Lesson twenty-one

1. New grammar structures

1. The Present Perfect Tense Present Perfect употребляется:

1) с предлогами since c (с какого-то прошлого момента до настоящего времени) и for в течение, в продолжение.

We have had rainy weather since Thursday.

Дождливая погода стоит с четверга.

You have lived in Moscow for five years now, haven’t you?

Вы живете в Москве уже пять лет, не так ли?

Не has been very busy for the last two days.

В течение двух последних дней он был очень занят.

Since when have you known them?

С какого времени вы знаете их.

2) с наречием since с тех пор.

They left for Tomsk two years ago and I have not seen them since.

Они уехали в Томск два года тому назад и с тех пор я их не видел.

3) в главном предложении, придаточное которого вводится союзом since с тех пор, как. В придаточном предложении сказуемое стоит в форме Simple Past.

They have been good friends since they met in St. Petersburg in 1978.

Они большие друзья еще с 1978 г., с тех пор, как встретились (познакомились) в Санкт-Петербурге.

Exercise 1. Read and translate these sentences. Pay attention to the Present Perfect Tense.

1. I have been a student for a year and a half now. 2. Mr Nelson has been my doctor for a long time. 3. Mr Jenkins has been in Moscow for two weeks now. 4. We have had rainy weather since Wednesday. 5. It has been very hot since June, hasn’t it? 6. I have not gone boating since last Wednesday. 7. You have lived in London for two years now, haven’t you? 8. "Since when have you had that car, Bill?" "Since 1978." 9. We met in 1979 and have been good friends since.

Exercise 2. Make the necessary substitutions and reproduce the dialogues.

1. A: How long have you known the Greens, John?

J: About five years. I’ve known them since they came to live here in 1981.

(A: the Browns, the Johnsons)

2. A: Have you seen John lately?

B: No, I haven’t seen him since he left for his holiday.

(A: Peter, Bill, Ben)

Exercise 3. Transform these sentences according to the models.

a) Do you know the Smiths? (for five years)

Yes, I’ve known them for five years.

1. Does Mr Brooks work in this office? (for two years) 2. Do they live in St. Petersburg (since 1975) 3. Is it cold here? (for three weeks) 4. Is that film on at our local? (since last Sunday) 5. Is your son at Moscow University? (for a year now)

b) Did it snow last week? (for two weeks)

No. It hasn’t snowed for two weeks.

1. Did it rain last Tuesday? (for a week now) 2. Did you see John yesterday? (since last Thursday) 3. Was the sky cloudy yesterday? (for a couple of days) 4. Did they score a goal? (since the match began)

Exercise 4. Complete these sentences.

1. I have been awfully busy since ... 2. The sky has been cloudy since ... 3. It has been very cold for... 4. It has been hot for ... 5. The film has been on since .... 6. They have lost five matches since ... 7. It has not rained since ...

Exercise 5. Translate into English.

1. Это у вас новая машина? — Нет, она у меня уже два года. 2. Они были очень заняты в течение этих двух недель. 3. Я не видел несколько лет старшую сестру и буду очень рад, когда она приедет навестить меня этим летом. 4. Сегодня так же холодно, как и вчера, не правда ли? — Да, холодная погода держится уже неделю (уже неделю холодно). Надеюсь, что на следующей неделе будет теплее. 5. Сегодня жарче, чем вчера, не так ли? — Да. Весь месяц стоит жара (уже месяц жарко). 6. Я знаком с Петровыми десять лет. 7. Они забили три гола с тех пор, как началась игра. 8. Наша команда выиграла четыре встречи (игры) с конца декабря.

Exercise 6. Make up ten sentences using Present Perfect.