Intermediate120 min
Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous
| Grammar Rule | Present Perfect Simple | Present Perfect Continuous |
|---|---|---|
| Form | have/has + past participle | have/has + been + present participle (verb+ing) |
| Usage | Completed actions, experiences, habits, state verbs | Unfinished actions, emphasis on duration, temporary actions |
| Time expressions | Ever, never, already, yet, just, recently, since, for | For, since, all day, how long, recently, lately |
Present Perfect Simple is used to describe actions or events that have occurred at an unspecified time before now. The focus is often on the result or completion of the action. The form is: have/has + past participle.
The present perfect simple covers:
- Completed actions: Actions finished recently or at an unspecified time (e.g. "She has finished her homework.")
- Experiences: Talking about life experiences without specifying when (e.g. "I have visited Paris.")
- Habits over time: Regular actions that happened over a period leading up to now (e.g. "He has played tennis for years.")
- State verbs: Verbs that describe states (e.g. know, like, want) are usually used in the present perfect simple because they aren't continuous (e.g. "I have known her for a long time.")
The present perfect simple covers:
- Completed actions: Actions finished recently or at an unspecified time (e.g. "She has finished her homework.")
- Experiences: Talking about life experiences without specifying when (e.g. "I have visited Paris.")
- Habits over time: Regular actions that happened over a period leading up to now (e.g. "He has played tennis for years.")
- State verbs: Verbs that describe states (e.g. know, like, want) are usually used in the present perfect simple because they aren't continuous (e.g. "I have known her for a long time.")
Present Perfect Continuous is used to describe actions or events that started in the past and are still continuing or were happening recently and have a connection to the present.
The form is: have/has + been + present participle (verb+ing).
The present perfect continuous covers:
- Unfinished actions: Actions that started in the past and are still ongoing (e.g. "She has been studying for three hours.")
- Emphasis on duration: Focus on how long something has been happening (e.g. "They have been working here since 2010.")
- Temporary actions: Actions that are temporary or recently finished with relevance now (e.g. "I have been feeling tired lately.")
- State verbs caution: Usually, state verbs are not used in continuous forms, but if used, the meaning can change to an action (e.g. "I've been thinking about it" means considering, which is an active process).
The form is: have/has + been + present participle (verb+ing).
The present perfect continuous covers:
- Unfinished actions: Actions that started in the past and are still ongoing (e.g. "She has been studying for three hours.")
- Emphasis on duration: Focus on how long something has been happening (e.g. "They have been working here since 2010.")
- Temporary actions: Actions that are temporary or recently finished with relevance now (e.g. "I have been feeling tired lately.")
- State verbs caution: Usually, state verbs are not used in continuous forms, but if used, the meaning can change to an action (e.g. "I've been thinking about it" means considering, which is an active process).
How many? vs. How long?
- Use "How many?" with countable nouns to ask about quantity completed (more common with present perfect simple, e.g. "How many books have you read?").
- Use "How long?" to ask about the duration of an action (more common with present perfect continuous, e.g. "How long have you been reading?").
- Use "How many?" with countable nouns to ask about quantity completed (more common with present perfect simple, e.g. "How many books have you read?").
- Use "How long?" to ask about the duration of an action (more common with present perfect continuous, e.g. "How long have you been reading?").
Completed vs. Unfinished Actions
- Completed actions use present perfect simple to indicate the action is finished and the result matters now (e.g. "I have finished the report.").
- Unfinished actions use present perfect continuous to highlight the action is still in progress or has just stopped but has current relevance (e.g. "I have been working on the report all morning.").
- Completed actions use present perfect simple to indicate the action is finished and the result matters now (e.g. "I have finished the report.").
- Unfinished actions use present perfect continuous to highlight the action is still in progress or has just stopped but has current relevance (e.g. "I have been working on the report all morning.").
State Verbs
- State verbs describe conditions or situations rather than actions and are usually not used in continuous forms.
- Present perfect simple is preferred for states that started in the past and continue now (e.g. "I have known her for years.").
- When a state verb is used in continuous form, it often changes meaning to an action or process (e.g. "I've been thinking" means considering/pondering). Examples of state verbs include: know, like, love, hate, want, believe, understand, belong, own.
- State verbs describe conditions or situations rather than actions and are usually not used in continuous forms.
- Present perfect simple is preferred for states that started in the past and continue now (e.g. "I have known her for years.").
- When a state verb is used in continuous form, it often changes meaning to an action or process (e.g. "I've been thinking" means considering/pondering). Examples of state verbs include: know, like, love, hate, want, believe, understand, belong, own.
Experiences
- Use present perfect simple to talk about life experiences without specifying when they happened (e.g. "She has traveled to Africa.").
- This use focuses on the fact that the experience has occurred at least once.
- Present perfect continuous is generally not used for experiences, except when emphasizing duration or repeated actions (e.g. "I have been working in different countries recently.").
- Use present perfect simple to talk about life experiences without specifying when they happened (e.g. "She has traveled to Africa.").
- This use focuses on the fact that the experience has occurred at least once.
- Present perfect continuous is generally not used for experiences, except when emphasizing duration or repeated actions (e.g. "I have been working in different countries recently.").
Habits
- Present perfect simple can describe habits or repeated actions that have happened over an indefinite period up to now (e.g. "He has often gone jogging in the mornings.").
- Present perfect continuous can emphasize the temporary nature or recent changes in habits (e.g. "I have been going to the gym a lot lately.").
- Present perfect simple can describe habits or repeated actions that have happened over an indefinite period up to now (e.g. "He has often gone jogging in the mornings.").
- Present perfect continuous can emphasize the temporary nature or recent changes in habits (e.g. "I have been going to the gym a lot lately.").
Quiz
Question 1 of 15
Choose the correct sentence using present perfect simple:
She has been traveled to Italy.
She has traveled to Italy.
She has traveling to Italy.
What shapes our personality?
Personality is a fascinating and complex aspect of human behavior shaped by a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors. Scientific research has shown that both our genes and experiences play critical roles in defining who we are. Some people have a naturally cheerful temperament, meaning they tend to be noticeably happy and optimistic due to inherited biological factors. Others may have a patient disposition, which allows them to stay calm and tolerant in stressful situations.
The environment we grow up in strongly influences our development. A supportive and nurturing family can promote a generous nature, characterized by kindness and willingness to help others. Children exposed to positive social interactions are more likely to develop a friendly and thoughtful personality, showing kindness and consideration for others.
Life experiences, such as challenges or trauma, can shape traits like resilience. A resilient individual is able to recover quickly from difficulties and adapt to change. Similarly, experiences encouraging creativity can help people become more creative, demonstrating the ability to think of new ideas and solutions.
Research also finds that brain structure and chemistry influence personality. Neurotransmitters and hormonal levels contribute to traits such as impulsiveness or calmness. Personality is thus a result of intricate biological and environmental interactions.
In conclusion, personality arises from a dynamic interplay between genetics, environment, and life experiences. This complex combination makes every individual unique, with a diverse set of traits that define how we think, feel, and behave in the world around us.
The environment we grow up in strongly influences our development. A supportive and nurturing family can promote a generous nature, characterized by kindness and willingness to help others. Children exposed to positive social interactions are more likely to develop a friendly and thoughtful personality, showing kindness and consideration for others.
Life experiences, such as challenges or trauma, can shape traits like resilience. A resilient individual is able to recover quickly from difficulties and adapt to change. Similarly, experiences encouraging creativity can help people become more creative, demonstrating the ability to think of new ideas and solutions.
Research also finds that brain structure and chemistry influence personality. Neurotransmitters and hormonal levels contribute to traits such as impulsiveness or calmness. Personality is thus a result of intricate biological and environmental interactions.
In conclusion, personality arises from a dynamic interplay between genetics, environment, and life experiences. This complex combination makes every individual unique, with a diverse set of traits that define how we think, feel, and behave in the world around us.
- adjectives: words that describe a quality or characteristic of a noun.
- cheerful: happy and showing enjoyment or satisfaction.
- generous: willing to give more of something, especially money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected.
- patient: able to wait calmly for a long time or accept difficulties without becoming annoyed.
- creative: able to produce original and unusual ideas, or to make something new or imaginative.
- comfortable: feeling relaxed and with no pain or other negative feelings.
- friendly: behaving in a pleasant, kind way towards someone.
- thoughtful: showing care and consideration for the needs of other people.
- suffixes: letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or grammatical function.
- disposition: a person’s usual way of feeling or behaving.
- innate: an ability or quality that you are born with.
- fluid: likely to change; not fixed or stable.
- inherit: to receive traits or qualities genetically from one's parents.
- empathy: the ability to share and understand how another person feels.
- nurturing: caring for and encouraging somebody or something to grow, develop, or be successful.
- resilient: able to recover easily and quickly from unpleasant or difficult situations.
- influence: the power to have an effect on people or things.
- trait: a particular characteristic that can produce a particular type of behaviour.
- environment: all the circumstances, people, things, and events around a person that influence their life.
- genetics: the study of how characteristics and qualities are passed from one generation to another by genes.
- unique: the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.
- aspect: a particular part or feature of something.
- develop: to grow or cause something to grow or become larger, stronger, or more advanced.
- challenging: difficult in a way that tests your ability or determination.
- optimistic: hoping or believing that good things will happen in the future.
- -ful: added to nouns to mean 'full of' or 'having the qualities of' (e.g., cheerful = full of cheer, thoughtful = full of thought)
- -ous: added to nouns to mean 'having the qualities of' (e.g., generous = having the quality of being generous, nervous = having the quality of being nervous)
- -ive: added to verbs or nouns to form adjectives meaning 'having the nature of' (e.g., creative = having the nature of creating, talkative = liking to talk)
- -able: added to verbs to mean 'capable of' or 'able to be' (e.g., comfortable = able to feel comfort, enjoyable = able to be enjoyed)
- -less: added to nouns to mean 'without' (e.g., hopeless = without hope, fearless = without fear)
- -ic: added to nouns to mean 'related to' or 'characteristic of' (e.g., energetic = having energy, dramatic = related to drama)
- -ish: added to nouns or adjectives to mean 'having the quality of' or 'like' (e.g., childish = like a child, selfish = caring only about oneself)
Quiz
Question 1 of 7
Choose the correct meaning of the suffix -ful:
without
full of
related to
Quiz
Question 1 of 6
Choose the correct meaning of cheerful:
Very sad
Noticeably happy and optimistic
Very angry
Weak Forms of 'Have' and 'Been'
| Word | Strong Form | Weak Form(s) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| have | /hæv/ | /həv/, /əv/ (sometimes 'h' is dropped) | Have you finished? → /həv/ you finished? or /əv/ you finished? |
| been | /biːn/ | /bɪn/ | They have been waiting a long time. → They've /bɪn/ waiting a long time. |
In English, many words can be pronounced in a strong (clear) form or a weak (reduced) form, especially when speaking quickly or in everyday conversation. The auxiliary verbs 'have' and 'been' are very common examples.
Have: When 'have' is used as a helping verb (for example, in perfect tenses), it is often reduced. Instead of the full form /hæv/, English speakers often say /həv/ or /əv/. For example, in the question "Have you finished?", you will often hear it as /həv/ you finished? or even just /əv/ you finished? In connected speech, the 'h' is sometimes dropped completely.
Been: The word 'been' is frequently pronounced /bɪn/ in spoken English, which is much shorter than the dictionary form /biːn/. For example, "They have been waiting a long time" sounds like "They've /bɪn/ waiting a long time."
Becoming familiar with weak forms will help you sound more natural and fluent in English, and it will also make it easier for you to understand native speakers in real-life conversations.
Quiz
Question 1 of 20
Choose the correct sentence using the present perfect simple.
She has been traveled to Spain.
She has traveled to Spain.
She has traveling to Spain.
Speaking Topic: What shapes our personality?
Discuss the factors that influence personality. Consider questions such as:
– Which do you think is more important in shaping personality: genetics or environment? Why?
– Can you give examples of how your family, friends, or culture have influenced your personality?
– Have you ever changed an aspect of your personality as a result of a challenge or life experience?
– What personality traits do you admire in others, and why?
– Do you believe personality can change over time?
Use vocabulary and phrases from the lesson as much as possible. Try to give detailed examples and reasons for your opinions.
Discuss the factors that influence personality. Consider questions such as:
– Which do you think is more important in shaping personality: genetics or environment? Why?
– Can you give examples of how your family, friends, or culture have influenced your personality?
– Have you ever changed an aspect of your personality as a result of a challenge or life experience?
– What personality traits do you admire in others, and why?
– Do you believe personality can change over time?
Use vocabulary and phrases from the lesson as much as possible. Try to give detailed examples and reasons for your opinions.