Contrasts with present perfect simple & present perfect continuous

There may be little contrast when some state verbs are used.

How long have you lived here?

How long have you been living here?

Some verbs (especially sit, lie, wait and stay) prefer the continuous form.

There may be a contrast between completion and incompletion, especially if

the number of items completed is mentioned.

Completed: emphasis on achievement

I've ironed five shirts this morning.

Incomplete, or recently completed: emphasis on duration

I've been ironing my shirts this morning.
 Time expressions with present perfect:

Meaning with present perfect verb forms is associated with certain time expressions.

Contrast with past simple may depend on the choice of time expression.

Past simple: referring to a specific finished time.

yesterday, last week, on Sunday

Present perfect: with 'indefinite' time expressions meaning 'up to now'.

since 1968, already

Many time expressions are not associated with a specific verb form, since they refer both to finished
time or time up to the present, depending on the speaker's perspective.
/ haven't seen Helen recently.
I saw Jim recently.

Others include:
for, never, before, all my life, for a long time, today, all day, every day
These may be used with either past simple or present perfect.
 EXERCISES:
Underline the correct word or phrase in each sentence.

a) I can't believe it, Inspector. You mean that Smith stole/has stolen/has been stealing
_________________
money from the till all this time!

b) You three boys look very guilty! What did you do/have you done/have you been doing
___________________
since I_____
left/have left the room?

c) Why on earth________________
didn't you tell/haven't you told me about that loose floorboard? I
tripped/have tripped over it just now and hurt myself.
________

d) It's a long time since______

I saw/have seen/have been seeing your brother Paul. What
did he do/has he done/has he been doing lately?
__________________

e) I can't believe that you ate/have eaten/have been eating three pizzas already! I
____________
only brought/have only brought them in fifteen minutes ago!
____________
f) Don't forget that you didn't see/haven't seen Mrs. Dawson. She has waited/has
_____________ been waiting
________________
outside since 10.30.

g) What ____________
did you think/have you thought of Brighton?____________
Did you stay/Have you stayed
there long?

h) I feel really tired. I weeded/have weeded/have been weeding the garden for the
___________________
last three hours and I didn't rest/haven't rested for a single moment.
_____________

i) I'm having problems with David. He has called/has been calling me up in the
________________
middle of the night and told/telling
______ me his troubles.

j) How long did you have/have you had/have you been having driving lessons? And
______________________
did you take/have you taken/have you been taking your test yet?
________________
Put each verb in brackets into either the past simple, present perfect simple or present perfect continuous.
I (1) .................. (move) to London three weeks ago to take up a new post at my
company's London office. Ever since then, I (2) ............................... (wonder) if I (3)
....................... (make) the right decision. I (4) ............................... (see) a lot of 1 moved
2 have been wondering
negative things about living in the capital, and I can't say London (5) 3 made
............................... (make) a very favourable impression on me. It's so polluted 4 have seen
and expensive, and the people are so distant. 5 has made
6 grew up
You see, I (6) ............................... (grow up) in a fairly small town called Devizes 7 (have) spent
8 always wanted/have always
and I (7) ............................... (spend) all of my life there. I (8) ...............................
wanted
(always/want) to live in a big city and so when my company (9) ............................... 9 offered
(offer) me a job in London, I (10) ............................... (jump) at the chance. I think 10 jumped
I'm not alone in my aversion to the big city. According to a programme I (11) 11 have just heard
............................... (just/hear) on the radio, more and more people (12) 12 have stopped
............................... (stop) working in London recently, and a lot of large 13 have chosen/have been
choosing
companies (13) ............................... (choose) to move away from the centre. Oh
14 have already sold
well, it's too late to change my mind now, because the job is up and running, and I 15 have secretly been hoping
(14) ............................... (already/sell) my house in Devizes. But I must admit, over
the past few days, I (15) ............................... (secretly/hope) that the company
would relocate me back to my old town.
 Underline the correct word or phrase in each sentence.

a) It's a long time______

since/when I last saw you.

b) I've seen Bill quite often lately/from

_____ time to time.

c) Have you spoken to the director beforehand/already?

________

d) I've lived in the same house _________

for years/for ever.

e) I've read the paper _____

now/still.
f) Diana has bought a computer two years ago/since then.
____________

g) Nothing much has been happening by now/so far.

______

h) I've finished reading her new book at last/this evening.

______

i) Sue bought a CD player last week and she's been listening to music ever since/for a
_________
while.

j) Sorry, but I haven't got that work finished already/yet.

____
VOCABULARY WORK
 Complete each space in the text with a word formed from the words in capitals

speculation
Press ____________________________(1) continues over whether the Prime SPECULATE
Minister is on the point of calling a General Election. An
announcement
______________________________ (2) is expected shortly from government ANNOUNCE
analysts
headquarters. Political ____________________________ (3) believe that the ANALYSE
survival
timing of an election is crucial to the ____________________________ (4) of SURVIVE
the government. Michael Lee of the 'Independent' commented:
'We've had repeated _______________________________(5) from the Prime ASSURE
Minister that no election would be called this year, but present
circumstances may just cause him to change his mind.' Six
unthinkable
months ago this would have been _________________________________(6) THINK
political
An election would have been ___________________________(7) suicide, and POLITICS
downfall
would certainly have led to the ______________________________(8) of the DOWN
government.
The government was coming in for severe
criticism
___________________(9) because of its education policy. It was also CRITICISE
disastrous
widely attacked for its ________________________(10) involvement DISASTER
failure
in the arms export scandal, and for its ______________________(11) FAIL
unemployment
to address the problem of ____________________________(12) But EMPLOY
according to recent opinion polls, the electorate is impressed at
unity
the way the PM has restored party _____________________(13) and UNITE
divisions
overcome the internal _________________________(14) which were DIVIDE
threatening to rip the party apart. Michael Lee comments:
justification
There would be some _________________________(15) in calling an JUSTIFY
election pretty soon. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it
happens within the next day or two.'
 Underline the two words that are appropriate in each sentence.

a) Harry has a good salary. He gains/gets/makes

gains/gets/makes over £20,000 a year.

b) Mary was awarded a grant/scholarship/subsidy to study child psychology.

give/pay/take for your new car?

c) How much did you give/pay/take

d) Their house fetched/produced/sold

fetched/produced/sold for a lot more than they expected.

e) I'm going to the bank to get

get out/remove/withdraw
out/remove/withdraw the money for the rent.
f) The manager disappeared with the receipts/takings/wages
receipts/takings/wages from the concert.

g) By the time Kate retired she was a fortunate/prosperous/wealthy

fortunate/prosperous/wealthy businesswoman.

h) We had a good holiday but it was rather costly/expensive/valuable.

costly/expensive/valuable.

priceless/valueless/worthless.
i) Unfortunately the old painting I found turned out to be priceless/valueless/worthless.

j) We would appreciate it if you would close/settle/pay

close/settle/pay your bill as soon as possible.
1) INTEGRATE
______________________________________________________________
Disarrange, disconnect, disjoin, disperse, divide
______________________________________________________________
2) PROMOTE
______________________________________________________________
Discourage, dissuade, halt, handicap, hinder, impede
______________________________________________________________
3) COMPREHENSIVE
______________________________________________________________
Empty, incomplete, limited, narrow, uncomprehensive
______________________________________________________________
4) CONSENT
______________________________________________________________
Denial, disagreement, disapproval, dissent, prohibition, refuse, rejection, veto
______________________________________________________________
5) ENFORCEMENT
______________________________________________________________
Abandon, disregard, forgetfulness, neglect
______________________________________________________________
6) VOLATILE
______________________________________________________________
Certain, constant, definite, dependable, reliable, stable, steady, sure
______________________________________________________________
7) NEUTRALITY
______________________________________________________________
Interest, interference, partiality
______________________________________________________________
8) IMMINENT
______________________________________________________________
Avoidable, distant, escapable, later, never, unlikely
______________________________________________________________
9) PROHIBITED
______________________________________________________________
Allowed, lawful, legal, legitimate, moral, right, permitted
______________________________________________________________
10) SAFETY
______________________________________________________________
Danger, exposure, jeopardy, vulnerability
______________________________________________________________
11) IN ACCORDANCE WITH
______________________________________________________________
Differently, dissimilarly, unequally, unevenly
______________________________________________________________
12) STRENGTHEN
______________________________________________________________
Curtail, decrease, diminish, hinder, lessen, reduce, shrink, undermine, weaken
______________________________________________________________

13) MEDIATION
______________________________________________________________
Argument, contention, disagreement, fight
______________________________________________________________
14) LINEAR
______________________________________________________________
Different, changing, deviating, devious, indirect, intermittent
______________________________________________________________
15) APPROPRIATE
______________________________________________________________
Improper, inappropriate, incorrect, inopportune, misbehaving, unfitting, unsuitable
______________________________________________________________
16) PRIMARY
______________________________________________________________
Advanced, auxiliary, inessential, inferior, minor, nonessential, secondary, subordinate, unimportant
______________________________________________________________
17) INCLUDE
______________________________________________________________
Erase, exclude, erase, exclude, forget, separate, withdraw
______________________________________________________________
18) PROMINENT
______________________________________________________________
Common, inconspicuous, invisible, obscure, ordinary, unimportant, unknown
______________________________________________________________
19) COMPRISE
______________________________________________________________
Exclude, neglect, let go, reject, release
______________________________________________________________
20) SPECIFIC
______________________________________________________________
Indefinite, indistinct, inexact, normal, ordinary, uncertain, undefined
______________________________________________________________
 Peace Support: A New Concept for UN Peacekeeping?

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is observed each year on

29 May to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in the line of service as UN
“Blue Helmets” and to thank those currently serving in that role.

In response to the 2013 theme of “UN Peacekeeping: Adapting to New Challenges”,

UNU-ISP intern Peter Nadin suggests that on-going insecurity in complex
environments can be better addressed by a “peace support” model which allows a
mission to adapt its posture between peacekeeping and peace enforcement.
In the present era of United Nations peacekeeping, underpinned by doctrine and
best practice, why is it that peacekeepers continue to struggle with the
implementation of their mandates?

In an ideal world, peace agreements provide security. The parties to an agreement

fulfil their obligations, and armed groups operating outside of the agreement
submit to the rule of law. In reality, however, spoilers of the peace readily
perpetuate the conditions of insecurity, as their agendas are often best served by
means of violence.

In these circumstances, what are UN peacekeepers to do? Are they to stand idly by
and allow insecurity to predominate? Should not the first priority of a UN
peacekeeping mission be the achievement of negative peace — that is, the
absence of violent conflict, and thus “public security”?
Doctrine dictates that peacekeepers have a responsibility to respond robustly to threats
to their mandate by the tactical use of force. Yet, if one takes the example of the Eastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), insecurity has become the status quo despite
the presence of the robustly mandated peacekeeping operation known as MONUSCO.

To address this deficit between doctrine and practice, the UN Security Council recently
adopted resolution 2098 that authorised a South African Development Community
(SADC) “intervention brigade” to carry out “targeted offensive operations to neutralize
armed groups with the intent of preventing violence against civilians and protecting
civilians under imminent threat”. The new intervention brigade is partly reflective of a
model known as “peace support”.

In this prescriptive article, I will argue that peace support could be part of the answer to
the challenges of on-going insecurity in complex peacekeeping environments.
Peace support: goals and principles

The idea behind peace support is not particularly revolutionary. In essence, peace support
missions are designed to undertake a range of civilian and military tasks, including the
maintenance of public order, policing, mentoring of security forces, infrastructure
reconstruction and national reconciliation. The peace support model operates on the basis
of flexibility, allowing the mission to adapt its posture between peacekeeping and peace
enforcement depending on the compliance of the parties.

The first goal of peace support is the achievement of negative peace. To achieve this, the
use of force must be monopolized by a legitimate actor. In an ideal world, democratically
accountable and effective state security forces would monopolize the use of force and
uphold the rule of law. However, the reality is that state security forces are often
unaccountable and ineffective.
In these situations, a UN or multi-national force might step into the breach by providing
public security. Many would argue, though, that UN peacekeepers do not possess the
capacity to provide public security. For example, 20,000 troops thinly spread across a
territory the size Western Europe (in the case of the DRC) or France (in the case of Darfur)
does not represent a credible security force.

This argument, however, neglects the typical nature of security threats. A competent
combat company, well-trained and well-commanded, can make a very real difference to
security if that company was to create and implement a strong operational design.
Operation Palliser in Sierra Leone, EUFOR Artemis in the DRC, and INTERFET in Timor-Leste
are all operations that have successfully assisted in the restoration of public security in
complex environments, albeit over limited timeframes.
As suggested, there are indications that the peace support model could
potentially be applied in UN peacekeeping. In May 2000, the Revolutionary
United Front of Sierra Leone (RUF), a spoiler to the Lome Peace Agreement,
captured 500 UN peacekeepers (UNAMSIL) and began an advance on the
country’s capital, Freetown.

In response to this incident, the British government launched Operation

Palliser, comprising a small force supported by an over-the-horizon naval
task force. This robust force, operating with UNAMSIL, quickly confronted the
RUF, capturing its leader (Foday Sankoh) and repelling the RUF advance on
Freetown. The robust use of force, applied judiciously by the British (and
UNAMSIL during Operation Khukri), was certainly a critical factor in the
creation of a permissive security environment (a genuinely secure
environment for the population) in Sierra Leone immediately following the
intervention.
•The equation
•When confronted with a robust peace support operation, armed groups have three
options open to them:
•Option 1: pursue peace; negotiate an agreement; and then disarm, demobilize
and reintegrate
•Option 2: pursue peace; negotiate an agreement; but renege on the agreement
and continue the conflict
•Option 3: continue the conflict (status quo)
•Armed groups pursuing insecurity for their own gains are likely to continue their
peace-spoiling activity, unless they can be persuaded otherwise. The job of a peace
support operation is to convince armed groups of the futility of pursing Options 2
and 3 by attaching a cost to violence. To do this, UN forces (or a separate multi-
national force) should adopt a robust posture — the idea being to coerce (or
preferably co-opt) armed groups into pursuing Option 1: peace.
Adopting a robust posture requires an understanding of the complex environments
(characterized by complex physical and human terrain), in which peace support missions
are tasked to operate. It also requires a strategy and a set of tactics to match.

Good peacekeeping (as with good counter-insurgency) is akin to “armed social work”,
wherein military means serve a political strategy. It’s all about undermining a spoiler’s
strategy (“fight his strategy, not his forces”) by building trust with the local population.
The end goal is not necessarily the complete defeat of an armed group, but the
disarmament of its combatants through coercion.

Once a spoiler understands that he can’t pursue war, at zero cost, peace through
disarmament becomes a real possibility. Obviously, UN forces must be adequately
equipped to deal with and deter spoilers. This requires bridging of the gap between
mandate and means, through the provision of force enablers (such as close-air support,
logistics, intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities) and the establishment of cross-
mission coordination mechanisms (such as joint operations headquarters).
So what happens once a permissive security environment has been created?
The legacy of any UN mission must be the creation of a well-trained, well-
paid, accountable and effective local security force. The creation of such a
force must be one of the central priorities of UN missions.

Security is the foundation of the state; without it, state institutions are liable
to fail. UN missions should, therefore, abandon the tendency to pursue the
goal of positive peace (“sustainable peace”) before first attaining the goal of
negative peace (“the absence of war”).
In conclusion

The model suggested above is merely a set of prescriptive musings on the topic
of improving UN peace operations. The suggestions themselves emerge from a
recognition that, in their present state, peace operations are not capable of
adequately filling the security vacuums that exist in many peacekeeping
environments.

What is required is a model better focused on the provision of security — a

model focused on establishing the necessary bedrock upon which post-conflict
states can be rebuilt.