Continuing or Completed Action

Continuing or Completed Action

Another difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous is when we want to show whether something is completed or not. The continuous tense shows that it is not completed.

Compare these:

He' s read the book about JFK (the book is finished)
He' s been reading the book about JFK (the book's still being read)
She's taken the medicine (referring to one completed action)
She's been taking the medicine (referring to medicine that is being taken over a period of time)

Repeated or Single Action

This is similar to the previous one, but it shows the continuous form can be used to show that something is repeated:

Your wife has phoned you (may have been only once)
Your wife has been phoning you - (she has rung several or many times)
I've gone to the local swimming pool (could just be once)
I've been going the local swimming pool (indicates going there on several or many occasions)

State Verbs

State verbs are those that represent a state of mind, such as thinking, knowing, wanting, seeing etc.

Though there are some we can use in the present perfect continuous tenses, generally most are cannot be used in the continuous tense and so they are only used with the present perfect:

For instance, we don't say this:

She's been knowing him for 3 days
He's been seeing the car go past every day

We would say:

She's known him for 3 days
He's seen the car go past every day

Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Continuous Exercise 1

1. ___________________ (they / arrive) already? 2. Lucy ___________________ (run) 2000 metres today. 3. I ___________________ (clean) all morning – I’m fed up! 4. How long ___________________ (you / know) Simon? 5. I ___________________ (drink) more water lately, and I feel better. 6. Sorry about the mess! I ___________________ (bake). 7. How many times ___________________ (you / take) this exam? 8. He ___________________ (eat) six bars of chocolate today! 9. Julie ___________________ (cook) dinner. Let’s go and eat! 10. The students ___________________ (finish) their exams. They’re very happy. 11. The baby’s face is really dirty! What ___________________ (he / eat)? 12. Iona is exhausted these days. She ___________________ (work) too hard recently. 13. Luke ___________________ (never / be) abroad. 14. I ___________________ (wait) for three hours already! 15. ___________________ (you / finish) your homework yet? 16. How long ___________________ (you / be) a lawyer? 17. I ___________________ (read) your book all day. It’s very interesting, but I’m only on chapter 2. 18. She ___________________ (drink) ten glasses of water! 19. I ___________________ (have) my dog for sixteen years. 20. Help, I ___________________ (lose) my wallet! How can I get home?

Упражнение 1. Choose the right tense form.

Nina has been learning/has learned English for 2 years.
The birds have already flown/have been flying to the South.
They have known /have been knowing him for many years.
Mike has forgotten/has been forgetting to learn the poem.
The children have been watching/have watched cartoons for 2 hours.
The train has just come/has been coming.
We haven’t been having/ haven’t had a holiday for 5 years.
She has been teaching/has taught at this school for twenty years.
David has been painting/has painted in his studio since 10 o’clock.
Mary and Sam have collected/ have been collecting stamps for 3 years.
Their parents have been/have being friends since their childhood.
Dave has been/ has been being a student for 2 years.

Упражнение 2. Make sentences using Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous.

Пример:

She/clean/the flat for four hours. – She has been cleaning the flat for four hours.

I / read/Tolstoy stories/ in the park for two hours.
I /read/three stories.
Granny/knit/in the living room/ since morning.
Helen/travel/round Europe/for 3 weeks.
She/visit/already/3 countries.

Упражнение 3. Поставь глагол в скобках в Present Perfect или Present Perfect Continuous.

I (not to see) him for ages.
He (to do) his lessons since lunch.
I (not to hear) about him for a long time.
I (to drive) since I was 17.
Jack (to fail) his driving test three times because к doesn't know how to park.
I think he (make) a lot of improvement.
Alice (not/pass) her driving test because she doesn’t know the rules well.
She (worry) about this for two months.
She (study) the driver’s manual for hours every day.
She (not/take) another test yet.
I (to have) a headache since I got up.
He is my friend, I (to know) him for a long time.
Ivan has a stomachacke. He (to eat) junk food all day.
I (never to hear) that song before.

Упражнение 4. Make questions using either Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous.

My friend is waiting for me at the station. (How long…? )
He translates books. (How many…? )
Mother is making a cream cake. (How long…? )
Bill is travelling in Europe at present. (How many countries…? )
My parents are decorating the fir-tree. (How long…? )
They are married. (How long…? )

Упражнение 5. Translate into English using either Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous.

Моя жена рисует уже 5 лет, но ещё не продала ни одной картины.
Я рад, что мы закончили эту работу.
Мои руки грязные. Я работала в саду.
Ник съел все конфеты.
Вы когда-нибудь играли в шахматы?

Упражнение 6. Correct the mistakes if any.

They are discussing the problem for hours, but has not solved it yet.
Somebody has been playing tennis since 2 o’clock.
Is it still raining? No, it have stopped.
John has been winning the championship two times.
The boys have fished for 3 hours.
How many books have you written?
Mike has invited many friends to his birthday party.
He has been hating oranges since his childhood.
They have been taken the dog for a walk.
Irene has left for the airport.

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