Unit 11 - Present Perfect Continuous

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

Use:

1. To express an activity which began in the past and continues to the present: He's been studying English for years.
2. to refer to an activity with a result in the present: I haven't got any money because I've been shopping.

Note:

1. Sometimes there is no difference in meaning between the Present Perfect Simple and the Present Perfect Continuous.
   

How long have you lived here?      

How long have you been living here?

   2. State verbs - like,love,know, have (for possession) are NOT found in the Present Perfect Continuous.

We've known each other for a few weeks. NOT   We've been knowing each other for a few weeks.

Note:

3. Some verbs have the idea of a long time - wait, work, travel, learn, play. These verbs can often be found in the Present Perfect Continuous: I've been waiting all day. 
4. Some verbs don't have the idea of a long time: find, start, buy, die, lose, break, stop. It is unusual to find these verbs in the Present Perfect Continuous: My cat has died. My iPad's broken. I've bought a puppy. 

Note: 

If the sentence gives a number in a quantity, the Present Perfect Simple is used. The Continuous is not possible.

I've been writing emails all morning. I've written twenty.

NOT I've been writing twenty

Now you try: Present Perfect Simple and Continuous

Answer a or b for each of the questions below.

 1.a She’s been buying a new dress

b She’s bought a new dress.

 2. a I’ve played three football matches this week.

b I’ve been playing three football matches this week.

3. a How long have you been learning Arabic?  

b How long have you learnt Arabic?

4. a How long have you known Mrs Corrigan?   

b How long have you been knowing Mrs Corrigan?

 5. a I saw him yesterday.

b I’ve seen him yesterday.

6.  a How long have you waited for the taxi?

b How long have you been waiting for

the taxi?

Tip: for the progress test

Present Perfect Continuous: Do the exercises in the WORKBOOK on page 74 (Present perfect simple) and page 75 (ex 4 and 5)/ Page 76 (ex 6 and 7)

Tense Review: ex 8 on page 76 and ex 9 on page 77 WORKBOOK

Celebrity Guess

You are going to spend 5 minutes researching a celebrity. You should write ten statements describing that person using the present perfect continuous. For example, ‘She has been staring in films since she was four years old’. 

Take turns reading your lists to the class until the class is able to guess the celebrity being described.

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