Unit 10. Present perfect continuous and simple (I have been doing and I have done).

Unit 10; Part A

Study this example situation:

Compare these examples:

*• My hands are very dirty. I've been repairing the car.*	*• The car is OK again now. I've repaired it.*
**• Joe has been eating too much recently. He should eat less.**	*• Somebody has eaten all my chocolates.* *The box is empty.*
*• It's nice to see you again. What have you been doing since we last met?*	**• Where's the book I gave you? What have you done with it?**
*• Where have you been? Have you been playing tennis?*	*• Have you ever played tennis?*

Unit 10; Part B

*We use the continuous to say how long* (for an activity that is still happening):**	*We use the simple to say how much, how many or how many times* (for completed actions):**
*• How long have you been reading that book?*	*• How much of that book have you read?*
*• Lisa is still writing letters. She's been writing letters all day.*	*• Lisa has written ten letters today.*
*• They've been playing tennis since 2 o'clock.*	*• They've played tennis three times this week.*
*• I'm learning Spanish, but I haven't been learning it very long.*	*• I'm learning Spanish, but I haven't learnt very much yet.*

Some verbs (for example, know/like/believe) are not normally used in the continuous:
• I've known about it for a long time, (not I've been knowing)

For a list of these verbs, see Unit 4A. But note that you can use want and mean in the present perfect continuous:
• I've been meaning to phone Jane, but I keep forgetting.

Exercises

1 For each situation, write two sentences.

For each situation, write two sentences using the words in brackets.

1    Tom started reading a book two hours ago. He is still reading it and now he is on page 53.
      (read / for two hours)      He has been reading for two hours.
      (read / 55 pages so far) He has read 53 pages so far.
2    Rachel is from Australia. She is travelling round Europe at the moment. She began her trip three months ago.
      (travel / for three months) She _______________________________
      (visit / six countries so far) _______________________________
3   Patrick is a tennis player. He began playing tennis when he was tenyears old. This year he is national champion again - for the fourthtime.
      (win / the national championships / four times) _______________________________
      (play / tennis since he was ten) _______________________________
4    When they left college, Lisa and Sue started making films together. They still make films.
      (make / five films since they left college) They _______________________________
      (make / films since they left college) _______________________________

2 For each situation, ask a question.

For each situation, ask a question using the words in brackets.

1    You have a friend who is learning Arabic. You ask:
      (how long / learn / Arabic?) How long have you been learning Arabic?
2    You have just arrived to meet a friend. She is waiting for you. You ask:
      (wait/ long?) Have _______________________________________
3    You see somebody fishing by the river. You ask:
      (catch / any fish?) _______________________________________
4    Some friends of yours are having a party next week. You ask:
      (how many people / invite?) _______________________________________
5    A friend of yours is a teacher. You ask:
      (how long / teach?) _______________________________________
6    You meet somebody who is a writer. You ask:
      (how many books / write?) _______________________________________
      (how long / write / books?) _______________________________________
7    A friend of yours is saving money to go on holiday. You ask:
     (how long / save?) _______________________________________
     (how much money / save?) _______________________________________

3 Put the verb into the more suitable form, present perfect simple or continuous

Put the verb into the more suitable form, present perfect simple (I have done) or continuous (I have been doing).

1    Where have you been? Have you been playing    (you / play) tennis?
2    Look! ____________________ (somebody / break) that window.
3    You look tired ____________________ (you / work) hard?
4    '____________________ (you / ever / work) in a factory?'    'No, never.'
5    'Liz is away on holiday.'    'Is she? Where ____________________ (she / go)?
6    My brother is an actor. ____________________ (he / appear) in several films.
7    'Sorry l'm late.'    'That's all right ____________________ (I / not / wait) long.'
8    'Is it still raining?'    'No, ____________________ (it/ stop).'
9    ____________________ (I / lose) my address book ____________________ (you / see) it?
10 ____________________ (I / read) the book you lent me, but____________________ (I / not / finish) it yet. It's very interesting.
11   ____________________ (I / read) the book you lent me, so you can have it back now.

Unit 9 Unit 10 Unit 11

English Globe understanding the world

Unit 10. Present perfect continuous and simple (I have been doing and I have done).

Unit 10; Part A

Unit 10; Part B

Unit 10; Part C