The present perfect continuous

Exercise 21.

Form Participle I from the following infinitives. Comment on the spelling changes.

Model. to sip – sipping	We double the final -P because it comes after the short stressed vowel.
to prefer – preferring	We double the final -R in the stressed syllable in the polysyllabic verb if it has no diphthong.
to die – dying	We change the final -IE into -Y.

to lie, to offer, to nod, to say, to dictate, to study, to play, to discuss, to panic, to hop, to buy, to appear, to tie, to traffic, to confer, to travel, to begin, to pay, to pop, to stop.

Exercise 22.

(a) Make the following sentences negative and interrogative. Comment on the way of forming.

Model. He’s been writing the letter for an hour.	He has not been writing the letter for an hour.
	Has he been writing the letter for an hour?
In the negative sentence we place the negative particle NOT after the first part (has for the 3^rd person singular) of the auxiliary verb TO BE.
In the interrogative sentence we place the first part (has for the 3^rd person singular) of the auxiliary verb TO BE before the subject.

1. I’ve been working for this firm since 2002.

2. Peter’s been doing his homework for half an hour.

3. We’ve been living in this house since we moved to Birmingham.

4. The police officers have been questioning the suspects the whole day.

5. Dorothy has been working hard these two days.

6. They’ve been playing football since they came home.

7. Our college team has been winning all games this season.

8. I’ve been waiting for you the whole morning.

9. He’s been helping poor all his life.

10. She’s been mowing the lawn for an hour.

(b) Put questions to the words in bold type.

1. He’s been writing the letter for two hours.

2. We’ve been working in the garden all day.

3. Our mother has been cooking dinner for an hour.

4. I’ve been living in Manchester since I moved to England.

5. She has been waiting for Bob since 2 o’clock.

6. They’ve been playing chess for two hours.

7. Mary has been washing the dishes since she came home.

8. We’ve been discussing this matter for a long time.

9. She’s been talking on the phone since 6 o’clock.

10. Tom has been fixing his car the whole day.

(c) Ask all possible questions.

Our teacher has been explaining the grammar rule to us for ten minutes.

Exercise 23.

Translate the following sentences into Ukrainian and comment on the use of the Present Perfect Continuous.

Model. He’s been writing the letter for an hour.

Він пише листа годину.

has been writing is the form of the Present Perfect Continuous Inclusive Active which denotes an action which began in the past and is still in progress. The for-phrase denotes the whole period of duration of the action.

1. While I have been alone for so long, I have been thinking very, very deeply

2. Elephants and their ancestors have been living on this planet for 5 million years.

3. The CIA has been holding and interrogating Qaeda captives at a secret facility in Eastern Europe, part of a covert prison system established after the Sept. 11 attacks.

4. ‘How long have you been standing there?’ he asked.

5. Professor Owen has been giving many talks about wildlife preservation in the last two years.

6. She has been living in England for the last two years.

7. What do women want? Men have been asking themselves that question since time immemorial.

8. Granddad has been living here for more than sixty years.

9. ‘Prose?’ Mr. Scogan pounced alarmingly on the word. ‘You’ve been writing prose?’

10. ‘What have you been doing all this time?’ she asked.

Exercise 24.

(a) Fill in the gaps with the Present Continuous or the Present Perfect Continuous. Comment on their use.

1. He … (to write) the report. He … (to write) it for a few days.

2. We … (to play) chess. We … (to play) chess since we came home.

3. My father … (to repair) the roof. He … (to repair) it all day long.

4. She … (to translate) the article. She … (to translate) it for ten minutes.

5. I … (to wait) for Jim. I … (to wait) for him since 7 o’clock.

6. Jenny … (to swim) in the pool. She … (to swim) since morning.

7. They still … (to argue). They … (to argue) for an hour.

8. The boys … (to work) in the back yard. They … (to work) there since they got home.

9. Tommy … (to paint) the picture. He … (to paint) it for three months.

10. My mum … (to clean) the house. She … (to clean) it since 9 o’clock.

(b) Fill in the gaps with the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous. Comment on their use.

1. I … (to do) all exercises from this book. I can give it to you if you want.

2. They … (to discuss) this matter since morning, but they … (to make) a decision yet.

3. ‘You look pale.’ ‘I’m so tired. I … (to work) in the garden.’

4. Maggie is in hospital. She … (to be) ill for a week.

5. Here you are at last. I … (to wait) for you since 10 o’clock.

6. I need to see the doctor. I … (not to sleep) for two days.

7. Jim and Jack … (to be) absent for half an hour. What can they be doing?

8. ‘You look quite fit for your age.’ ‘I … (to do) a lot of running for six months.’

9. Our company … (to rebuild) this old road for two months, but still there is a lot of work to do.

10. Mary … (to wash) her hands. Now she can help you with the cooking.

(c) Fill in the gaps with the Present Indefinite, the Present Continuous, the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous. Comment on their use.

1. ‘you … (to see) Jim?’ ‘He … (to wait) for you in the library now.’

1. I … (to read) this novel since Saturday, but I … (not to read) it yet.

2. She … (to work) for this company since she … (to live) here.

3. His hands are dirty because he … (to fix) his bike.

4. ‘you ever … (to be) to Spain?’ ‘No, but I … (to go) there next week.’

5. The train … (to leave) at 11 sharp, but they … (not to buy) the tickets yet.

6. We can’t go for a walk. The weather … (to be) beastly. It … (to rain) heavily since morning.

7. Here … (to come) Mary. We … (to wait) for her all day.

8. I quit! I … (to work) hard. I … (to be) exhausted. I need some rest.

9. ‘Can you give me that book?’ ‘I’m afraid, I can’t. I am so tired. I … (to read) it the whole morning, but I … (not to read) it yet.’

10. What … (to be) wrong with you? You could have broken the car! My parents … (to own) it since their marriage.

Exercise 25.

Translate the following sentences into English using the Present Indefinite, the Present Continuous, the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous. Comment on their use.

1. Коли ви їдете до Києва? – Завтра о 8-й. Думаю, що батько вже придбав квитки.

2. Ти добре виглядаєш. – Останні два місяці я граю в теніс, щоб скинути вагу.

3. Де деканат? – Вибачте, та я не знаю. Я тут працюю лише декілька днів.

4. Том Браун зіграв за команду коледжа вже в десяти матчах. Команда виграє всі матчі відколи грає Том.

5. Чим вони займаються? – Вони обговорюють важливе питання. Вони його обговорюють з 5-ої години.

6. Ви маєте якісь захоплення? – Я люблю музику. Я завжди її любила.

7. Чому ви всі смієтеся? Пол знову розповідав свої дурні історії?

8. З часу минулорічної операції Сью вчиться ходити знову. Вона проходить декілька ярдів кожного дня.

9. Давно не бачив тебе. Де був? Чим займався весь цей час?

10. Я застудилась і не сплю вже два дні.