Present
perfect continuous and simple (I have been doing and I have done)
A.
Study these example situations:
Ann's
clothes are covered in paint. She has been painting the ceiling.
Has been
Painting is the present perfect
We are
interested in the activity. It does not matter whether something has been
finished or not. In this example, the activity (painting the ceiling) has not
been finished.
The
ceiling was white. Now it is blue. She has painted the ceiling.
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
ceiling), not in the activity itself.
Compare
these examples:
* My
hands are very dirty. I've been repairing the car. The car is OK again now. I've repaired it.
* She's
been smoking too much recently. She should smoke less. Somebody has smoked all my cigarettes. The
packet is empty.
* It's
nice to see you again. What have you been doing since we last met? Where's the book I gave you? What have you
done with it?
* Where
have you been? Have you been playing tennis?
Have you ever played tennis?
B.
We use the continuous to ask or say how long (for an activity that is still
happening):
* How
long have you been reading that book?
* Mary
is still writing letters. She's been writing letters all day.
*
They've been playing tennis since 2 o'clock.
We use
the simple to ask or say how much, how many or how many times (completed
actions):
* How
many pages of that book have you read?
* Mary
has written ten letters today.
*
They've played tennis three times this week.
C.
There are some verbs (for example, know/like/believe) that are normally not
used in the continuous:
* I've
known about it for a long time. (not 'I've been knowing')
For a
list of these verbs, see Unit 4A.
EXERCISES
10.1
Read the situations and write two sentences using the words in brackets.
1. Tom
started reading a book two hours ago. He is still reading it and now he is on
page 53.
(read/for two hours) He has been reading for two hours.
(read/53
pages so far) He has read 53 pages so far.
2. Linda
is from Australia. She is travelling round Europe at the moment. She began her
tour three months ago.
(travel/for three months) She ---
(visit/six countries so far) ---
3. Jimmy
is a tennis player. He began playing tennis when he was ten years old. This
year he is national champion again--for the fourth time.
(win/the
national championship four times)
(play/tennis since he was ten)
4. When
they left college, Mary and Sue started making films together. They still make
films.
(make/ten films since they left college) They ---
(make/films since they left college)
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: (how
long/wait?)
3. You
see somebody fishing by the river. You ask: (how many fish/catch?)
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/reach?)
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 holiday. 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
etc.) or continuous (I have been doing etc.).
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. 'Jane
is away on holiday.' 'Oh, 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 raining?' 'No, it --- (stop).'
9. I ---
(lose) my address book. --- (you/see) it anywhere?
10. I
--- (read) the book you lent me but I --- (not/finish) it yet.
11. I
--- (read) the book you lent me, so you can have it back now.
