action. This is the difference between this tense and Present Perfect Tense.

For instance: My parents are so tired. They have been swimming in the pool since early morning.

Three. We use this tense with the verbs: to work, to live, to feel, to teach - when we want to describe a temporary situation.

For instance: Kim has been working at school for the past eight years, but now she feels that it’s time to find something new.

Four. Sometimes we can use this tense if we want to emphasize the action emotionally. In this case we can use the following verbs: to mean, to want, to wish.

For instance: My friend’s sister has been wishing to visit Africa for ages.

Five. Present Perfect Continuous is used in complex sentences with Past Simple. We use Past Simple in subordinate clause after the conjunction since. And in the main clause we use Present Perfect Continuous.

For instance: Lily has been eating these cookies since my mom bought them two days ago.

Lily has been eating these cookies – it’s the main clause, since my mom bought them two days ago – subordinate clause.

Six. We also use this tense when we make conclusions from what we saw or heard. In most cases we use the shade of discontent and criticism.

For instance: Jake and Miranda have been drinking coke though they know that it’s a very unhealthy beverage.

Now we’ll tell you how to form these two tenses. Let’s start again with Present Perfect.

To form positive sentences, we put the subject in first place, then we put the auxiliary verb have if we use the pronouns: I, you, we, they; and has if we use: she, he, it. Then we put the past participle of the main verb. If the verb is regular, we add the ending -ed, for example: have watched, have played, have jumped. If the verb is irregular, we use the third form of the verb, for example: has swum, has eaten, has given.

To form negative sentences, we put the subject in first place, then we use the auxiliary verb have or has plus not, the short forms are haven’t, hasn’t. After that we put the past participle of the main verb. For example, if the verbs are regular, we’ll have: haven’t watched, haven’t played, haven’t jumped. If the verbs are irregular: hasn’t swum, hasn’t eaten, hasn’t given.   

To form questions, we put the auxiliary verb have or has in first place, then we put the subject and after that, we use the past participle of the main verb.

For example:

If the verbs are regular, we’ll have:

Have I watched, have they played, have we jumped?

And if the verbs are irregular, we will have:

Has she swum, has it eaten, has he given?

Now let’s discuss how to form sentences in Present Perfect Continuous Tense.

To form positive sentences, we put the subject in first place, then we put the auxiliary verb have been if we use the pronouns: I, you, we, they; and has been if we use: she, he, it. Then we put the main verb with the –ing suffix.

For example: I have been eating soup. We have been laughing. She has been washing up. He has been feeding his pets.

To form negative sentences, we put the subject in first place, then we put the auxiliary verb have been or has been plus not. Their short forms are haven’t been or hasn’t been. Then we put the main verb with the –ing suffix.

For example: I haven’t been eating soup. We haven’t been laughing. She hasn’t been washing up. He hasn’t been feeding his pets.

To form questions, we put the auxiliary verb have or has in first place, then we put the subject. After that, we put been and then we use the main verb with the –ing suffix.

For example: Have I been eating soup? Have we been laughing? Has she been washing up? Has he been feeding his pets?

Now let’s talk about time markers of these two tenses.

In Present Perfect Tense, we use the following markers: already, just, yet, ever, so far, till now, once, many times, before, recently, lately, sine, for.

In Present Perfect Continuous Tense – for a week/ month/ year, since morning, all day/ month long, lately, recently, How long…? Since when…?

Now let’s put your knowledge into practice.

Listen to the dialogues and fill in the gaps with the words from the boxes.

One.

—   Hello, Cody! I haven’t seen you for weeks. What’s new?

—   Hi, Ian. I have been away for two weeks.

—   Where have you been?

—   I have visited my aunt in London.

—   It’s awesome. Have you seen Big Ben or other landmarks?

—   No, Ian, I haven’t seen anything. I have spent all the time with my aunt, because she was ill.

—   Oh, it’s a pity! Maybe you’ll see everything next time.

—   Maybe. I’m sorry, Ian, I have to go now. Bye.

—   Okay. Bye, Cody.

Check yourselves.

Two.

—   Eric! What are you doing there? I have been waiting for you for fifty minutes. Have you been eating?

—   No, Jack, I haven’t been eating. I have been trying on my old clothes all this time. And I haven’t decided yet what to wear.

—   What? You’re so selfish. I’m chilled to the bone. I won’t wait any longer.

—   Jack, please, don’t go. I need only twenty more minutes.

—   No, Eric! Bye!

Check yourselves.

—   Now you know when we can use Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous Tenses. You also know how to form them and what time markers we can use with them.

—   We hope you liked the lesson. See you soon, our friends.