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Practice with the Present Perfect Continuous

Look up an English grammar reference book and find answers to the following questions considering the given examples:

1. What action does the Present Perfect Continuous denote?

All ministers have been working all day.

You are not well today. You look distressed. You have been weeping.

I have been discussing political matters since then.

I suppose you have been telling lies again.

2. What words, if any, are used to identify the Present Perfect Continuous?

I have been looking through all these bills for the last ten minutes.

People have been rating the activity of the Cabinet highly since it was elected .

3. Is it possible to use the Present Perfect Continuous with the verbs not admitting of the continuous form?

With the verbs not admitting of the continuous form the Present Perfect is the only tense possible.

“She’s dead – has been dead for hours”, said the doctor.

I’ve heard for a long time already that there are many debates about the electoral system but our experts keep silence.

4. Which tense is used with non-terminative verbs?

With certain non-terminative verbs, such as to live, to work, to study, to teach,

to travel, etc., both the Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous are used.

We have worked at the problem for several months.

(The fact is emphasized).

We have been working and working at the problem for months

and I don’t think we are likely to solve it.

(The process is emphasized).

5. Should the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous be used?

a. The Present Perfect denotes a completed action while with the Present Perfect Continuous there is an implication of incompleteness.

He has made some payments. Now he has to save.

John is out of money. He has been making some payments.

b. We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about how long something has been in progress.

We have been planning our meeting since 12 o’clock.

How long have you been typing letters?

We use the Present Perfect to talk about what has been achieved in a period of time.

I’ve typed four letters so far this morning.

We have planned the greater part of our meeting since 12 o’clock.

c. We use the Present Perfect Continuous for situations which are more temporary (continuing for a short period).

He has been living there for just a few weeks.

We have been buying newspapers at the current price for just two days.

We use the Present Perfect for situations which are more permanent (continuing for a longer time).

You have worked hard all your life.

Exercise 1

Complete the sentences using the appropriate tense of the verbs in brackets.

1. I’m sorry, I’m late. ... (you / wait) long?

2. We ... (plan) our meeting since early morning but we are still in the process.

3. Our specialists ... (study) the political party system for 3 months and now they can demonstrate the results of their survey.

4. They ... (advertize) their candidates everywhere for a month.

5. – How long ... you (look for) the documents concerning the electoral system in Britain? – I ... (try) to find them since morning, but I think it’ll take me the whole day.

6. ... you (clear up) some of Sally’s work ? It has been a hectic day.

7. Mr. White, the Labour Party member, ... (pay) his member’s subscription to the party since January 3.

8. I ... (dial the number direct) for half an hour, but in vain. Let’s do it through the operator.

9. The main function of the Cabinet ... (be) to make laws since it was founded.

10. These experts ... (analyze) the general policy of the government for a week. Do you think we should hire some more specialists?

Exercise 2

Choose the correct form.

1. – Can I have a look at his report for the month? – Certainly. You can keep it if you like. I have been reading / have read it.

2. They have been paying / have paid through a London branch this month, but we haven’t received the payment yet.

3. You know this candidate has failed / has been failing to arrive in London.

4. Mr. Cross has been paying / has paid nearly two thousand pounds so far this year.

5. What’s the matter? Has something been going / has something gone wrong with our legislative act?

6. I have always been writing / have always written my reports by myself.

7. Prime Minister has been ringing / has rung you up for 2 hours. He is on the line.

8. Something has happened / has been happening to our agent in the USA. I can’t locate him.

9. The secretary has tried / has been trying to find the file concerning the results of the 5 May 2005 general elections for 2 hours.

10. Miss Trand has telephoned / has been telephoning to say that she is ill and cannot come to the office.