when to use the Present Perfect
- for a state or action which has started in the past, gone on up to the present and continues past the time of speaking (I have been ill for a week.)
signalwords: for, since, always, lately, recently - for a completed action in the past without specifying when but having a result in the present. (I have washed the car. (result: It is now clean)).
- for recent actions (We have just missed the bus.)
signalword: just - for an incomplete period in which actions happened repeatedly (Elisa has already rung him four times this morning.)
signalwords: this morning / afternoon / evening / week etc. / ever / never / always / occasionally / often / several times / It’s / This is the first / second time etc
when to use the Present Perfect Continuous
- for an action which has started in the past, gone on up to the present and which has just finished or which continues past the time of speaking (I have been swimming. (= my hair is still wet) / I hav e been waiting for two hours already.)
signalwords: for, since, always, lately, recently (de present perfect continuous kan dit soort actie ook zonder een tijdsaanduiding uitdrukken) - for a seemingly continuous and repeated action without mentioning the number of times it has been done (Elisa has been ringing him since breakfast. He must have turned his phone off.)
NOTE: The continuous occurs only with verbs that indicate duration and describe activities that are deliberate. Verbs which are not normally used in the continuous are
- verbs of the senses (see, hear, feel, etc.)
- verbs expressing feelings and emotions (love, hate, fear, hate, etc.)
- verbs expressing possession (own, possess, etc.)
- verbs expressing perception, remembrance, preference, knowledge (mean, know, believe, forget, understand, appreciate, etc.)
Exercises
Present Perfect (I have gone) and Present Perfect Continuous (I have been going)
- exercise 1: fill in the correct verb form of the present perfect or present perfect continuous
- exercise 2: fill in the correct verb form
- exercise 3: fill in the correct verb form
- exercise 4: fill in the correct verb form
- exercise 5: fill in the correct verb form
- exercise 6: fill in the correct verb form
- exercise 7: fill in the correct verb form
- exercise 8: various exercises practising the use of the present perfect or present perfect continuous
- exercise 9: various exercises practising the use of the present perfect or present perfect continuous