SERVICIO NACIONAL DE APRENDIZAJE SENA

SISTEMA INTEGRADO DE GESTIÓN

Procedimiento Ejecución de la Formación Profesional Integral

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE OR CONTINUOUS

 We use the present perfect continuous/progressive to talk about an action or situations which began in the
past and are still happening or have just stopped. It is often used with how long, for and since.
E.g.: The journalist has been working very hard this week.

P res ent P erfect P rogres s ive Some Time Markers

Affirmative S ubject have/has been verb + ing complement for s ince
S he has been s leeping for ten hours . how long… lately
Negative S ubject have/has not been verb + ing complement recently this morning
I have not been reading that book all day all/next week
Question Have/has s ubject been verb + ing complement? thes e days for a long time
Have you been working on the project? S till Yet

I. Put the verbs in brackets in either the Present Perfect Simple or the Present Perfect Continuous.

1. I Have Taken (take) a French course for 5 months and the teacher says I am a fast learner.
2. A) Someone Have Leaved (leave) the ladder outside, look. I expect that’s Brain. He Has Cleaned (clean)
windows. And I don’t think he Hasn´t Finished (finish) yet.
3. Jessy Has Taken (take) driving lessons and next week she is going to take a driving test.
4. I Have Lived (live) in Sue’s flat and when I find a new house, I will move.
5. Please don’t go in. I Have just swept (sweep) the flour.
6. I Have eaten (eat) 8 chocolates up to now.
7. A- Are you hungry? B- No, I’m not. I Have Been Eating (eat) chocolates all day.
8. The young children Has Been Making (make) a snowman all morning.
9. I Have Broken (break) my arms twice within 2 years.
10. I’m tired. I Have Been Playing (play) tennis all afternoon.

II. Choose the correct form of the verb:

1) I (have had/ have been) having some family problems lately.

2) She (has loved / has been) loving chocolate since she was a child.
 SERVICIO NACIONAL DE APRENDIZAJE SENA
SISTEMA INTEGRADO DE GESTIÓN

Procedimiento Ejecución de la Formación Profesional Integral

3) It (has snowed / has been) snowing a lot this week.

4) (Have you studied / have you been studying) hard this semester?

5) How long (have you been/ have you been being) in town.

6) I (have read/ have been reading) this book all afternoon.

IV. Complete the sentences by means of the present perfect continuous:

A) He Has been trying (try) to find a better job.
B) Where has Susan been? I Have Been Looking (look) for her for the last two hours.
C) They Have Been Living (live) here since they got married.
D) We Have Been Working (work) together for many years.
E) She Has Been Learning (learn) French for three years now.
F) How long ………you …………………………………………………… (wait) for us?
G) I …………………………………………………… (take) a shower since three days ago.
H) …………………………………………………… you …………………………………………………… (eat) properly these days?

III. Complete with the correct form of the verbs using either Present Perfect tense or Present Perfect
Continuous.

1. Linda has been traveling (travel) around Europe for three months.
2. She has been visiting (visit) six countries so far.
3. Jimmy has been playing (play) since he was five years old.
4. He has won (win) the national championship four times.
5. Bill and Andy have made (make) ten films since they left college.
6. They have been making (make) films for many years now.
7. Look! Somebody has broken (break) the window.
8. I have been reading (read) the book you gave all morning.
9. But I haven´t finished (not finish) it yet.
10. Sorry I’m late. That’s all right. I haven't been waiting (not wait) for a long time.
11. Peter has been cleaning (clean) the windows for some time.
12. So far he has cleaned (clean) five of them and there are two more to go.
13. My brother is an actor. He has appeared (appear) in several films.
14. I have been learning (learn) Chinese for two years now.

V. Write the interrogative form for each of the following sentences.

Ruby has been eating too much fried food for the last two weeks? Has ruby been eating too much fried food for
the last two weeks?
 SERVICIO NACIONAL DE APRENDIZAJE SENA
SISTEMA INTEGRADO DE GESTIÓN

Procedimiento Ejecución de la Formación Profesional Integral

I have been watching TV since 5pm because I have nothing to do. Have I been watching TV since 5pm because I
have nothing to do?

Tamara has been studying seriously for 5 hours. Has Tamara been studying seriously for 5 hours?

Pele has been playing football for a long time. Has Pele been playing football for a long time?

We have been waiting for him for over an hour! Have we been waiting for him for over an hours?

VI. A Busy Year. What have you been doing since the beginning of the year or marking period? List between five
and ten activities. Then, share your answers with the rest of the group.

VII. Secret Charades. Students are given some index cards. Then, every student has to come to the front of the
class and acts out a daily activity while the rest of the class tries to figure out what it is. The goal is to try to
guess what the student have been doing using the present perfect progressive.

VIII. Song Activity. The famous song by Depeche Mode is used to illustrate the usage of Present Continuous,
Present and Present Perfect Continuous. After listening, fill in the gaps paying close attention to these tenses.

If you’ve been hiding from love

If you’ve been hiding from love And I’m only here to bring you free love
I can understand where you're coming from
I can understand where you're (coming/running) from Hey girl
You've got to take this moment
Then let it slip away
If you've suffered enough Let go of complicated feelings
If you've suffered enough Then there's no price to (pay/pray)
I can understand what you're (thinking/bringing) of
I can see the pain that you're frightened of We’ve been running from love
We’ve been running from love
And I'm only here to (bring/give) you free love
Let's make it clear. That this is free love And we don't know what we're doing here
No hidden catch. No strings attached No we don't (know/love) what we're doing here
Just free love.
No hidden catch. No strings attached We're only here
Just free love. Sharing our free love
Let's (make/take) it clear
I’ve been running like you That this is free love
I’ve been running like you No hidden catch.
Now you understand why I'm running scared No strings attached
Now you understand why I'm running scared Just free love
No hidden catch
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SISTEMA INTEGRADO DE GESTIÓN

Procedimiento Ejecución de la Formación Profesional Integral

No strings attached (love, been running, suffered, been

Just free love hiding)

IX. Reading Comprehension. Read and then answer the questions using the present continuous when possible.

I’ve been sitting on the beach and eating an ice-cream. Alice and Paul have been swimming in the sea and Tom has been in
the park. He´s been playing with a friend. Peter has been listening to the radio and reading. We’ve been having a
fantastic holiday. Abercwm is a little fishing village in north Wales with a park, a castle, some Roman remains and some
lovely gardens, and there’s a little fishing port with a lighthouse. Everybody here has been really friendly since we came
here. I think we’ve been very lucky. This is our second holiday this year and we’ve been doing just what we have wanted to
do. We’ve been sleeping, eating and playing games during all this time. The food has been lovely too.

1) What´s the author of the text been doing?
2) What have Alice and Paul been doing?
3) What has Peter been doing?
4) Where has Tom been?
5) Where´s Abercwm?
The author have been sitting on the beach an eating an ice-cream
They have been swimming in the sea
Peter has been listening to the radio and reading
Tom has been in the park
The abercwm is a little village in the north wales

Vocabulary: Remains= Ruinas; Fishing Village= Pueblito pesquero; Lighthouse= Faro; Lucky= Con suerte; Friendly= Amigable;
Castle= Castillo; Garden = Jardín; holiday=Vacaciones; lovely= encantador.

Past Perfect Tense & Past Perfect Continuous

A) Supply a suitable SIMPLE PAST or PAST PERFECT TENSE:

1. They went (go) home after they finished (finish) their work.
2. She had just gone (just / go) out when I called her.
3. My brother had eaten (eat) all the pie before we got back.
4. He wondered why I hadn´t visited (not / visit) him before.
5. She said that she had already seen (already / see) the Pyramids.
6. The fire had spread (spread) to the next building before the firemen arrived (arrive).
7. They drank small cups of coffee, after they had finished (finish) dinner.
8. He told me he had caught (catch) a young lion.
9. His mother had worried (worry) a lot about him before she heard (hear) that he was safe.
10. He had already learnt (already / learn) English before he leaved (leave) for England, but before he arrived in
England, he forgot (forget) some.
11. Mary went (go) swimming after she come
(come) home. After she had swum (swim), she called

(call) her friend Judy.

12. I went (go) to the theatre with my friends yesterday. I hadn´t been (not / go) to the theatre for a year. We had
(have) a very good time.
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SISTEMA INTEGRADO DE GESTIÓN

Procedimiento Ejecución de la Formación Profesional Integral

13. After they had finished (finish) their breakfast, they had left (leave) for school.
14. Linda played (play) tennis after she had done (do) her homework.
15. My father watered (water) the flowers after he had cleaned (clean) the car. After he had watered (water) the
flowers, he had (have) dinner.
B) Combine the following sentences by using AFTER / BEFORE:

1. My mother took her umbrella. She went out.

My mother took her umbrella. Before leaving

2. Frank called me. I went to school.

Frank called me after school.

3. I washed the dishes. I watched TV.

I washed the dishes before I watched TV

4. She washed her hands. She had lunch.

Washed his hands before going to lunch

5. The boys bought a ball. They played football.

The children bought a ball, and after played soccer

6. My mother made a cake. The guests came.

My mother made a cake and after guests arrived.

7. He put sugar in his tea. He drank it.

He put sugar in his tea and after He drank it

8. I got up. I had breakfast.

I got up and after I had breakfast

9. The children ran away. They broke the window.

The children before broke the window and after fled

10. I fastened my seat belt. The plane took off.

I fastened my seat belt before the plane took off

C) Complete the following sentences:

1. After I had watched that horror film, I went home.

2. She finished her homework after went to watch television
3. When I came home, my sister she is already breakfast
4. Before he went out, I bathed
5. They had telephoned me before leaving

D) Read the passage and answer the questions:

I had an amusing experience last year. After I had left a small village in the south of France, I drove on to the next
town. On the way a young man waved to me. I stopped and he asked me for a lift. After he had got into the car, I said
good morning to him in French and he replied in the same language.
 SERVICIO NACIONAL DE APRENDIZAJE SENA
SISTEMA INTEGRADO DE GESTIÓN

Procedimiento Ejecución de la Formación Profesional Integral

Except a few words, I do not know any French at all. Neither of us spoke during the journey.

I had nearly reached the town, when the young man suddenly said, very slowly, “Do you speak English?”

As I soon learned, he was English himself!

1. When did the writer drive on to the next town?

After leaving a small town in France

2. When did he say good morning to the man in French?

After he got in the car

3. When did the young man say, “Do you speak English?”
Before reaching the town

E) Fill in the following sentences by using PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE:

1. We had been playing (play) football for half an hour when it started to rain.
2. I had been studying (study) English for a short time when the electricity went off.
3. She had been doing (do) her homework before you came in.
4. His knees and hands were very dirty. He had been crawling (crawl) in the garden.
5. I had been driving (drive) the car for five years when I sold it.
6. We were very tired. We had been traveling (travel) for about sixteen hours.
7. They were out of breath. They had been running (run) for a long time.
8. He had been living (live) in London for ten years when he had an accident.
9. He was tired because he had been writing (write) letters all morning.
10. He had been repairing (repair) the radio for an hour when you arrived.

F) Fill in the following sentences by using PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE:

1. I was tired because I had been typing (type) for a long time.
2. Her boss was very angry with her because she had been coming (come) to work very late.
3. I didn’t know about the earthquake because I hadn´t been watching (not / watch) television.
4. She was too fat because she hadn’t been keeping (not / keep) her doctor’s advice.
5. I took my car to the garage because the brakes had not working (not / work).
6. She had to go to the dentist because she hadn´t cleaning (not / clean) her teeth.
7. He got bad marks because he hadn´t been studying (not / study) hard.
8. She wasn’t at home. She had been going (go) out with her boyfriend.
9. I thought I had been behaving (behave) like an idiot.
10. He had been studying (study) English) very hard for the last few days.