11. Present Perfect Continuous

Use

1. actions started in the past and continuing up to the present

He's been writing a letter for two hours. (He started two hours ago and he's still writing it)

2. past actions of certain duration having visible results or effects in the present

She's been crying. (Her eyes are red.)

3. actions expressing anger, irritation, annoyance, explanation or criticism

Who has been using my toothbrush? (annoyance)

4. emphasis on duration (usually with for, since or how long) She's been calling on clients since this morning.

Time expressions: how long, for, since

Note: live, feel and work can be used either in the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Cont. with no difference in meaning.

I’ve been living / I’ve lived in Rome for a year.

11.1 Complete the sentence using the verb in brackets in the present perfect continuous form:

1. I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I hope you (not wait) __________ long.

2. There you are! We (look for) __________ you all morning!

3. I feel really tired. I (study) __________ hard lately.

4. Anna has got a really good suntan. She (go) __________ to the beach a lot.

5. Tom needs cheering up. He (have) __________ a lot of problems lately.

6. I haven’t seen you for ages. What (you / do) __________?

7. I (work) __________ here for the past three years, and I really like it.

8. Sam and Chris (paint) __________ their room, and their clothes are covered in paint!

11.2* Underline the correct form:

1. Scientists 1) have recently identified / have been identifying a new species of animal in the rainforest of Borneo. They 2) have been searching / searched for this creature for several years, after reports from local villagers, and say it is a type of lemur.

2. Archaeologists in Guatemala 3) have found / have been finding a Mayan wall painting which they think is more than 2,000 years old. Archaeologist William Saturno 4) explored / has been exploring the site since 2002.

3. Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope think they 5) found / have found two new moons circling the planet Pluto. Astronomers 6) have been looking / looked closely at Pluto since 1978 when they 7) spotted / have spotted its first moon. The telescope 8) worked / has been working for fifteen years, and 9) has been producing / has produced more than 700,000 images of the universe.

4. Australian scientists 10) have been discovering / have discovered a new coral reef over 60 km long in the Gulf of Carpentaria by using satellites to spot the reefs in deep water. Recently divers 11) have managed / have been managing to reach the reefs and take photographs.

12. Past Continuous

Use

1. action in the middle of happening at a stated past time

He was playing tennis at 4.30 yesterday.

2. past action in progress interrupted by another past action. The longer action is in the Past Continuous, the shorter action is in the Past Simple.

While I was get­ting dressed the bell rang.

3. two or more simultaneous past actions

While I was sunbathing, Tim was swimming.

or background description to events in a story

She was flying to Paris. The sun was shining...

Time expressions: while, when, as etc

12.1* Underline the correct form:

1. While he took / was taking a bath, Archimedes discovered / was discovering the principles of density and buoyancy.

2. When Edouard Benedictus, a French scientist, worked / was working in his laboratory, he dropped / was dropping a glass bottle which had some plastic inside – and invented / was inventing safety glass.

3. Columbus arrived / was arriving in America while he tried / was trying to reach the Far East.

4. Alexander Fleming discovered / was discovering penicillin by accident while he looked / was looking at some old experiments.

5. While Hiram Bingham climbed / was climbing in the mountains of Peru in 1911, he discovered / was discovering the lost city of Macchu Picchu.

6. While Isaac Newton sat / was sitting under an apple tree, an apple fell / was falling on his head, and he understood / was understanding gravity.

7. While Dr Harry Coover tried / was trying to invent a new kind of plastic, he made / was making a very soft substance which stuck / was sticking things together. It was Superglue.

8. While he observed / was observing the Moon through his telescope, Galileo realized / was realizing that it had mountains and craters.

12.2* Complete the sentence with the past simple or past continuous form of the verb in brackets: