The present perfect used with forand since 1 page

A for is used with a period of time: for six days, for a long time. for used with the simple past tense denotes a terminated period of time:

We lived there for ten years, (but we don't live there now) forused with the present perfect denotes a period of time extending into the present:

We have lived in London for ten years, (and still live there) forcan sometimes be omitted, especially after be, live and wait:

We've been here an hour/two days.

for(of time) is not used before expressions beginning with all:

They 've worked all night.

sinceis used with a point in time and means 'from that point to the time of speaking'. It is always used with a perfect tense, except as shown in D below and in 188.

She has been here since six o'clock, (and is still here)

We've been friends since our schooldays.

£ Note that there is a difference between lastand the last.Compare:

(a) / have been here since last week (month, year etc.) and

(b) / have been here for the last week.

last week, in (a), means a point in time about seven days ago.

the last week,in (b), means the period of seven days just completed.

D since+ clause is also possible:

I've worked here since I left school and ever since(adverb):

He had a bad fall last year and has been off work ever since.

188 itis -t- period + since+ past or perfect tense

We can say:

It is three years since I (last) saw Bill or

It is three years since I have seen Bill.

I last saw Bill three years ago or

/ haven't seen Bill for three years.

It is two months since Tom (last) smoked a cigarette or

It is two months since Tom has smoked a cigarette.

He last smoked a cigarette two months ago or

He hasn't smoked a cigarette for two months. We can use the it is ... sinceconstruction without the adverb last:

It is two years since he left the country. This, however, is replaceable only by:

He left the country two years ago.

We could not use a negative present perfect here as in the sentence about Bill above. He hasn't been (living) in this country for the last two years is possible but isn't an exact equivalent of He left two years ago. This construction can be used in the past:

He invited me to go riding with him. But it was two years since I had ridden a horse. (I hadn't ridden a horse for two years previous to the invitation so I wasn't sure that I would enjoy it.)

189Further examples of the use of the present perfect and

simple past

A TOM (visiting Philip for the first time): / didn't know you lived in a

houseboat. PHILIP: I've always lived in a houseboat. I was born in one.

I thought you were still on holiday. When did you get back? ~ I come

back last week.

Has your term started yet? ~ Yes, it started on Monday.

B Note that a conversation about a past action often begins with a

question and answer in the present perfect, but normally continues in the simple past, even when no time is given. This is because the action first mentioned has now become definite in the minds of the speakers: Where have you been? ~ I've been to the cinema. ~ What did you see?/What was the film? ~ (I saw) 'Amadeus'. -Did you like it?

HUSBAND: Where have you been?

WIFE: I've been at the sales.

HUSBAND: What have you bought?/What did you buy?

WIFE: / have bought/I bought you some yellow pyjamas.

HUSBAND: Why did you buy yellow? I hate yellow.

C The present perfect is often used in newspapers and broadcasts to introduce an action which will then be described in the simple past tense. The time of the action is very often given in the second sentence:

Thirty thousand pounds' worth of jewellery has been stolen from Jonathan Wild and Company, the jewellers. The thieves broke into the flat above some time during Sunday night and entered the shop by cutting a hole in the ceiling.

But even if the time of the action is not given the past tense will normally be used in the second sentence:

Two prisoners have escaped from Dartmoor. They used a ladder which had been left behind by some workmen, climbed a twenty-foot wall and got away in a stolen car.

D The present perfect is often used in letters:

/ am sorry I haven't written before but I 've been very busy lately as Tom has been away.

We have carefully considered the report which you sent us on 26 April, and have decided to take the following action.

The present perfect continuous tense

190 Form

This tense is formed by the present perfect of the verb to be +

the present participle:

Affirmative: I have been working, he has been working etc.

Negative: / have not/haven't been working etc.

Interrogative: have I been working? etc.

Negative interrogative: have I not/haven't I been working? etc.

191Use

This tense is used for an action which began in the past and is still continuing:

or has only just finished:

I've been waiting for an hour and he still hasn't turned up.

I'm so sorry I'm late. Have you been waiting long? Remember that a number of verbs are not normally used in the continuous form (see 168), but that some of these can be used in this form in certain cases (see 169-71). We can therefore say:

Tom has been seeing about a work permit for you.

She has been having a tooth out.

I've been thinking it over.

I've been hearing all about his operation.

In addition, the verb want is often used in this tense, and wish is also possible:

Thank you so much for the binoculars. I've been wanting a pair

for ages.

The present perfect continuous tense does not exist in the passive. The nearest passive equivalent of a sentence such as They have been repairing the road would normally be The road has been repaired lately (present perfect passive), which is not exactly the same thing.

192 Comparison of the present perfect simple and continuous

A An action which began in the past and is still continuing or has only just finished can, with certain verbs, be expressed by either the present perfect simple or the present perfect continuous. Verbs which can be used in this way include expect, hope, learn, lie, live, look, rain, sleep, sit, snow, stand, stay, study, teach, wait, want, work:

How long have you learnt English?

How long have you been learning English ?

He has slept for ten hours.

He has been sleeping for ten hours.

It has snowed for a long time.

It has been snowing for a long time.

This is not of course possible with verbs which are not used in the continuous forms (see 168), i.e. the present perfect continuous could not replace the simple present perfect in the following examples:

They've always had a big garden.

How long have you known that?

He's been in hospital since his accident.

Notice also that the present perfect continuous can be used with or without a time phrase. In this way it differs from the simple present perfect, which can only express this type of action if a time phrase is added such as for six days, since June, never. When used without a time expression of this kind, the simple present perfect refers to a single completed action.

В A repeated action in the simple present perfect can sometimes be expressed as a continuous action by the present perfect continuous:

I've written six letters since breakfast.

I've been writing letters since breakfast.

I have knocked five times. I don't think anyone's in.

I've been knocking. I don't think anybody's in.

Note that the present perfect continuous expresses an action which is apparently uninterrupted; we do not use it when we mention the number of times a thing has been done or the number of things that have been done.

С There is, however, a difference between a single action in the simple present perfect and an action in the present perfect continuous:

(a) I've polished the car means that this job has been completed.

(b) I've been polishing the car means 'this is how I've spent the last hour'. It does not necessarily mean that the job is completed. Note also that a single action in the present perfect continuous continues up to the time of speaking, or nearly up to this time:

He's been taking photos (he's probably still carrying his camera) but He has taken photos. (This action may or may not be very recent.)

193 Some more examples of the present perfect and the present perfect continuous

A: / haven't seen your brother lately. Has he gone away? B: Yes, he's/he has been sent to America. A: When did he go? B: He went last month. A: Have you had any letters from him?

B: I haven't, but his wife has been hearing from him regularly. A: Does she intend to go out and join him? B: They've been thinking about it but haven't quite decided yet. Unfortunately they've had a lot of expense lately and perhaps haven 7 got the money for her fare.

TOM: What have you done with my knife? (Where have you put it?)

ANN: I put it back in your drawer.

TOM (taking it out): But what have you been doing with it? The

blade's all twisted¹. Have you been using it to open tins?

A: Do you see those people on that little sandy island? They've been

waving handkerchiefs for the last half hour. I wonder why.

B: They need help. The tide's coming in and very soon that little

island will be under water. Have you been sitting here calmly and

doing nothing to help them?

A: I've never been here before. I didn't know about the tides.

The past perfect tense

194 Form and use

д Form

This tense is formed with hadand the past participle:

Affirmative: / had/I'd worked etc.

Negative: / had not/hadn't worked etc.

Interrogative: had I worked? etc.

Negative interrogative: had I not/hadn't I worked? etc.

В Use

1 The past perfect is the past equivalent of the present perfect. Present: Ann has just left. If you hurry you'll catch her. (See 183.) Past: When I arrived Ann had just left.

Present: I've lost my case. (See 184.) Past: He had lost his case and had to borrow Tom's pajamas. Unlike the present perfect the past perfect is not restricted to actions whose time is not mentioned. We could therefore say: He had left his case on the 4.40 train.

2 The present perfect can be used with since/for/always etc. for an action which began in the past and is still continuing or has only just finished (see 186). The past perfect can be used similarly for an action which began before the time of speaking in the past, and

(a) was still continuing at that time or

(b) stopped at that time or just before it.

But note that the past perfect can also be used:

(c) for an action which stopped some time before the time of speaking.

Examples of types (a), (b) and (c) are given below:

(a) Bill was in uniform when I met him. He had been a soldier for ten years/since he was seventeen, and planned to stay in the army till he was thirty.

Ann had lived in a cottage for sixty years/ever since she was born, and had no wish to move to a tower block. (The past perfect continuous tense had been living would also be possible here.)

(b) The old oak tree, which had stood in the churchyard for 300 years/since before the church was built, suddenly crashed to the ground. (The past perfect continuous tense had been standing would also be possible here.)

Peter, who had waited for an hour/since ten o'clock, was very angry with his sister when she eventually turned up. (had been waiting would also be possible.)

(c) He had served in the army for ten years; then he retired and married. His children were now at school.

Here we cannot use either sinceor the past perfect continuous. Note also that the past perfect here has no present perfect equivalent. If we put the last verb in this sentence into the present tense the other

tenses will change to the simple past.

He served in the army for ten years; then retired and married. His

children are now at school.

These structures are shown below in diagram form, with the line AB for the action in the past perfect, and TS for the time of speaking in the past:

(See also 196 for the use of the past perfect in indirect speech.)

3 The past perfect is also the past equivalent of the simple past tense, and is used when the narrator or subject looks back on earlier action from a certain point in the past:

Tom was 23 when our story begins. His father had died five years

before and since then Tom had lived alone. His father had advised

him not to get married till he was 35, and Tom intended to follow

this advice.

I had just poured myself a glass of beer when the phone rang. When

I came back from answering it the glass was empty. Somebody had

drunk the beer or thrown it away.

He met her in Paris in 1977. He had last seen her ten years before.

Her hair had been grey then; now it was white. Or

He met her in 1967 and again ten years later. Her hair, which had

been grey at their first meeting, was now white.

But if we merely give the events in the order in which they occurred no past perfect tense is necessary:

Tom's father died when Tom was eighteen. Before he died he advised

Tom not to marry till he was 35, and Tom at 23 still intended to

follow this advice.

He met her first in 1967 when her hair was grey. He met her again

in 1977/He didn't meet her again till 1977. Her hair was now white. There is no looking back in the above two examples so no reason for a past perfect. Note the difference of meaning in the following examples:

She heard voices and realized that there were three people in

the next room.

She saw empty glasses and cups and realized that three people had

been in the room. (They were no longer there.)

He arrived at 2.30 and was told to wait in the VIP lounge.

He arrived at 2.30. He had been told to wait in the VIP lounge. In the third example he received his instructions after his arrival. In the fourth he received them before arrival, possibly before the journey started.

195 Past and past perfect tenses in time clauses

д Clauses with when

When one past action follows another, He called her a liar, She smacked his face, we can combine them by using whenand two simple past tenses provided that it is clear from the sense that the second action followed the first and that they did not happen simultaneously:

When he called her a liar she smacked his face.

When two simple past tenses are used in this way there is usually the idea that the first action led to the second and that the second followed the first very closely:

When he opened the window' the bird flew out.

When the play ended the audience went home.

When he died he was given a state funeral.

The past perfect is used after whenwhen we wish to emphasize that the first action was completed before the second one started:

When he had shut the window we opened the door of the cage. (We

waited for the window to be quite shut before opening the cage.)

When she had sung her song she sat down. ('When she sang her

song she sat down" might give the impression that she sang

seated.)

When he had seen all the pictures he said he was ready to leave.

(When he had finished looking at them . . .) Compare with:

When he saw all the pictures he expressed amazement that one man

should have painted so many. (Immediately he saw them he

said this.)

The past perfect can be used similarly with as soon as, the moment, immediately.(For as as a time conjunction, see 332.)

В The past perfect can be used with till/until and beforeto emphasize the completion or expected completion of an action. But note that in till/until+ past perfect + simple past combinations the simple past action may precede the past perfect action; and in before+ past perfect + simple past combinations the simple past action will always precede the past perfect action:

He refused to go till he had seen all the pictures.

He did not wait till we had finished our meal.

Before we had finished our meal he ordered us back to work.

Before we had walked ten miles he complained of sore feet. Past perfect tenses in both time clause and main clause are also possible:

It was a very expensive town. Before we had been here a week we had

spent all our money.

С after is normally followed by a perfect tense:

After the will had been read there were angry exclamations.

D We have already stated (see 194) that actions viewed in retrospect from a point in the past are expressed by the past perfect tense. If we have two such actions:

He had been to school but he had learnt nothing there, so was now

illiterate

and wish to combine them with a time conjunction, we can use whenetc. with two past perfect tenses:

When he had been at school he had learnt nothing, so he was now

illiterate.

But it is more usual to put the verb in the time clause into the simple past:

When he was at school he had learnt nothing, . . . Similarly:

He had stayed in his father's firm till his father died. Then he had

started his own business and was now a very successful man.

E Verbs of knowing, understanding etc. are not normally used in the past perfect tense in time clauses except when accompanied by an expression denoting a period of time:

When she had known me for a year she invited me to tea but

When I knew the work of one department thoroughly I was moved to

the next department or As soon as I knew etc. Compare with:

When I had learnt the work of one department I was moved.

F Time clauses containing past perfect tenses can be combined with a main verb in the conditional tense, but this is chiefly found in indirect speech, and some examples will be given in the next paragraph.

196 Use of the past perfect in indirect speech

A Present perfect tenses in direct speech become past perfect tenses in indirect speech provided the introductory verb is in the past tense: He said, 'I've been in England for ten years' = He said that he had been in England for ten years. He said, 'When you 've worked for a year you 'II get a rise' = He said that when I'd worked for a year I'd get a rise. She said, I’ll lend you the book as soon as I have read it myself = She said she 'd lend me the book as soon as she 'd read it herself.

В Simple past tenses in direct speech usually change similarly: He said. 7 knew her well' = He said that he had known her well.

But there are a number of cases where past tenses remain unchanged (see 309-10).

(For the past perfect after if(conditional), see 223; after wish and if only,see 300; after as if, as though,see 292.)

The past perfect continuous tense

197 Form and use

A Form

This tense is formed with had been + the present participle. Itis

therefore the same for all persons:

/ had/I'd been working

they had not/hadn 't been working

had you been working?

had you not/hadn't you been working?

It is not used with verbs which are not used in the continuous forms, except with wantand sometimes wish:

The boy was delighted with his new knife. He had been wanting one

for a long time.

Note that this tense has no passive form. The nearest passive equivalent of a sentence such as They had been picking apples would be Apples had been picked, which is not the same thing (see B3 below).

В Use

The past perfect continuous bears the same relation to the past perfect as the present perfect continuous bears to the present perfect (see 192)

1 When the action began before the time of speaking in the past, and continued up to that time, or stopped just before it, we can often use either form (see 192 A):

It was now six and he was tired because he had worked since dawn =

It was now six and he was tired because he had been working since dawn.

2 A repeated action in the past perfect can sometimes be expressed as a continuous action by the past perfect continuous (see 192 B):

He had tried five times to get her on the phone. He had been trying to get her on the phone.

3 But there is a difference between a single action in the simple past perfect and an action in the past perfect continuous (see 192 C):

By six o'clock he had repaired the engine. (This job had been

completed.)

He had been repairing the engine tells us how he had spent the previous hour/half hour etc. It does not tell us whether or not the job was completed.

Another difference is that an action in the past perfect continuous continues up to, or beyond, the time of speaking in the past. An action in the past perfect may occur shortly before the time of speaking, but there could be quite a long interval between them:

He had been painting the door. (The paint was probably still wet.)

But

He had painted the door. (Perhaps recently, perhaps some time ago.)

19 The future

198 Future forms

There are several ways of expressing the future in English. The forms are listed below and will be dealt with in the order in which they are given. Students should study them in this order, as otherwise the relationship between them will not be clear.

(a) The simple present (see 199)

(b) will+ infinitive, used for intention (201)

(c) The present continuous (202)

(d) The be going toform (203-6)

(e) The 'future simple' will/shall+ infinitive (207-10) (0 The future continuous (211-14)

(g) The future perfect (216 A)

(h) The future perfect continuous (216 B)

For be + infinitive used to express future plans, see 114. For be about +infinitive and be on the point of+ gerund, see 114 C.

Note: Most of the auxiliary verbs are dealt with in chapters 11-16, but will+ infinitive is an essential part of the future, so we have placed it here. It may seem odd that it has been separated from the future simple but logically it seems best to place it before the present continuous and the be going toform.

199 The simple present used for the future

This tense can be used with a time expression for a definite future arrangement:

The boys start school on Monday. I leave tonight. instead of the more normal present continuous tense (see 202):

The boys are starting school on Monday. I'm leaving tonight. The difference between them is:

(a) The simple present is more impersonal than the continuous. I'm leaving tonight would probably imply that I have decided to leave, but / leave tonight could mean that this is part of a plan not necessarily made by me.

(b) The simple present can also sound more formal than the continuous. A big store planning to open a new branch is more likely to say Our new branch opens next week than Our new branch is opening next week.

(c) The simple present is sometimes used where the continuous would sound a bit clumsy, e.g. when speaking of a series of proposed future actions, like plans for a journey; i.e. we say:

We leave at six, arrive in Dublin at ten and take the plane on . . . instead of:

We are leaving at six, arriving in Dublin at ten and taking

the plane on . . .

Note, however, that in a sentence such as My train leaves at six we are using the simple present for a habitual action. Here, therefore, the simple present is not replaceable by the continuous.

200 A note on the meaning of future with intention

When we say that a form expresses future with intention we mean that

it expresses a future action which will be undertaken by the speaker in

accordance with his wishes, will+ infinitive and the be going toform

can be used in this way.

When we say that a form expresses future without intention we mean

that it merely states that a certain action will happen. We don't know

whether it was arranged by the subject or by some other person and

we don't know what the subject thinks of it. The present tense and the

future continuous tense can be used in this way.

The present continuous tense in the second or third person conveys no

idea of intention, though there may be a hint of intention when the first

person is used.

The future simple (apart from willused as in 201, 205) normally

conveys no idea of intention; but see shall, 208 B, 234.

201 will+ infinitive used to express intention at the moment of decision (see also 205 E2 and E3)

(a) The phone is ringing. ~ I'll answer it.

(b) BILL (to waiter): I'll have a steak, please, (would like is also possible. See 210 B.)

(c) ANN: I'd better order a taxi for tonight. том: Don't bother. I'll drive you.

(d) MARY (looking at a pile of letters): I'll answer them tonight.

(e) PAUL (who is getting fat and tired of paying parking fines): / know what to do. I'll sell my car and buy a bike.

(0 ALAN (on receiving a telegram saying his father is ill): I'll go

home tonight/I'll leave tonight.

For unpremeditated actions, as above, we must use will(normally contracted to '11). But note that if after his decision the speaker mentions the action again, he will not use will,but be going toor the present continuous, (be going tois always possible; the present continuous has a more restricted use. See 202.)

For example, imagine that in (b) above a friend, Tom, joins Bill before his food has arrived:

TOM: What are you having/going to have?

BILL: I'm having/going to have a steak. Similarly, at a later time, in: (c) Ann might say:

Tom is driving me/going to drive me to the airport tonight. (A) Mary, however, could only say:

I'm going to answer these letters tonight. (She hasn't made an

arrangement with anybody.)

(e) Paul, similarly, could say: I'm going to sell the car

though when he finds a buyer he can say: I'm selling the car.

(f) Alan, however, could say:

I'm going home tonight

even though this is, as yet, only a decision. (See 202 B, D.) (For willcompared to be going to,see 205.)

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