Present Perfect Continuous

1 We use the Present Perfect Continuous to put emphasis on the duration of an

action which started in the past and continues up to the present, especially with

time expressions such as for, since, all morning/day/week etc.

She has been doing her homework since 6 o’clock.

2 For an action which started and finished in the past and lasted for some

time. The result of the action is visible in the present.

He is dirty. He has been playing football.

3 To express anger, annoyance and irritation:

Who has been reading my business papers?

The Present Perfect Continuous is used with the following time expressions:

How long, for, since, lately, recently.

PAST FORMS

The past forms of be

Past Simple

Regular Past Simple forms end in -ed in the positive form (work – worked,

start – started, translate – translated, etc.)

But in many verbs have an irregularpast forms (break – broke, forget –

forgot, leave – left, see – saw, take – took, win – won, etc.)

1 We use the Past Simple for an action which happened at a definite time in

the past. The time is stated, already known or implied.

They spent their holidays in Switzerland last winter.

2. For actions which happened immediately one after the other in the past.

First he read the message. Then he called his boss.

3 For past habits or states which are now finished. In such cases we can also

use the expression used to.

People travelled / used to travel by carriage in those days.

The Past Simple is used with the following time expressions: yesterday, last

night/week/month/year/Monday, etc., two days ago, then, when, How long

ago...?, in 1961, etc.

Past continuous

The Past Continuous is used:

1 For an action which was in progress at a stated time in the past. We do not

mention when the action started or finished.

At eight o’clock last night I was watching TV.

2 For an action which was in progress when another action interrupted it.

We use the Past Continuous for the action in progress (longer action) and

the Past Simple for the action which interrupted it (shorter action).

Wewere walkingin the park when itstarted to rain.

3 To describe the atmosphere, the setting, etc. in the introduction to a story.

One beautiful morning Ben was riding through the forest. The sun was

shining and the birds were singing.

The Past Continuous is used with the following time expressions: when,

while, as, all day/night/morning, etc.

Past Perfect

1 We use the Past Perfect for an action which happened before another past

action or before a stated time in the past.

When I arrived, the meeting had already started.

2 For an action which finished in the past and whose result was visible in the

past.

He was happy. He had signed an important contract.

Note: The Past Perfect is the past equivalent of the Present Perfect.

He had fixed an old armchair. It looked brand new.

3 We do not normally use the Past Perfect when the sequence of events in

the past is clear.

I had a shower and went to bed.

The Past perfect is used with the following time expression: before, after,

already, for, since, just, till/until, when, by, by the time, never, etc.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1957