State verbs and

Present perfect continuous

 State Verbs
• State verbs are those that represent a state of mind, such as
thinking, knowing, wanting, seeing etc.
For instance, we don't say this:

∙ She's been knowing him for 3 days

∙ He's been seeing the car go past every day
We would say:

∙ She's known him for 3 days

∙ He's seen the car go past every day
The present perfect continuous vs simple
• often focuses on the action itself, while the present perfect simple
focuses on the fact that the action is completed:

∙ I've been reading the book you recommended. (I'm enjoying it, but I'm
not finished).

∙ I've read the book you recommended. (I've finished it, so we can talk
about it).
Stative verbs often relate to:

∙ thoughts and
opinions: agree, believe, doubt, guess, imagine, know, mean, re
cognise, remember, suspect, think, understand
∙ feelings and
emotions: dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
∙ senses and
perceptions: appear, be, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, taste
∙ possession and
measurement: belong, have, measure, own, possess, weigh.
Make a sentence using present perfect
simple or continuous:
• Read/book
Make a sentence using present perfect
simple or continuous:
• His cheeks are red. He/ run
Make a sentence using present perfect
simple or continuous:
• She has a medal. She /run marathon.
Make a sentence using present perfect
simple or continuous:
• He /make coffee all morning.
Make a sentence using present perfect
simple or continuous:
• You have a tomato stain on your sweater. Yes, I /make lunch all
morning.
Different meaning
• I have done my homework.

• I have been doing my homework.

Different meaning
• I have done my homework. (Meaning: My homework is
completed now.)

• I have been doing my homework.

Different meaning
• I have done my homework. (Meaning: My homework is
completed now.) Emphasis on completion (završetak radnje je bitan)

• I have been doing my homework.

• (Meaning: That's how I have spent my time and I haven’t
finished it. It does not matter whether the homework is
completed now.) Emphasis on duration (trajanje radnje je bitno)
You try to explain:
• I have washed the car. (Result?)

• Why are you soaking wet? - I have been washing the car. (is he
still washing it?)
You try to explain:
• I have washed the car. (Result: The car is clean now.)

• Why are you soaking wet? - I have been washing the car.
• (side effect: I became wet when I was washing the car. It does
not matter whether the car is clean now.)
You try to explain:
∙ She's taken the medicine

∙ She's been taking the medicine

You try to explain:
∙ She's taken the medicine (referring to completed action; she
drank it with a glass of water)

∙ She's been taking the medicine

You try to explain:
∙ She's taken the medicine (referring to completed action; she
drank it with a glass of water)- odnosi se na radnju

∙ She's been taking the medicine (referring to medicine that is

being taken over a period of time; she takes one every day)
Repeated or Single Action

• This is similar to the previous one, but it shows the continuous

form can be used to show that something is repeated:

∙ I've gone to the local swimming pool (where is he now?how

many times?)

∙ I've been going the local swimming pool (how many times?)
Explanation
∙ I've gone to the local swimming pool (could just be once)

∙ I've been going the local swimming pool (indicates going there
on several or many occasions)
The same meaning
• in some cases we can choose either of the tenses. This is
usually the case when we are referring to facts about
someone's life, often with the words for and since or some other
time frame.
• For example:

∙ He's eaten red meat his whole life

∙ He's been eating red meat his whole life
 Don’t say:
▪ don’t use expressions that talk about one time in the past with the
present perfect continuous!
▪ I have been living in Japan five years ago.
▪ She has been getting her hair cut yesterday.
▪ We have been buying yogurt from the same place last week.
▪ They’ve been working at the factory in 2010.
• The words ago, yesterday, last week, and in 2010 tell
you that this thing happened one time. You need the
simple past to say these thoughts.
• I lived in Japan five years ago.
She got her hair cut yesterday.
We bought yogurt here last week.
They worked at the factory in 2010.