Present Perfect Continuous or Present Continuous?

Exercise 205

Put the verb into the Present Continuous or the Present Perfect Continuous.

1. Maria has been learning (learn) English for two years.

2. Hello, Tom. I _____ (look) for you all morning. Where have you been?

3. Why _____ (you / look) at me like that? Stop it!

4. We always go to France for our holidays. We _____ (go) there for years.

5. I _____ (think) about what you said and I've decided to take your advice.

6. "Is Ann on holiday this week?" "No, she _____ (work)."

7. Sarah is very tired. She _____ (work) very hard recently.

8. The phone _____ (ring). Can you answer it?

9. Don't disturb me. I _____ (work).

10. I _____(work) hard, so now I'm going to have a rest.

11. We need an umbrella. It _____ (rain).

12. The ground is wet. It _____ (rain).

13. Hurry up! We _____ (wait). We _____ (wait) for an hour.

Present Perfect Continuous or Present Perfect?

Exercise 206

Identify the speech situations, then complete the sentences.

• recently completed action

• emphasis on number

• unstated time

• visible results

• anger or annoyance

• emphasis on duration

• personal experience

2. They…(just/get married) . 3. She…(iron all day). 4. …. (you cook again?)

5. She… (have) a haircut. 6. He… (be) to Africa. 7. They…(buy) a pet dog.

8. He…(write) three letters. 9. She …(write) letters all morning

Exercise 207

Complete the sentences with these verbs, using the same one for each sentence in the pair. Use the Present Perfect in one sentence and the Present Perfect Continuous in the other.

claim tour

disappear make

give read

move translate

stop smoke

1. a An important file _____ from my office.

b Plants and vegetables _____ from my garden since we had new

neighbours.

2. a Dr. Fletcher _____ the same lecture to students for the last ten years.

b Mr. Goldman _____ nearly a million pounds to the charity this year.

3. a With their win yesterday, Italy _____ into second place in the table.

b As house prices in the cities have risen, people _____ into the

countryside.

4. Tom started translating an article two hours ago. He is still translating it and now he is on page 5.

a Tom _____ a book for two hours.

b Tom _____ 5 pages so far.

5. a All day, the police _____ motorists to question them about the accident.

b Good, the noise _____ I can start concentrating on my work again.

6. a For years he ____ that he is related to the royal family.

b The earthquake _____ over 5000 lives.

7. When they left college, Mary and Sue started making films together. They still make films.

a They _____ ten films since they left college.

B They _____ films since they left college.

7. Linda is from Australia. She is touring Europe at the moment.

a She _____ Europe for three months.

B She _____ six countries so far.

7. a I ____ the book you lent me but I haven't finished it yet.

b I _____ the book you lent me, so you can have it back.

10. a My father _____ too much recently. He should smoke less.

b Somebody _____ all my cigarettes. The packet is empty.

Exercise 208

Choose the most appropriate sentence ending.

I've swim… I've been swimming…	a and I feel exhausted. b thirty lengths of the pool.
They have asked me… They have been asking me…	a to visit them for ages, but I've never had the time. b to join the company on a number of occasions.
I have visited Vienna… I've been visiting Vienna…	a three or four times before. b since 1990 and I've always felt very safe here.
We've stayed… We've been staying…	a at this hotel a couple of times before. b at a small hotel near the sea.
The team have been playing… 10. The team have played…	a well all the season. b four games already.
11. I've bumped into Sue… 12. I've been bumping into Sue…	a quite often these days. b three times this week.
13. She's driven … 14. She' been driving	a for a year now. b all the way here without a break.

Exercise 209

Complete these dialogues. Use the Present Perfect Continuousorthe Present Perfect.

1.	A: B: A:	I'm very tired. That's because you have been working too hard. I know. But at least I _____ my composition.	work finish
2.	A: B: A: B:	You look hot. What _____ you _____? I _____ tennis with Sarah. Oh, yes. I _____ her play before. She's good, isn't she? Yes, she is. She _____ me five times since the start of the summer.	do play see beat
3.	A: B:	_____ you _____ able to reach Bob on the phone yet? Not yet. I _____ for the last twenty minutes, but the line _____ busy.	be try be
4.	A: B:	Hi, Jenny. I _____ you for weeks. What _____ you _____ lately? Studying.	see, not do
5.	A: B:	What are you going to order for dinner? Well, I _____ pizza, so I think I'll order that.	have, never
6.	A: B:	What's the matter? Your eyes are read and puffy. _____ you _____? No. I just finished peeling some onion.	cry
7.	A: B:	Dr. Jones is a good teacher. How long _____ he _____ at the university? He _____ here for twenty years.	be teach

Exercise 210

Fill in with the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous.

Dear Sir,

I am writing to you to apply for the position of Sports Editor at your newspaper. I 1 have been working (work) as a reporter on The Morning Globe for eight years, and 2 _____ (write) about every major sporting event in England in that time. I 3 _____ (also / make) several important contacts within the sporting world such as football managers and racehorse trainers, who 4 _____ (be) of great help to me in my career. The editor of The World 5 ____ (recently / offer) me the post of Senior Sports Reporter, but as I 6 _____ (never / really / like) the newspaper I think I will turn it down. However, I 7 ____ (read) your newspaper since I was a young boy and I 8 ____ (always / admire) it. I 9 _____ (wait) for an opportunity like this to turn up all my working life. My editor 10 _____ (agree) to give me time off to attend an interview should you wish to meet me.

Yours faithfully,

Gordon Bennett

Activity

Read the letter again. Write your own letter of application for getting a job you would like in the future. Inform the job advertiser of responsibilities your job involves, skills and qualifications you possess, summarizing your career so far. Don't forget to emphasize what appeals to you in the advertisement published. Use the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous whenever possible.