UNIT 1.

DURATION

SITUATION 1.

Watch the video in the virtual classroom

David: Hi Alice, how are you? You look tired.

Alice: Oh, hi, David. Yes, I am very tired. I’ve been up all night studying and I haven’t rested at all.
What about you? Are you ready for this exam?
David: I think I am. I started studying two weeks ago and I’ve been studying since then.
Alice: Oh David, I’m really worried about this exam. I’ve attended all the lessons during the course
and I even went to private lessons with a teacher, but I think this subject is really hard and the
lecturer seems so strict. I don’t know …
David: Don’t worry, Alice! I’m sure you’re going to do very well. Remember that you usually get
nervous; you’ve always been like that. Anyway, it’s time to go in, so, best of luck and
remember to keep calm!
Alice: Good luck to you, too!
David: Thank you.

David: How was it, Alice?

Alice: I think I did quite well, although it was really long!
David: You know what? I’m not happy with the way I performed. I got stuck on the first question and
by the time I realised, the time was flying away and I didn’t have enough time to finish the last
exercise.
Alice: Oh, David, what a pity! You’ve been doing so well this term. I hope you pass this exam too!
David: And you? Did you have enough time to finish the last exercise?
Alice: Yes, I did. I’ve been learning how to organise my time in an exam in my private lessons so I
have been preparing for it.
David: Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do now except wait until the results come out. When is
that?
Alice: Next Monday.
David: Ok, well, then I’ll see you next Monday. Bye.
Alice: Bye David.

Alice: I can’t believe we both failed.

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David: It’s terrible. I don’t understand why! I knew all the contents by heart!
Alice: Maybe we need to try another way of learning. Lately, I have been thinking that there’s
something wrong in this educational system. I think exams are the worst way of finding out
how good students are. Education is about learning, not memorising.
David: I completely agree!
Alice: I’ve been studying for too long and I am already tired of being an undergraduate and this poor
exam result will not help.
David: Luckily for us, we’ve got another opportunity. There’s a re-sit at the end of term.
Alice: That’s true. Although we’d better revise well because that will be our last chance to pass.
David: Well in that case, we’d better get started. I’ll see you in the library!
Alice: OK. See you!
David: Bye.

GRAMMAR 1. EXPRESSING DURATION

Watch the grammar video in the virtual classroom

EXPRESSING DURATION

How can we express duration in English?

We can use words like: until, while, during, since and for. All of them suggest duration, length of time:

Until – up to a point in time:

The phone was ringing until you came home.

I lived in New York until last year.

While – during the time that something is happening:

The phone rang while I was studying.

We met while I was living in New York.

During – all through a period of time or at some point in that period:

You can’t use facebook during class.

We met during the years when I lived in New York.

Since - from a time in the past until now:

He has had a phone since he was 12.

We had not seen each other since 2000.

For – over a span of time:

She has been on the phone for 2 hours.

I lived in New York for 3 years.

We can also express the duration of an action by emphasising

that a situation is in progress. We can do this with progressive
tenses (also called ‘continuous tenses’), which we can combine with the words above. You should be
familiar with some of these tenses by now:

Present continuous
I have not finished the report yet. I am working on it right now.

Past continuous
What were you doing when the accident occurred?

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Using the adverb of time ‘always’ with these tenses, we emphasize the idea of duration in time.

I am always reading detective novels.

I was always reading detective novels.

Let’s have a look now at the present perfect continuous.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS. FORM

We need two auxiliary verbs to form the present perfect continuous tense:
‘have’ (the auxiliary verb for perfect tenses) and
‘be’ (the auxiliary verb for continuous tenses).

The structure of this tense in the affirmative is:

present of ‘have’ + past participle of ‘be’ + present participle of the main verb

have
been V+ing
has

He has been peeling onions.

We have been living here since 1990.

As you know, ‘have’ is used for all subjects except ‘he’, ‘she’ and ‘it’, or any word or combination of
words which can be substituted by one of these pronouns, which will use the third person singular
present form: ‘has’.

They have been calling all day.

My parents have been travelling all their life.
The writer who won the Nobel Prize last year has been writing books for 20
years.
Somebody has been sleeping on my bed.

For the negative:

present of ‘have’ + not + past participle of ‘be’ + present participle of the main verb

have
not been V+ing
has

I have not been sleeping well lately.

She has not been waiting for too long, has she?

For the interrogative:

present of ‘have’ + subject + past participle of ‘be’ + present participle of the main verb

have
subject been V+ing
has

How long have you been reading?

Has she been working all day?

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With the present perfect continuous, apart from the time expressions that we saw at the beginning of
the lesson, we can also use ‘adverbs of time’ like: recently, lately, all day/week, in the last few
days/months:

I have been having strange dreams recently.

We have been thinking about your offer in the last few days.

A little reminder about contractions can be helpful at this point: as you know, the use of contractions is
very common in spoken English and even in some informal types of written English. The most common
are the contractions of subject (personal pronoun) + auxiliary verb, and of auxiliary verb + not. All the
previous examples are written using the full forms of the verb. In some of these sentences we could use
a contracted form:

They’ve been calling all day.

I haven’t been sleeping well lately.
She hasn’t been waiting for too long, has she?

Remember also some of the basic rules when adding –ing to the verb. In most cases, we simply add –ing
to the base form of the verb, but:

- if the verb ends in a silent –e (it is written but not pronounced), we take it out:
make – making

- if the verb follows a CVC pattern (consonant+vowel+consonant), we double the final consonant:
stop – stopping

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS. USE

Like the present perfect simple, the present perfect continuous is used to describe:
- an activity that began in the past and is still going on
- an activity which has just finished, showing some direct result
- an activity repeated over a period of time.

When we use the present perfect continuous we add an emphasis on the length of time, on the duration
of the activity:

I have been studying English since I was a kid. (I keep on studying)

We have been waiting for two hours. (We keep on waiting)
Your hands are dirty, Sally. Have you been playing in the garden?
(She is not playing anymore, but we see the result of that activity:
her dirty hands)
I have been running for an hour and I am tired now. (I am not
running anymore, but I feel tired as a consequence)
Do you see the old couple on that bench? They have been
coming to sit there every evening for the last 30 years. (They
repeat the action every evening since then)

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PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE OR CONTINUOUS?

Do you remember how to form and use the present perfect simple? Here we have a summary:

have/has + past participle of the main verb

We use it to talk about something that happened at an unspecified time but it is

relevant to the present moment:

I have lost my keys. (I cannot open the door now)

Have you seen my keys? (I cannot find them now)

We usually find the time expressions since and for with the present perfect tense:

She has not visited us for ages.

In many cases, when we talk about an action which began in the past and is still going on, we can use
either the present perfect simple or continuous:

I have been studying English since I was a kid.

I have studied English since I was a kid.

Susan and Robert have been living in Madrid for 2 years.

Susan and Robert have lived in Madrid for 2 years.

The present perfect continuous emphasises the duration of an action and it is

useful when we want to express that the action is not finished yet. In these cases, the use of the present
perfect simple would change the meaning:

She has been reading that book about vampires. (She has not finished it yet)
She has read that book about vampires. (She has finished it)

Tom has been repairing the car. (The car is still broken)
Tom has repaired the car. (The car is repaired)

We use the present perfect continuous when we want to ask or say for
‘how long’ an action has been taking place, whereas we use the present perfect simple if we need to
know ‘how many times’ something has been done:

How long have you been playing the piano? (You still play the piano)
How many times have you played with the National Orchestra? (The action of playing in a concert is
complete)

There are some cases where we can only use the present perfect simple and not the continuous:

- with some verbs that are not normally used in the continuous, like be, know, like, understand…

Mandy has always liked chocolate.

They have known each other for years.

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- when we mention a definite quantity:

She has read five books. (Not *She has been reading 5 books. This would mean that she has read the
same five books over and over again)
I have eaten three chocolates. (Not *I have been eating 3 chocolates. That would mean that I have
eaten those chocolates more than once)

- with adverbs like already, just, yet, often, ever, never, so far, still…:

We have already talked about this.

They have not arrived yet.
Have you ever played checkers?

On the other hand, there are some verbs which prefer continuous forms: sit, lie, wait and stay:

We have been staying at the same hotel since 1967.

How long have you been sitting on the grass?
She has been lying down for the whole evening.

VOCABULARY 1. EDUCATION

Listen to the pronunciation of these words in the virtual classroom

EDUCATION EDUCACIÓN
sistema educativo
educational system
Every country has its own educational system
objetivos educativos
educational goals
Discipline is an educational goal for all students at this school
formación
educational background · the details of a person’s education
You must include your educational background in your CV
formación reglada
· highly institutionalized, bureaucratic, curriculum driven education,
formal learning
formally recognized with grades, diplomas, or certificates
Formal learning takes places in the traditional setting of the classroom
formación no-reglada
· organized learning, usually short-term and voluntary, outside of the
non-formal learning
formal education system
An example of non-formal learning could be learning to drive
aprendizaje informal
· the knowledge and abilities that people acquire at home, work, etc.
informal learning through daily interactions and shared relationships among members of
society
Informal learning starts the day you are born
educación preescolar
nursery education
Nursery education is the same as pre-school education
educación primaria
primary education
Primary education is the first stage of compulsory education
educación secundaria
secondary education
Secondary education is provided in high schools or secondary schools
educación superior
higher education
An example of higher education is getting your bachelor's degree
licenciatura/grado
(university) degree
She has a degree in Marketing

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 EDUCATION EDUCACIÓN
empresariales
· studies that contain different subjects about economics and
business studies
management
She wants to finish her degree in business studies
económicas
· the study of the way in which money, industry and trade are
economics
organized
It you like maths, you can study economics
sociología
sociology · the study of society and social behaviour
To be a good politician you should study sociology first
título, cualificación
· an exam that you have passed or a course of study that you have
qualification
successfully completed
She needs better qualifications to study Law
debe salir
due · when something is ‘due’ (adj.), we expect it to happen at a time
The results of the final exam are due out next week
memorizar
to learn by heart
I learnt all his poems by heart
recuperación
re-sit · to take an exam or a test again, usually after failing it the first time
He failed the first exam but he had a second chance with the re-sit
hacer un examen
to take an exam
The students take their final exams at the end of May
clase
lesson
Michael gives piano lessons
aula
classroom
There were 30 students in the classroom
clases particulares
private lessons Private lessons can be a significant investment for students, both in
terms of time and money
curso (sobre un tema)
course · a series of lessons or lectures on a particular subject
Kim is taking a course in web design
curso (1º, 2º, 3º…)
· a level that you stay in for one year
My son is in second year at school
school year año escolar
· the part of the year during which school is in session, typically from
September to June
The Japanese school year begins in April
trimestre
term
At the end of each term there is a holiday
profesor/a
teacher · a person whose job is teaching, especially in a school
She has been studying hard to become a teacher
director
head teacher
The Language teacher is also the head teacher in my school
catedrático / profesor universitario (USA)
professor · a university teacher of the highest rank
He is a professor of Economics

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 EDUCATION EDUCACIÓN
profesor universitario
lecturer (UK) · a person who teaches at a university or college
She is a lecturer in French at Oxford
estricto/a
strict · that which must be obeyed exactly
This teacher is so strict that if you don’t do what he says, you don’t pass
estudiante de primer año
freshman (USA)
I was a freshman two years ago
estudiante de segundo año
sophomore (USA)
She is in her sophomore year in college
estudiante de penúltimo año
junior (USA)
That book was written by a high school junior
estudiante de último año
senior (USA)
How old are you when you are a senior in high school?
estudiante universitario
undergraduate
I am an undergraduate now
licenciado/a
(university) graduate
She is a graduate in Computer Science
alumno/a
pupil (UK) · a person who is being taught, especially a child in a school
How many pupils does the school have?
estudiante, alumno/a
student · a person who is studying in a school, especially an older child
In this school there are only 10 students per classroom
analfabeto/a
illiterate
Most of the world’s illiterate people are poor
obligatorio/a
compulsory Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 16
in England
tarea
task · exercise in an exam or a project
There were too many tasks in the exam. It was really long
redacción
essay
We must write an essay about the political system in the EU
quedarse atascado/a
to get stuck
I failed the oral exam because I got stuck at the beginning
graduarse
to qualify
She qualified as a biologist at Oxford University
hacer trampa/ copiar en un examen
· to act in a dishonest way in order to gain an advantage, especially in a
to cheat
game, a competition, an exam, etc.
We failed because we cheated and our exams were too similar.

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