GRAMMAR B1 UNIT 3

TENSE NAME PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

+ HAVE/HAS + VERB (past participle) + + HAVE/HAS + BEEN + VERB-

SENTENCE. ing+ SENTENCE.

FORM + HAVEN’T/HASN’T + VERB (past participle) + + HAVEN’T/HASN’T + BEEN +

SENTENCE. VERB-ing+ SENTENCE.

HAVE/HAS + + VERB (past participle) + HAVE/HAS + + BEEN + VERB -

SENTENCE? ing+ SENTENCE?

1. Situations that started in the past and are still true. 1. To talk about actions and situations (often
2. Completed actions at a time in the past which is not mentioned. temporary ones) continuing up to now.
3. Completed actions where the important thing is the present
result. 2. Actions and situations (often temporary ones)
4. With words/phrases like: already, ever, just, never, (BETWEEN that ended recently.
HAVE/HAS and VERB)
5. already (AT THE END OF A QUESTION, TOO) 3. With phrases like: all day, all week, all month…, for,
USAGE 6. for, since (BETWEEN THE ACTION AND THE PERIOD OF TIME) just and since.
7. yet (AT THE END OF A NEGATIVE OR INTERROGATIVE
SENTENCE) You mention actions that you have been doing during
8. so far, up to now (AT THE BEGINNING OR THE END OF A a period of time
SENTENCE, USUALLY AT THE END)
9. With superlatives.
10. With ordinal numbers.
GRAMMAR B1 UNIT 3
1. I’ve lived here all my life. 1. You’ve been playing that game for hours.
2. I’ve played this game before.
3. She’s just finished her final exam. 2. She’s been working all morning and she’s only just
4. My sister has already decided what to get dad for his birthday. finished.
5. Have you finished your homework already?
EXAMPLES 6. I have studied English for 22 years. 3. My grandma has been doing a handmade soup
7. I haven’t discovered who is the impostor yet. since she was 10.
8. We have read 5 books up to now.
9. That’s the best pizza I’ve ever eaten!
10. This is the first time I’ve fallen asleep at the cinema!
PRESENT PERFECT
PAST SIMPLE PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE
CONTINUOUS
1. All the actions that happened 1. We use it with an UNFINISHED 1. Same meaning as PRESENT
yesterday, last month, last week… TIME WORD (this morning, this PERFECT SIMPLE but the EMPHASIS
(FINISHED TIME WORD) week, this month…) is in the length of the action.
2. When we know WHEN happened the • She has read all the book this week. • I have been waiting for hours!
action mentioned.(PAST) 2. To express the quantity we have • I have waited for hours.
• Yesterday I went to the done one action. 2. We can not express quantity with
supermarket • We have been to USA 2 times. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS.
• I have drunk 3 coffees this •
DIFFERENCES I have been drinking 3 coffees this
morning. morning.
3. Whole action finished, the result 3. The whole action doesn’t need to
comes from the action being be finished, the result is something
finished. that you can see, hear, smell or
• They have eaten dineer, so let’s go hear.
out! • We have been making a cake, that’s
why smells chocolate.
4. Something that is temporary.
• He has been runnning a lot
recently.