C2 The perfect aspect. The continuous aspect.

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE (have / has + past participle)

1. To talk about past experiences when you don’t say when they happened.
I’ve been to Australia. / Have you ever broken your leg?/ J K Rowling has written seven books.
2. With already / just / yet.
We’ve just phoned the doctor. / I’ve already finished my lunch. / Has she arrived yet?
3. With superlatives and expressions like the first / the second time…
It’s the best book I’ve ever read. / It’s the first time he has cheated in an exam.
4. For finished actions connected with the present (recently finished).
My sister’s had a baby. / I’ve cut my finger and I’m bleeding now.
5. With How long? and for / since with non-action verbs (have for possession…, like,
know…) to say that something started in the past and is still true now.
I’ve known her since I was a child. / She’s had this job for six months. .
*With action verbs you can also use the present perfect simple if you focus on results,
not on the action.
6. When we say or ask how much / how many / how often we have done something up
to now.
How many of his films have you seen? / She’s been sick twice this month.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS (have / has + been + past participle)

1. For continuous actions which have just finished but which have present results.
Take your shoes off now! You’ve been working in the garden and they’re filthy!
2. For repeated actions, usually with a time expression like recently / all day / all
morning / all week. Often, you can translate this as “Llevar + gerundio” in Spanish.
This applies to action verbs.
I haven’t been sleeping well recently / It’s been raining on and off all day /
I’ve been shopping all morning and I’m exhausted.
3. With How long? and for / since with action verbs (jump, speak, feel) to say that an
action started in the past and is still happening now. ( “Llevar + gerundio”)
How long have you been feeling like this? / I’ve been waiting for you for two hours….
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE OR CONTINUOUS?

1a. With how long…? and for / since with non-action verbs we have to use the present
perfect simple.
I’ve believed in God since I was a child. (You can’t say “I’ve been believing)
1b. With how long…? and for / since with action verbs, we can use both tenses. In this
case, we prefer the present perfect continuous for shorter, more temporary actions.
We’ve lived (or ‘ve been living) in this town since 1994.
We’ve been living in a rented flat for two months.
2. The p. p. simple emphasizes the completion of an action, the p.p. continuous
highlights the continuation or duration of an action.
We’ve painted the kitchen and now it looks much better.
We’ve been painting the kitchen so we need to have a shower now.
I have done my homework so I deserve to have a break. (completion)
I’ve been doing my homework so I’m really tired now.(duration)
3. With How long? and for / since with action verbs (jump, speak, feel) to say that an
action started in the past and is still happening now. ( “Llevar + gerundio”)
How long have you been feeling like this?/ I’ve been working here for two months.
4a. When you mention the amount of times you’ve done sth you use the p p simple.
I’ve read ten newspapers today. / I’ve told you a thousand times.
4b. When you use “all + time expression” you use the p p continuous.
I’ve been waiting all my life to meet someone like you. She’s been cooking all morning.
* Exception: you use the p.p. simple when you have a non-action verb with “all+time
expression”.
She’s been busy all day.

EXERCISE 1
Underline the correct form of the verb. Justify your choice. Sometimes both options are correct.

1- Have you ever tried / been trying caviar?

2- She’s lived / been living here for years.
3- Your boss has phoned / been phoning three times this morning!
4- The kids are exhausted because they’ve been playing /’ve played outside all day.
5- He hasn’t seen / hasn’t been seeing the new James Bond film yet.
6- I’ve never met / I’ve never been meeting his wife, have you?
7- We’ve studied / we’ve been studying English all our lives.
8- I’ve tidied / I’ve been tidying the attic all afternoon. I’ve nearly finished.
9- He’ll be here any minute. He’s just left / He’s just been leaving work.
10- How long have you had / have you been having your car?
11- Oh no! Somebody has broken / has been breaking the window.

EXERCISE 2
Complete the gaps with the present perfect simple or continuous.

1- I ________ a new car. Do you like it? (buy)

2- You look hot. _________? (you / run)
3- We ________ Jack and Anne for ages. (know)
4- Liam ________ her homework so she can’t go out. (not do)
5- Did you know ___________? They live in Bristol now. (they / move)
6- How long ___________ together? Five months? They’re going to marry. (Lucy and Michael / go out)
7- I __________ time to cook dinner. Shall we get a takeaway? (not have)
8- “We __________ for hours! I’m sure we’re lost, God, why didn’t we take our mobile phones with us?
What can we do???” (walk)
9- _________ more healthily? You look slimmer. (you / eat)
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE (had + past participle)

1. For things which happened (completed actions) before the main events / another
action.
She had already gone home when I arrived at the party.
When we arrived at the airport we realized we had forgotten one suitcase at home.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (had been + verb + ing)

1. To talk about a non completed, continuous action that was going on before the main
events happened. Sometimes you can translate this as “Llevaba + gerundio”
We’d been flying for two hours when the captain told us to fasten our seatbelts because of turbulence.
Jane had been browsing the internet for 30 minutes when she suddenly noticed it was dark outside.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PAST PERFECT SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS

1. Non action verbs (like be / have (possession…) / know …) are normally used in p p
simple.

2. With action verbs, both forms can be used. In these cases, pp simple emphasizes the
completion of an activity, whereas p p continuous highlights the continuation of an
activity.
She was crying because she’d been reading a very depressing book.
She didn’t want to see the film because she’d read the book.
(*) If an action happens in a very short time you also use the past perfect simple.
I arrived at the cinema after the film had started.
3a. When you mention the amount of times you’d done sth you use the past pft simple.
I had read ten newspapers that day. / I had driven there a hundred times.
3b. When you use “all + time expression” you use the past perfect continuous.
I had been waiting all my life to meet someone like you, and the day I met you I couldn’t believe it.
* Exception: you use the past perfect simple when you have a non-action verb with
“all+time expression”.
She’d spoken English all day.

4. With just / already / yet you use the past perfect simple.
I had just told you it was a bad idea, but you insisted and you failed right then.

Exercise 3
Put the verb in brackets in the past perfect simple (had done) or continuous (had been doing).

1- His English was very good. He __________ it for five years. (learn)
2- My feet were aching because we __________ for hours. (queue)
3- She went to the police because someone __________ her bag. (steal)
4- The streets were wet. It __________ all morning. (rain)
5- She got to work late because she __________ an accident on the way. (have)
6- I almost didn’t recognize him. He __________ a lot since I last saw him. (change)
7- They were sunburnt. They __________ all morning but they __________ any sun cream. (sunbathe,
not put on)
8- I could see from their faces that my parents ________. They looked so tense! (argue)
9- Jess had a bandage on her arm. She __________ off her bike the previous day. (fall)
10- She confessed that she __________ a divorce lawyer several times over the last few months. (consult)
11- I __________ to get tickets for that play for months before my friend finally got them. (try)
12- When I arrived at the theatre, my friend __________ picked the tickets. (already / pick)
13- We ___________ for an hour when the police stopped us. (run)
FUTURE PERFECT ( will have + past participle)

1. Use it to say that something will be finished before a certain time in the future.
The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the
train will have left.
2. This tense is frequently used with the time expressions by + Saturday / March / 2034
or in + two weeks / months…(‘ time).
I’ll have finished the article by Friday, so I’ll email it to you by then /
They’ll have built the new terminal building in six months’ time.
* by + a time expression = at the latest (como muy tarde)
* in + time expression = within (en el plazo de)

FUTURE CONTINUOUS (will be + verb + ing)

1. Use it to say that an action will be in progress at a certain time in the future. You see
something projected into the future.
Don’t phone me between 7.00 and 8.00 as we’ll be having supper then.
This time next week I’ll be lying on the beach.
2. For polite questions about someone’s plan without wishing to interfere with those
plans.
Will you be coming home before 10 pm? ( You simply want to know if you’ll have some company)
Will you be watching TV tonight?(You simply want to know if the TV will be free)
Will you be taking your car to the meeting? (You ask politely because you may want a lift)
3. For guesses or predictions about the present In Spanish “debe estar+ gerundio”
Don’t call him now, he’ll be sleeping.(You’re not completely certain though)
You’ll be missing the sunshine now that you’re back in England. ( You assume the sun is being missed)

EXERCISE 4
Complete the sentences using the future perfect or future continuous.

1- The film starts at 7.00. I will arrive at the cinema at 7.15. → When I arrive at the cinema, the film
__________ (start)
2- The plane to Paris takes off at 9.00 and lands at 10.30. → At 10.00 they _________ to Paris. (fly)
3- I save $200 a month. → By the end of this year, I __________ $2,400. (save)
4- I leave home at 7.30. It takes an hour to drive to work.→ At 8.00 tomorrow I _______ to work. (drive)
5- Our meeting starts at 2.00 and finishes at 3.30.→ You can’t ring me at 2.30 because we ________ a
meeting. (have)
6- Sam is paying for his car. The last payment is in June.→ By July, he _____ for his car. (pay)
7- Their last exam is on June 1st.→ By the end of May, they _______ their exams. (finish)
8- It’s Saturday night and when you get home your son is not there Your wife is worried. → “He
________ a drink with his friends, so don’t worry!” (have)
9- You need some groceries but you have no time to run errands. You call your flatmate, who is at work.
→ “__________ to the supermarket, by any chance? “ (go)

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