12
3.I …….. (enjoy) this conference – it’s more interesting than last year.
4.I …….. (enjoy) a glass of wine occasionally, but I don’t drink much.
5.Central banks always …….. (raise) interest rates when inflation goes up.
6.The Federal Reserve …….. (raise) rates quite slowly at the moment.
7.The sales report is my responsibility. Most of the time I …….. (write) it.
8.This time Wilson …….. (write) the sales report – I’m away on holiday.
9.Look! They …….. (sell) their new cell phone with a 10% discount!
10.Of course, in the winter we …….. (sell) more coats, hats and scarves.
11.She’s Czech – she …….. (come) from Prague.
12.She …….. (come) from Prague, so she may be late.
State Verbs
State verbs are verbs that describe a state rather than an action. A ‘state’ means a condition, something staying the same, a fact. An action means something happening.
The flat is clean. (a state) |
I’m cleaning the flat. (an action) |
The farmer owns the land. (a state) |
The farmer is buying the land. (an action) |
We use present continuous with action verbs. State verbs cannot usually be used in a continuous form, they are used in simple form. State verbs include:
Thoughts and opinions |
think, understand, know, believe, suppose, forget, agree, |
|
remember, imagine, realise, recognise, deserve, etc |
Senses |
hear, see, smell, feel, taste, look, sound |
Feelings/needs |
hate, like, love, need, prefer, want, wish, appreciate, etc. |
Possession and existence |
belong to, include, contain, possess, have (= possess), |
|
own, exist, be |
Others |
depend on, seem, appear, look like, cost, owe, involve, |
|
require, consist of, mean, matter, weigh, etc. |
Some of the state verbs can have a different meaning which describes an action. In this case it is possible to use them in continuous tenses. Study the following examples:
I think he’s lying. (it’s my opinion)
I am thinking about the plan. (I am considering) We can see some people (with our eyes)
I’m seeing my doctor today. (I am meeting)
13
This perfume smells nice (has a nice smell)
He is smelling the flowers. (he is sniffing)
She has a new car (she owns a car)
She is having breakfast at the moment. (she’s eating)
Practice
Exercise 1
Put the verbs in brackets into the present simple or the present continuous.
1.“What …….. (you/look) at?” “The sky. It …….. (look) as if it is going to rain”.
2.“Why …….. (you/taste) the soup?” “To see if it ........ (taste) good. I think it needs more salt”.
3.“How much …….. (the bag of apples/weigh)?” “I don’t know yet. The man ……..
(weigh) the bag now”.
4.“I …….. (think) about buying a new car”. “Why? I …….. (think) your car is fine. You don’t need a new one”.
5.“ Why …….. (you/smell) this soap?” “It ……..(smell) lovely. It’s like roses!”
6.“Bob …….. (have) a new job. He will tell you about it. He …….. (have) a shower at the moment”.
Exercise 2
Say if the sentence are possible or impossible. Correct the ones which are
impossible.
1.I am drinking white wine.
2.I am preferring white wine.
3.That laptop belongs to me.
4.That laptop is belonging to me.
5.It’s seeming complicated.
6.It’s becoming complicated.
7.This machine is costing $ 1m.
8.This machine is working well.
9.I need your signature.
10.I am needing your signature.
11.We’re giving a discount.
12.We’re wanting a discount.
14
Exercise 3
Put each verb in this email into the present simple or present continuous.
Subject: comments on change of company name
Hello Viktor – how are you? Busy as always I …….. (imagine)! Thanks for last email
– I …….. (agree) completely with your comments about the situation in the market. Currently we …….. (make) a reasonable profit, but it may not last.
Actually, I …….. (write) to you about something different. We …….. (do) some market research at the moment – I …….. (remember) that I mentioned it to you when we met last week. We …….. (want) to find out what our customers …….. (think) about our company name. We’re probably going to change it. I’ve attached a document with some ideas – it won’t take long to read. We …….. (try) to find a name that is more modern and more European. Can you let me know what you think? I …… (need) your comments by the end of the month, if possible. I …….. (appreciate) your help on this.
Thanks, Colleen.
Exercise 4
Translate the sentences into English.
1.”Чем теперь занимается Виктор?” “Он сейчас ищет новую работу”. 2. Она работает в отделе кадров (Personnel Department), нанимает новых людей, решает проблемы штатных работников. 3. В данный момент наша компания разрабатывает новое лекарство от аллергии. 4. “Мама, ты постоянно говоришь мне, что делать, куда идти. Я уже не ребенок!” 5. ”Посмотри! Снова идёт дождь!” “Я не удивлен, в августе у нас часто идут дожди”. 6. ”Сколько стоит одноместный номер (a single room) в этой гостинице?” 7. “Я согласен, что экономика всё ещё в кризисе (in crisis), но ситуация постепенно улучшается”. 8. “Не забывайте, что наша компания должна банку 1 млн долларов. Мы должны выплатить долг (debt), иначе мы потеряем все, чем мы владеем”.
15
Present Perfect
We use the Present Perfect simple:
a)to talk about an action or a situation which started in the past and continues to the present (especially with state verbs such as be, have, know, etc.). In this case we often use for (to say how long the period is – for six days) and since (to say when the period began – since Friday).
She has known Kumiko since they were at university together. I have worked in marketing all my life.
“How long have you had your car?” “We have had this car for only two years”.
b)to talk about an action which has recently finished and its result or consequences are visible in the present. In these situations we often use just, already, yet.
The two companies have merged. (past action – they merged; present result – there is one company now.)
“I’ve just called the customer. He hasn’t paid the invoice yet”. (past action – he didn’t pay; present result – we haven’t got the money.)
The CEO has already signed the contract. ( past action – he made a contract; present result – the contract is now signed)
c) to talk about a period of person’s life up to now and a series of actions or experiences in this period. Here we often use ever and never, before.
She is an interesting person. She has had many different jobs and has lived in many places.
“Have you ever been to Japan?” “No, I haven’t. But I’ve been to China twice”.
My grandmother has never travelled by air.
“I’ve seen this woman before, but I can’t remember where”.
d)to give new information or to announce a change or a recent event which happened at an unstated indefinite time in the past. The exact time is not mentioned because it is unknown or not important. The emphasis is placed on the event. If we want to
give more details about the event, we use past simple or past continuous.
“Do you know about Jim? He has gone to Canada”.
The Taylors have bought a new house. They borrowed money from the bank to do it.
16
The police have finally arrested Duncan. He was trying to leave the country when they caught him.
e)to talk about an action which has happened within a specific time period (today, this week, this month, this morning, etc.) which is not over at the moment of speaking.
Sam has attended three meetings this week. (this week is not finished) We have made some improvements to our software this month.
I haven’t seen Tom this morning. (it is still morning)
We form the present perfect with have/has and the past participle (regular verbs: clean – cleaned, study – studied; irregular verbs: give – given, break – broken).
|
Positive |
|
Negative |
Questions |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I/You/We/They |
I have |
eaten |
a |
I have not eaten |
Have |
you eaten? |
|
cake. |
We have |
We haven’t |
What |
have we |
|
|
cleaned the room. |
|
cleaned |
cleaned? |
||
|
|
|
|
|
||
He/She/It |
She has eaten |
a |
She has not eaten |
Has she eaten? |
||
|
cake. He has |
|
He hasn’t cleaned |
Who has cleaned? |
||
|
cleaned the room. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general, the present perfect somehow connects the past with the present. The time period described with present perfect is not finished or not definite.
Time adverbs used with present perfect also describe a period that has not finished: today, this month, this year, so far, up to now, over the last few years, recently, etc.
Note: When we use present perfect with just and already, we put them before the main verb: She has already found a job. They have just arrived.
We use yet only in questions and negative sentences and we put it at the end of the sentence. We use yet to ask if an action is complete or to say that it is not complete:
Has it stopped raining yet? I haven’t told them about the fire yet.
17
Practice
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences with the correct present perfect form of the verbs in brackets.
1. Sales this year …….. (increase) by 5 %. 2. “I …….. just (hear) about your promotion! Congratulations!” 3. …… she……. ever (give) a presentation to a large audience? 4. “I …….. (lose) my passport. …… you …… (see) it?” 5. He ………
(not|finish) yet. He …….. (write) half of the report so far. 6. “How long ……you…… (know) each other?” “We …….. (be) friends since childhood”. 7. “…… you ……. ever (eat) sushi?” “Yes, many times”. 8. “David ……… (change) jobs. He is working for Nokia now”. 9. Up to now the situation …….. (not|improve). This year profits …….. (fall) by 2%. 10. My grandmother …….. (live) in London for twelve years, but she …….. never (use) the Underground. 11. The weather …….. (be) nice lately. 12. “What …… you ….. (do)? You …….. (send) the invoice to the wrong customer!” 13. “How many books ….. Ann ….. (read) this month?” 14. What ……. (happen)?
Exercise 2
Complete this extract from an Annual Report using these verbs in the present perfect: be, begin, buy, have, make.
I am pleased to report that we (1) ……. an excellent year. Our financial services division (2) ……. a profit of over eight million dollars, and for the first time we (3)
……. activities in the area of life insurance. Our expansion plans in Central Europe are also going well: senior managers (4) ……. there many times over the year to look at the possibilities of setting up subsidiaries, and in Slovakia we (5) ……. a controlling share in an existing local company.
Exercise 3
Correct the mistakes.
1.I’ve work in IT development and on the helpdesk.
2.Why have she gone to Canada?
3.The customer has took the last box from our warehouse.
4.We haven’t yet your payment received.
5.“Have you done the timetable yet?” “Yes, I done”.
18
6.Do they have confirmed the hotel booking?
7.He already have contacted the suppliers.
8.The company has have an office in Toronto since seven years.
Exercise 4
Susan is speaking to her friend on the phone at lunchtime. Complete what she says using these words: already, ever, for, just, never, since, up to now, yet.
What a terrible day! I haven’t replied to all my emails (1) ……. and I’ve been here
(2) ……. eight o’clock. And I have to write a report this afternoon. My boss has (3)
…….reminded me about it three times this week. Honestly, I’ve been in this job (4)
…….three years and I’ve (5) ……. had so much work to do.
(6)……. I haven’t complained, but if things continue like this I’m going to say something. Oh sorry, I have to go now. I’ve (7) ……. seen my boss come in and I don’t want him to hear me chatting on the phone. Maybe we could go out for a drink one evening. Have you (8) ……. been to that Salsa Bar near the cathedral? They say it’s very good. Anyway, speak to you soon. Bye.
Exercise 5
Complete a question with the correct past participle form of the verbs in brackets. Then answer the question in a complete sentence.
1. How many books have you …… (buy) since the beginning of the semester? 2. Have you ever …… (climb) a mountain? 3. How long have you …… (have) your mobile phone (bag/watch)? 4. Have you ever …… (eat) a frog? 5. Have you ever …… (break) a window? 6. How many classes have you …… (miss) since the beginning of the semester? 7. Have you ever …… (sleep) in a tent? 8. How long have you …… (know) your neighbour? 9. Have you ever …… (drive) a truck (a car)? 10. How many times have you …… (fly) in an airplane? 11. Have you …… (attend) any parties this week?