July 23, 2015 - All Tenses Review - Day 4 of "The Recruit"

Review of all tenses:

Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous

For each sentence, choose the best form, either Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Continuous.

1. I've been cleaning/cleaned this room all morning and now I'm exhausted!

2. Hurry up Jane! You've only finished/been finishing two questions and we have to write the answers to five.

3. Tony has lived/been living with his uncle recently while he looks for a new apartment.

4. I've been learning/learnt English for over twelve years now.

5. That's a really nice watch you have Greg. How long have you had it/been having it?

6. My local hockey team are an embarrassment to everyone. The season finishes in two weeks and they haven't won/haven't been winning a single game!!

7. Ouch! I've cut/been cutting my finger with that terrible knife again!

8. Sorry to arrive looking so untidy. I've been running/run as I missed the bus.

9. You know your dinner is in half an hour. How many of those chocolates have you eaten/been eating? (either one)

10. I've been finishing/finished writing my first novel at last. It should be published in the summer.

11. John has been phoning/phoned all morning. He really must need to speak to you!

12. I've visited/been visiting Russia every year since I was six. It's such a beautiful country. (either one)

13. I've visited/been visiting Russia twice in my life.

Present Perfect (result) vs. Present Perfect Continuous (duration)

I have eaten an apple (before).      Present Perfect

I have been eating an apple for 5 minutes/since 8am.   Present Perfect Continuous

1.       Those children –have been eating--- (eat) chocolate all day. That's why they feel sick!

2.       Your phone looks old, how long have you had (have) it for?

3.       They –have been running- (run) nonstop for 2 hours, I can't believe how they can do that.

4.        Josh –has been doing homework--- (do/homework) for four hours and he still has a lot more to do.

5.       I –have had (have) my car for 22 years, I think it's time to retire it.

6.       Jerry –hasn’t seen--- (not / see) the movie they are talking about.

7.       You –have eaten--- (eat) two hamburgers, that's more than enough.

8.       She –hasn’t been taking care of--- (not / take care) herself lately, I am afraid she is going to get sick.

9.       We –have been living- (live) in this town for 16 years and we love it here.

10.  Where –have you been- (you/be) in the past 3 hours?

Chart of common tenses

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/tenses-examples

	Explanation	Past	Present	Future
		Simple Past	Simple Present	Future I Simple
	action that takes place once, never or several times	He played football every Tuesday.	He plays football every Tuesday.	He will / is going to play football every Tuesday.
	actions that happen one after another	He played football and then he went home.	He plays football and then he goes home.	He will play football and then he will go home.
	state	He loved football.	He loves football.	He will love football.
		Past Continuous	Present Continuous	Future I Continuous
	action going on at that moment	He was playing football.	He is playing football.	He will be playing football.
	actions taking place at the same time	He was playing football and she was watching.	He is playing football and she is watching.	He will be playing football and she will be watching.
		Past Perfect Simple	Present Perfect Simple	Future II Simple
	action taking place before a certain moment in time; emphasises the result	He had won five matches until that day.	He has won five matches so far.	He will have won five matches by then.
		Past Perfect Continuous	Present Perfect Continuous	Future II  Continuous
	action taking place before a certain moment in time (and beyond), emphasis the duration	He had been playing football for ten years.	He has been playing football for ten years.	He will have been playing football for ten years.

“The Recruit”……continued….

Yesterday, we saw James in training with the other recruits.  He passed the exam and went on to a more difficult part of the test.  He wanted to invite his teacher for drinks but the teacher made it clear that they were not friends.  The teacher also made it clear that he had only approached James to recruit him.  The teacher explained the various CIA positions to the students and focused on the N.O.C. position.  In this position, no one would ever know what happened to the agent if the agent got killed.  The teacher said that the agent would only be represented by a star on a wall.

The exams finish for now.  Walter (the teacher) secretly spies on James to watch his every move.  The last scene we watched yesterday included James winning at poker by bluffing.

…..to be continued……