PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

 

	Right now I am sitting at my desk. (a) I have been sitting here since seven o'clock. (b) I have been sitting here for two hours. (c) You have been studying for five straight hours. Why don't you take a break? (d) He has been watching television since nine o'clock this morning. (e) It has been raining all day. It is still raining right now.	This tense is used to indicate the duration of an activity that began in the past and continues to the present. When the tense has this meaning, it is used with time words such as for, since, all morning, all day, all week.
	f)  I have been thinking about changing my major. g) All of the students have been studying hard. h) John has been doing a lot of work on his thesis. He should be finished by May. i) My back hurts, so I have been sleeping on the floor lately. The bed is too soft.	When the tense is used without any specific mention of time, it expresses a general activity in progress recently, lately.
	j) I have lived here since 1975. k) I have been living here since 1975. l) He has worked at the same store for ten years.	With certain verbs (most notably live, work, teach) there is little or no difference in meaning between the two tenses when since or for is used.

 

 

Exercise 1:

Use the simple past or the present perfect. In some sentences either tense is possible but the meaning is different.

1. I (not attend) ________________________________ any parties since I came here.

2. I (go) ________________to a party at Sally's apartment last Saturday night.

3. Bill (arrive) ____________________________here three days ago.

4. Bill (be) _______________________________________here since the 22nd.

5. Try not to be absent from class again for the rest of the term. You (miss, already) _______________________________ too many classes. You (miss) __________________________________ two classes just last week.

6. Last January, I (see) ____________________ snow for the first time in my life.

7. In her whole lifetime, she (see, never) ______________________snow.

8. I (know) _______________________________ Greg Adams for ten years.

9. So far this week, I (have) _________________________ two tests and a quiz.

10. Up to now, Professor Williams (give) ________________ our class five tests.

11. The science of medicine (advance) _________________ a great deal in the 19^th century.

12. Since the beginning of the 20^th century, medical scientists (make) ____________________ many important discoveries.

Exercise 2:

Use the present perfect progressive in the following.

1. The boys are playing soccer right now. They (play) have been playing for almost two hours. They must be getting tired.

2. Alex is talking on the phone. He (talk) _________________on the phone for over a half an hour. He should hang up soon. Long distance is expensive.

3. I'm trying to study. I (try) __________________to study for the last hour, but something always seems to interrupt met I think I'd better go to the library.

 

Complete the following by writing two sentences. Use the present perfect progressive in the first sentence; then make another sentence that might typically follow in this situation.

 

4. The baby is crying. She Has been crying for almost ten minutes.

I wonder what's wrong.

 

5. It's raining. It ______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

6. I'm studying. I _____________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

7. I'm waiting for my friend. I ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

8. Bob is sitting in the waiting room. He __________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 3:

Use the present perfect or the present perfect progressive. In some sentences, either tense may be used with little or no change in meaning.

 

1. It (snow) ___________________________all day. I wonder when it stops.

2. We (have) __________________three major snowstorms so far this winter. I wonder how many more we will have.

3. It's ten p.m. I ______________________(study) for two hours and probably won't finish until midnight.

4. I (write) ______________________ them three times, but I still haven't received a reply.

5. I (live) ______________________ here since last March.

6. The telephone (ring) _______________________ four times in the last hour, and each time it has been for my roommate.

7. The telephone (ring) ____________________ for almost a minute. Why doesn't someone answer it?

8. The little boy is dirty from head to foot because he (play) ____________ in the mud.

Exercise 4:

Same as the preceding exercise.

1. A: (Be, you) ________________ able to reach Bob on the phone yet? B: Not yet. I (try)________________for the last twenty minutes, but the line (be) __________busy.

2. A: Hi, Jenny. I (see, not) _______________you for weeks. What (do, you) _________________________ lately? B: Studying.

3. A: What are you going to order for dinner?

B: Well, I (have, never) _______________pizza, so I think I'll order that.

4. A: What's the matter? Your eyes are red and puffy. (Cry, you)______________________?

B: No. I just finished peeling some onions.

4. A: Dr. Jones is a good teacher. How long (be, he) _______________at the university?

  B: He (teach) ____________________here for twenty-five years.

 

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