The present continuous versus the present perfect continuous

Ex.26. Read and compare the sentences:

Laura, the baby is crying. - She has been crying for almost ten minutes. I can’t do anything.

Complete the situations in 1-4 like in the sentences above and explain the difference between them.

1. It’s raining. – Indeed, it ___________________.

2. He is sleeping. - But he _______________.

3. Who are you waiting for? - The designer. I _________________.

4. Sorry, I can’t help you with your homework. I am revising for my exam. ________________________.

The present perfect versus the present perfect contnuous

Ex.27. Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous.

Model: I’ve checked the calculations. (the focus on the completion) →

I’ve been checking the calculations since/all morning. (the focus on the activities)

1. I (play) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ golf four times this week.

2. Ralph (repair) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ the washing machine since morning.

3. I feel so exhausted and sleepy. I (work) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ on my assignment almost all night.

4. - Stacy says she (not finish) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ reading the book yet.

- But she (read) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ it for about a month.

5. Vitaliy and Vladimir Klitschko, the world heavyweight boxing champions, (win) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ a lot of gold medals.

6. Everything is white. It (snow) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ all night.

7. Betsy is upset because she just (hear) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ some bad news.

8. It smells of paint. Dad (paint) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ the table.

9. Carol and her family (be) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ in Sweden for three years. They (live) ___________ there since 2009.

10. No wonder that Samantha hasn’t done any work. She (talk) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________ on the phone all morning.

Present tenses review

Ex.28. Choose the correct tense form.

1. Can I speak to Rosemary, please? – Sorry, she is out. Oh no, hold on, she ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ ____ just ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ ______ own the corridor.

a) comes b) is coming c) has come

2. In the past few years there ________ a marked change in our attitude towards environmental issues.

a) is b) has been с) have been

3. Book industry _________ the same serious problems at the moment.

a) experience b) is experiencing c) has been experiencing

4. You __________ your mobile phone only for a week but it isn’t working.

a) have been having b) have had c) have

5. - How long ___________ you at university?

a) are b) have been c) have been being

- I started two years ago. I _________ in my third year now.

a) am being b) have been c) am

6. The shares __________ in value since we bought them.

a) have been doubling b) have doubled c) doubled

7. My brother __________ about how much the car costs because he is going to buy it anyway.

a) is not caring b) doesn’t care c) don’t care

8. The police ­­­­­­­­__________ information that now he ________ in Sicilia.

a) have b) has c) is having

aa) lives bb ) is living cc) has lived

9. Could you please close the window? I __________ a cold draught in here.

a) feel b) am feeling c) have been feeling

10. Unfortunately, my pullover ________ in the wash, so it ________ me anymore.

a) has shrank b) has shrunk c) shrank

aa) is not fitting bb) doesn’t fit cc) hasn’t fit

11. The technician ___________ the photocopier so you can’t use it right now.

a) fixes c) has fixed b) is fixing

12. Gabriel says they ___________ what to do with the money yet.

a) haven’t decided b) didn’t decide c) are not deciding

13. There’s a light on in his window, so I assume he _________ to bed yet.

a) is not going b) hasn’t gone c) didn’t go

14. Pete really makes me angry. He always ___________ me. I can barely get a whole sentence out of my mouth.

a) interrupts b) is interrupting c) has interrupted

15. I __________ about the tense forms in this exercise right now. I ___________all of my answers are correct, but I’ll use the key answer to check them and make sure.

a) think b) am thinking c) have been thinking

aa) think bb) am thinking cc) have been thinking

Ex.29. Complete the introduction to Helen’s presentation by putting the verbs in brackets into the correct tense. You can choose from the Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am Helen Flower and I __________ (work) in the marketing department here at MVC. I __________ (work) on this current project for two years now.

Our project team __________ (consist) of myself and five more specialists. Antony Bright __________ (be) with us since the start of the project and he __________ (develop) a new model of marketing analysis which I am going to describe. At present we __________ (practise) it and we __________ (expect) to have some results at the end of this month.

Now on to the presentation itself. I __________ (divide) it into two parts. The first part __________ (cover) the project and __________ (give) brief information about the team .

Ex.30. Are there any mistakes in the following sentences? If yes, correct them.

1. Starting a new job always is a bit of a shock.

2. How long are you working for the agency?

3. Our boss is so irritated today. Somebody have been giving away our plans to our competitors, and we can’t do anything.

4. This is the third time Dorothy complained to the boss.

5. Has she cried? Her eyes are red.

6. Again you think about something else. You never listen to what I’m saying. I might just as well talk to a brick wall.

7. I’m studying here since last year.

8. I see you’re a very good cook. The sauce is tasting delicious.

9. Margo wants to get married, but she doesn’t meet the right person yet.

10. He’s always trying to put me down.

11. Close your eyes and listen carefully. What are you hearing?

12. Tom hasn’t been home from the time he was a boy.

13. The exhibition opens on March 1^st and closes on March 20^th.

14. People are becaming less tolerant of smoking these days.

15. Let me explain what you have to do. First you are taking the letters and sorting them into categories. Then you are registering them in this registration journal.

Ex.31. Translate into English.

1. Наш Нік такий неуважний! Завжди щось забуває або губить.

2. Що ти зробив з моїми ножицями (scissors)? Вони зовсім не ріжуть.

3. Джесіка, чим ти займалася весь цей ранок? Ти навіть не надрукувала жодного листа.

4. Що ти там нюхаєш? – Нові парфуми. Пахнуть доволі приємно.

5. Дивись. Знову йде дощ. – Так. Увесь тиждень ідуть дощі.

6. Лара, дитина плаче. Він плаче вже десять хвилин. Я не розумію у чому справа.

7. А чому б нам усім не поїхати туди на машині? – Ні, це довго і виснажливо.

8. Що ти тут робиш, Метью? – Чекаю, коли відчиниться магазин (wait for the shop to open). – Але він відкривається тільки о 10-ій годині.

9. Ось уже третій раз, як я подивився цю комедію. А ти скільки раз дивився?

10. Уже півгодини, як я слухаю тебе, але на жаль, так нічого і не зрозумів.

11. О котрій приїжджають твої батьки? – Їх поїзд прибуває о 10.20.

12. Джон дуже стомився. Він усю ніч працював за комп’ютером.

13. Чому ти так дивуєшся? Біл завжди бажав жити у своєму будинку.

14. М-р Сміт поїхав до Амстердама. (Повернеться тільки у вівторок).

15. Учені вивчають цю проблему вже багато років. У наш час ставлення до навколишнього середовища (the environment) змінюється.