10. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS AND SIMPLE (I have been doing and I have done)

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

10. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS AND SIMPLE

(I have been doing and I have done)

A	Study this example situation: There is paint on Kate's clothes. She has been painting her bedroom. Has been painting is the present perfect continuous. We are thinking of the activity. It does not matter whether it has been finished or not. In this example, the activity (painting the bedroom) has not been finished.   Her bedroom was green. Now it is yellow. She has painted her bedroom. Has painted is the present perfect simple. Here, the important thing is that something has been finished. Has painted is a completed action. We are interested in the result of the activity (the painted bedroom), not the activity itself.
B	Compare these examples: My hands are very dirty. I've been repairing my bike. Joe has been eating too much recently. He should eat less. It's nice to see you again. What have you been doing since we last met? Where have you been? Have you been playing tennis? My bike is OK again now. I've repaired it. Somebody has eaten all the chocolates. The box is empty. Where's the book I gave you? What have you done with it? Have you ever played tennis?
C	We use the continuous to say how long (for something that is still happening): How long have you been reading that book? Lisa is writing emails. She's been writing emails all morning. They've been playing tennis since 2 o'clock. I'm learning Arabic, but I haven't been learning it very long. We use the simple to say how much, how many or how many times: How much of that book have you read? Lisa is writing emails. She's sent lots of emails this morning. They've played tennis three times this week. I'm learning Arabic, but I haven't learnt very much yet.
D	Some verbs (for example, know/like/believe) are not normally used in the continuous: I've known about the problem for a long time. (not I've been knowing) How long have you had that camera? (not have you been having) But note that you can use want and mean in the present perfect continuous: I've been meaning to phone Jane1 but I keep forgetting.

EXERCISES

10.1	1 Tom started reading a book two hours ago. He is still reading it and now he is on page 53. __He has been reading ______ for two hours. (read) __He has read _____________ 53 pages so far. (read) 2 Rachel is from Australia. She is travelling round Europe at the moment. She began her trip three months ago. She _________________for three months. (travel) ______________________six countries so far. (visit) 3 Patrick is a tennis player. He began playing tennis when he was ten years old. This year he won the national championship again- for the fourth time. _______________________ the national championship four times. (win) _______________________ since he was ten. (play) 4 When they left college, Lisa and Sue started making films together. They still make films. They _______________________ films since they left college. (make). _____________________________ five films since they left college. (make)
10.2	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 a world trip. You ask: (how long /save?) ______________________________________ (how much money /save?) ______________________________________
10.3	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 I'm late.' 'That's all right. ____________________ (I /not /wait) long.' 8 'Is it still ra1n1ng?’. 'No, _________________________ (it/ stop) 9 _________________________ (i/ lose) my phone _________________________ (you/see) it anywhere? 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. 12 This is a very old book. _________________________  (I I have) it since I was a child.

ANSWER KEY