We have been studying when to use the 'Present Perfect Continuous' of verbs. If you still have problems, go to 'Grammar' to see, download and/or print a document with a more extensive explanation.
TENSE
USE
EXAMPLE
Present Perfect Simple
-
when the result of the action is important
I’ve written a play
Present Perfect Continuous
1
to describe how somebody or something has been occupying his/her or its time
I have been writing a play
2
for repeated actions and actions of a continuous nature
This is the presentation we saw in class, now you can watch it again, why don't you have a look at it again? It will help you understand when and how to use the present perfect continuous.
Why don't you watch these videos with short clips from films where the present perfect is used? Don't worry, they have subtitles! It's a good way to get used to the present perfect tense.
Why don't you watch this video to revise the use of the past simple and the present perfect in English? Remember that grammar has meaning! And that different grammar tenses are used in different situations or contexts and they carry different meanings.
In British
English, the use of Simple Past and Present Perfect is quite strict. As soon as
a time expression in the past is given, you have to use Simple Past. If there
are no signal words, you must decide if we just talk about an action in the
past or if its consequence in the present is important.
Certain
time in the past or just / already / yet?
Do you want
to express that an action happened at a certain time in the past (even if it
was just a few seconds ago) or that an action has just / already
/ not yet happened?
Simple Past
Present Perfect Simple
certain
time in the past
Example:
I phoned
Mary 2 minutes ago.
just / already / not yet
Example:
I have
just phoned Mary.
Certain
event in the past or how often so far?
Do you want
to express when a certain action took place or whether / how often an action
has happened till now?
Simple Past
Present Perfect Simple
certain
event in the past
Example:
He went
to Canada last summer.
whether
/ how often till now
Example:
Have you
ever been to Canada? /
I have been to Canada twice.
Emphasis
on action or result?
Do you just
want to express what happened in the past? Or do you want to emphasise the
result (a past action's consequence in the present)?
Simple Past
Present Perfect Simple
Emphasis on action
Example:
I bought
a new bike. (just telling what
I did in the past.)
Emphasis
on result
Example:
I have
bought a new bike. (With this sentence
I actually want to express that I
have a
new bike now.)
Signal Words
Simple Past
Present Perfect Simple
yesterday
...
ago
in
1990
the
other day
last
...
just
already
up
to now
until
now / till now
ever
(not)
yet
so
far
lately
/ recently
Remember, you can go to "Grammar" to download as a document.
Sometimes we, Spanish speakers, don't find it easy to use the present perfect in English because their use and ours sometimes differs. Surfing youtube I came into this video which I find to be a good one to learn how to form the present perfect in English and how to use it. I hope it helps!
Today, 25th November 2016, is Black Friday, but what's Black Friday?
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing Day sales in many British Commonwealth countries. Black Friday is not actually a holiday, but many non-retail employers give their employees the day off, increasing the number of potential shoppers. It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005, although news reports, which at that time were inaccurate, have described it as the busiest shopping day of the year for a much longer period of time.
The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1966 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black".
For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6:00, but in the late 2000s, many had crept to 5:00 or even 4:00. This has been taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers (including Target, Kohls, Macy's, Best Buy, and Bealls) opened at midnight for the first time.
