4th year Present Perfect Simple vs Present Perfect Continuous

Present Perfect Simple vs Present Perfect Continuous

Exercise 1

Choose the present perfect simple or present perfect continuous to complete the sentences below. If both tenses are possible, use the present perfect continuous.

1.       I __________ (cycle) and my legs are really tired now.

2.       How long ________________ (know)  Peter?

3.       Somebody ____________ (eat)  my cookies. There are none left.

4.       Somebody _______________ (eat) my cookies. There are very few left.

5.       How many books _______________ (write)?

6.       She must be tired. She  __________________ (write) all afternoon.

7.       I ______________ (read) all afternoon? I _________________(read) 5 chapters.

8.       I think I  ________________________ (like) chocolate since I was born.

9.       They __________________ (travel)  for months, and they  _________________ (visit)three countries so far.

Exercise 2

Choose the present perfect simple or present perfect continuous for each gap below.

1.       I ______ the book you lent me and it's great. I'll give it back to you when I finish it.

a. 've read

b. was read

c. 've been reading

2. Bruce ______ tennis since he was a child. He ______  many trophies.

a. has been playing / has won

b. is playing / has won

c. has played / has been winning

3. You ______ too much time playing that stupid game!

a. 've spent

b. 've spending

c. 've been spending

4. You ______ tennis since 10 o'clock. How many sets ______ ?

a. have played / have you been playing

b. have been playing / have you played

c. are playing / have you played

5. He ______ since he was a little boy. Choose TWO correct options

a. is fishing

b. has fished

c. has been fishing

6. He ______ to me since we met last summer. He _______ over 100 emails.

a. 's been writing / 's sent

b. 's written / 's been sending

c. is writing / 's sent

7. ______ any fish today?

a. Have you caught

b. Have you been catching

c. Have you catching

8. A: "He ______ hundreds of job applications, but he's got no answers yet."     B: "How long ______ for a job?"

a. 's been sending / has he been looking

b. 's sent / has he looked

c. 's sent / has he been looking

9. Now that I ______ tidying the house, I'm going to clean it.

a. have finished

b. have been finishing

c. am finishing

10.   We ______ this TV for ages. I think it's time to buy a new one.

a. have

b. 've had

c. 've been having

Quantifiers

Exercise 1

Choose much, many, little, few, some, any to complete each sentence.

1.       We haven't got _____ petrol. We need to stop and get some.

a. much

b. many

c. little

2. We had ________ rain last autumn.

a. a lot of

b. much

c. many

3. There was ________ food in the fridge. It was nearly empty.

a. little

b. a little

c. few

4. You travel a lot. Have you been to _____ countries?

a. much

b. many

c. few

5. It costs _____ money to give your children a good education.

a. much

b. many

c. a lot of

6. There was ________ space for all the people who came.

a. very little

b. very few

c. many

7. "Have you got any coins for the vending machine?" "Yes, I have ________."

a. a little

b. a few

c. few

8. There's _____ of sun cream in the bottle.

a. a bit

b. a little

c. a few

9. We need to go to the greengorcer's. There are _____ potatoes left.

a. few

b. a few

c. a little

10. There was _____ traffic so we arrived very early.

a. a little

b. a few

c. little

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5th year Narrative tenses

Narrative tenses

Exercise 1

Choose the correct narrative tenses to complete the sentences below.

1.       I told John not to drive, because he _____ all night.

a. drank

b. was drinking

c. had drunk

d. had been drinking

2. Why did you change the channel? I ______ that movie.

a. watched

b. was watching

c. had watched

d. had been watching

3. When I _____ out of the shower the lights _____.

a. got / were getting off

b. had got / were getting off

c. was getting / went off

d. had been getting / had got off

4. When I saw Clara I realised that she ______ much in all those years.

a. didn't change

b. wasn't changing

c. hadn't changed

d. hadn't been changing

5. When he entered the room somebody _____ him in the head.

a. hit

b. was hitting

c. had hit

d. had been hitting

Exercise 2

Choose the correct option to complete the text below.

Many years ago I 1______________  (decide) to spend New Year's Eve with my family. I 2 ____________ (spend) new year with my parents but I had nowhere to go, and being with my family seemed preferable to being on my own.

When my parents 3 ____________ (open) the door I could see they 4_____________ (smile) , and that they were genuinely happy to see me. I 5  _______________(be) addicted to heroin for 10 years, and for them, seeing me was the confirmation that I wasn't dead in an alley. Unfortunately, I 6 ___________ (have) nothing new or exciting to tell them, just the same sad old stories. I 7 ____________(go)from crappy job to crappy job, being invariably sacked, and I 8 _________________  (restore) to crime whenever I was out of money. Same old, same old.

During dinner, I 9_________________ (drink up) a few glassfuls of whisky. I 10  _______________ (need) something to make ease the pain, because for the whole evening my sisters 11  ________________ (look) at me with such contempt that it was unbearable. My own sisters 12 ______________ (hate) me. Then I had a moment of realisation; I 13 _________________ (discover) that they would never hate me as much as I hated myself.

When we finished dinner I 14 ________________(raise) my glass. "I'm going into rehab," I said. My parents 15  ________________ (look) at me with some kind of hope. Parents never lose hope. But my sisters just 16  ______________________ (look) down with disdain. They 17 _____________________ (Know) perfectly well that I had been in rehab centres many times before, and that this time wouldn't be different.

But this time it was different. After that day, I 18 __________________ (remember) that look in my sisters' eyes every day, every time I 19 _________________  (want) to shoot some heroin.  10 years later, on a New Year's Eve, I thanked my sisters because they 20  _________________ (save) my life. They kissed me with their new look in their eyes, the look of love. 

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Dynamic Verbs and Stative Verbs. Grammar for all

Dynamic Verbs
and Stative Verbs

But really they aren't as difficult or as complicated as you may think.

The most important reason you need to know about these is because stative verbs can't usually be used in the progressive form. But more about that later!

Firstly, what do the words "dynamic" and "stative" mean?  

They aren't very common words in everyday English, but they are grammar terms you will need to know to understand this subject. 

Dynamic

"Dynamic" is an adjective which means something is moving or changing. 

In English grammar a "dynamic verb" means that the verb describes an action rather than a state. Dynamic verbs are sometimes known as "action verbs."

"Joe is chasing the bus."

Stative

"Stative" is an adjective which describes something as having a state, or existing (this is a very uncommon adjective). 

In English grammar a "stative verb" means that the verb describes a staterather than an action.

Stative verbs are sometimes known as "state verbs." 

"Kevin wants some ice-cream."

So now you know the meaning of the terms, let's look at some examples!

First, here is a list of some dynamic verbs. You can see that they are all used to describe an action, change, or process. Most of them are used to describe an activity which has a start and an end. 

Examples of dynamic verbs:

• eat
• walk
• learn
• grow
• sleep
• talk
• write
• run
• read
• become
• go

These words can all be used in the progressive form. 

Example sentences with dynamic verbs:

• "I can't talk right now, I'm eating dinner."
  Present progressive used to describe an action happening now.
• "Sorry, I'm out of breath because I've been running."
  Present perfect progressive used to describe an action that started in the past, continued for some time and has results now.
• "I didn't steal the necklace! I was sleeping when someone broke into the shop!"
  Past progressive used to talk about an action that was happening at a particular time in the past.

Here is a list of some of the stative verbs. Some of these describe relationships between things or people (for example, own) and some describe emotions or states of mind.

Examples of stative verbs:

• love
• hate
• like
• prefer
• doubt
• seem
• know
• own
• understand

Here are some examples, showing that these words cannot be used in the progressive form.

Correct: "I like chocolate, but I prefer cake."
Incorrect: "I'm liking chocolate but I'm preferring cake."

Correct: "I don't understand you when you speak quickly."

Incorrect: "I'm not understanding you when you speak quickly."

There are also some verbs that can be either dynamic or stative, depending on their meaning and context in the sentence. I'm sure you know by now that there are many words in English that can have more than one meaning!

Examples of verbs that can be either dynamic or stative:

• think
• mind
• have
• smell
• sound

Let's look at some examples of how these verbs are used differently.

Example sentences:

• "I think it is wrong to hit children."
  Here, think is a stative verb. It means "to have an opinion" and it cannot be used in the progressive form in this case.
  
  BUT
  
  "I'm thinking about buying a new car."
  Here, thinking is describing a process, or an action. This is something that is happening, rather than simply being. So here we can use the progressive form.
• "I don't mind if we watch a movie tonight."
  Here, mind means "be bothered by", which is a state of mind, not an action. Therefore, it is stative.
  
  BUT
  
  "I'm not being nosy. I'm minding my own business!"
  Here, minding means "looking after" and is therefore a process and a dynamic verb.
• "I have three brothers."
  Have here talks about the family relationship the speaker has with her brothers and is therefore stative.
  
  BUT
  
  "I'm having a bad day today. I'll call you when things are better."
  
  Having in this sentence means the speaker is going through the process of a bad day. It is therefore dynamic.

All this may seem complicated, but if you read and listen to as much English as you can, you will soon start to know which verbs sound right in the progressive. If you keep the basic idea of dynamic verbs vs. static verbs in the back of your mind, it will help you greatly.

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4th Grammar Practice

Past Simple or Past Continuous

Exercise 1.

1.      I __________ (fall down) while I ___________ (go) down the stairs.

2.      He _________ (drive) very fast when the police _________ (stop) him.

3.      It ___________ (snow) when we ________ (leave) home.

4.      I ___________ (answer) your call because I (work) _____________.

5.      This morning I _____________ (get up) and I ____________ (make) breakfast for everybody.

6.      When I ____________ (see) her, she __________ (wear) a really nice purple dress.

7.      Last Saturday we ____________ (get up) late and we _________ (miss) the train.

8.      I _____________ (stay) hello because you _____________ (work) very fast.

9.      I _____________ (sleep) happily when a loud noise ____________ (wake me up).

10.   What _____________ (do) when I ____________ (call) you last night?

Exercise 2.

When I ________  (arrive) at the station, Raimond __________ (wait) for me. He ___________ (wear) a nice black suit and he __________ (hold) a red rose in his right hand. When I ___________ (get off) the train, he ___________ (run) up to me and ____________ (kiss) me passionately.

It _____________ (rain) heavily so he _____________ (take off) his jacket and ___________ (put) it over my head. I __________ (tell) Raimond to go to a café so that we could talk, but he _____________ (insist) on going to another place.

While he _____________ (drive), I ___________ (throw) a look at him. He ________ (smile), but he also ____________ (look) nervous.

He finally __________ (stop) his car on the top of a hill with fantastic views. It was so wonderful. We ________ (get out) of the car, and he ________ (kneel) in front of me and ________ (take) a ring out of his pocket. “Kathy, will you...” he said. “Listen, Raimond, I want to break up with you,” I interrupted.

Exercise 3.

1. Harry ___________ (scream) when the ghost appeared.

2. Then, I _________ (lock) the door and left.

3. The windows suddenly ___________ (break) while I was watching a horror film.

4. Ian __________ (read) a detective novel when the storm started.

5. Meanwhile, Jessica _____________ (explore) the haunted house.

6. Suddenly, we _________ (hear) a loud crash and the ceiling collapsed.

Exercise 4. Find and correct the mistakes.

1. The children were thinking that the film was too scary.

__________________________________________________________

2. While I was looking for a horror DVD, I was losing my wallet.

_________________________________________________________________

3.  Miranda watched a documentary when her mother called her.

_________________________________________________________________

4. We looked for treasure when the policeman appeared.

_________________________________________________________________

5. Herbert reached for the phone and was dialing the number.

_________________________________________________________________

6. We tried to rescue the cat when suddenly the tree branch broke.

_________________________________________________________________

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5th Year Grammar Practice Units 1,2

https://www.test-english.com/grammar-points/b1-b2/present-perfect-simple-continuous/

Present perfect simple or continuous

Exercise 1

Choose the correct option, present perfect simple or present perfect continuous, to complete the dialogue.

A: ____________ the dog for a walk yet?(take)

B: No, I haven’t. I _____________all day. I _________________ home from work and I ____________________the time to walk the dog yet.(work/come/have)

A: So how long _____________________ home alone?(be)

B: For about 6 hours. You _________________ the dog zero times since last weekend. Why don’t you take him for a walk?(walk)

A: Well, I ___________________things all day too, you know. I have a very important meeting tomorrow and I ______________________ my presentation yet.(do/finish)

B: Okay, I will go then __________________ the collar and the leash?(see)

A: They are in the kitchen. By the way, __________________ anything yet? If not, could you get us something from the supermarket?(eat)

Final del formulario

Exercise 2

Choose the correct option, present perfect simple or present perfect continuous, for the following sentences. If both forms are possible, use the present perfect continuous.

1.      I hope I'll pass the test, I ____ very hard all week.

a.      've worked

b.      've been working

c.      've being working

2.      I ____ for my keys since yesterday, but I ____ them.

a. 've been looking / haven't found

b. 've been looking / haven't been finding

c. 've looked / haven't been finding

3.      I'm so tired. I _____ all day.

a. 've worked

b. 've been working

c. 've being working

4. I can see you _____ your room. It looks great!

a. have redecorated

b. have been redecorating

c. have being redecorating

5. Why are your shoes so dirty? ______ football in the mud?

a. Have you played

b. Have you playing

c. Have you been playing

6. ______ a book by Charles Dickens?

a. Have you ever read

b. Have you ever being reading

c. Have you ever been reading

7. I ______ you all afternoon. Are you OK?

a. 've called

b. 've been calling

c. 've calling

8. I ______ her four or five times, but her phone seems to be off.

a. 've called

b. 've been calling

c. 've being calling

9. I _____ the report, but I think I won't be able to finish it on time.

a. 've written

b. 've writing

c. 've been writing

10. I ____ to go to Australia, and now my dream will finally come true. I ____ the tickets!

a. ‘ve always wanted / ‘ve just bought

b. ‘ve always been wanting / ‘ve just been buying

c. ‘ve always wanted / ‘ve just been buying

Exercise 3

Fill in the gaps with the present perfect simple or the present perfect continuous of the verbs in brackets. If both forms are possible, use the present perfect continuous.

1We____________Dave and Julia for years. (know)

2. You look tired.____________ well recently? (you/sleep)

3. Rose___________her homework, so she can't go out. (not do)

4. Don't bother knocking a the door. They______________. (move)

5. The phone bill is enormous. How many times __________ your boyfriend in Australia? (call)

6. I ___________ time to make lunch. Shall we go to a restaurant? (not have)

7. We ____________ for so long! Do you think we're lost? (walk)

8. _________________ my biscuits? There aren't many left. (you /eat)

9. Someone _______________all my biscuits!(eat)

10. I  (write) all morning, but I _____________ (only/write) 9 pages so far. What a waste of time!

Choose past simple or present perfect to complete the sentences below.

1.   ______________painting the bedroom yet?' 'Not yet. I'll finish it tomorrow.'(finish)

2.  I __________________ much last year, but I ____________ a lot this year.(earn)

3. ______________________a holiday recently?(have)

4. We ______________ last week. We ______________ here for 5 days.(arrive/be)

5.  Mr. Barnes is very important in this company. He  here for 30 years.(work)

6.  He loves gardening. He ______________ a gardener all his life.(be)

7.   ________________ anything like this before?(see)

8.  This the most delicious dish I _______________________.(eat)

9.  I _______________________ him behave like this before.(see)

10.  My mother ________________ in Scotland.(grow)

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