For and since. When ... ?, and How long ... ?

We use for and since to say how long something has been happening:

We use for + a period of time (two hours,six weeks, etc.):• I've been waiting for two hours.

for two hours

two hours ago now

fortwo hours a week a long time20 minutes six months agesfive days 50 years years

• Kelly has been working here for sixmonths, (not since six months)

• I haven't seen Tom for three days.

We use since + the start of a period (8:00,Monday, 1985, etc.):m I've been waiting since 8:00.

8:00

8:00MondayMay 12

since 8:00

sinceApril1977Christmas

now

lunchtimeI arrivedyesterday

Kelly has been working here since April.(= from April until now)I haven't seen Tom since Monday.

It is possible to leave out for (but not usually in negative sentences):m They've been married (for) ten years, (with or without for)• They haven't had a vacation for ten years, (you must use for)

We do not use for with all (all day / all my life, etc.):• I've lived here all my life, (not for all my life)

Compare When . . . ? ( + simple past] and How long . . . ? ( + present perfect}:

A: When did it start raining?B: It started raining an hour ago / at one o'clock.

A: How long has it been raining?B: It's been raining for an hour / since one o'clock.

A: When did Joe and Carol meet each other?B: They first met a long time ago / when they were in high school.

M A: How long have Joe and Carol known each other?B: They've known each other for a long time / since they were in

high school.

We say "It's (= It has) been a long time / two years (etc.) since something happened":H It's been two years since I last saw Joe. (= I haven't seen Joe for two years.)M It's been ages since we went to the movies. (= We haven't gone to the movies for ages.

The question is How long has it been since . . . ?:• How long has it been since you last saw Joe? (= When did you last see Joe?)H How long has it been since Mrs. Hill died? (= When did Mrs. Hill die?)

How long have you (been) ,.. ? Unit 11

Exercises12.1 Put in for or since.

1. It's been raining _s/nce_2. Joe has lived in Dallas3. Sarah has lived in Chicago

12.3

U N I T

12lunchtime.

20 years.1985.

4. I'm tired of waiting. I've been sitting here _ _ an hour.5. I haven't been to a party _ _ a long time.6. Christine is away. She's been away _ _ Friday.7. Kevin has been looking for a job _ he finished school.8. I wonder how Carol is. I haven't seen her ages.

12.2 Write questions with how long and when.1. It's raining,

(how long?)(when?)

2. Karen is studying Japanese,(how long?)(when/start?)

3. I know Chris,(how long?)(when / first / meet?)

4. Bob and Jessica are married.(how long?)(when?) _

Read the situation and complete the sentences.1. (It's raining now. It's been raining since lunchtime.) It started2. (Ann and Sue are friends. They met each other years ago.)

They've ^OQii^-^ff£h^afJ2sC--£3fi-^-S^3. (Mark is sick. He became sick on Sunday.) He has _4. (Mark is sick. He became sick a few days ago.) He has5. (Sarah is married. She's been married for two years.) She got6. (You have a camera. You bought it ten years ago.) I've7. (Megan has been in France for the last three weeks.) She went _8. (You're working in a hotel. You started in June.) I've

12.4 Write B's sentences using the words in parentheses.1. A: Do you take vacations often?

B: (no / five years) JVo.^JjTg\/eni±Jjgk(^^2. A: Do you eat in restaurants often?

B: (no / ages) No, I _3. A: Do you see Laura often?

B: (no / about a month) No, _4. A: Do you go to the movies often?

B: (no / a long time)

Now write B's answers again. This time use It's Jbeen ... since ...5. J^QijrtJiJze-iej^^6. No, it's _7. No,

25

3. Ve been playing (have beenplaying) tennis

4. 's been running/jogging (has beenrunning/jogging)

9.2

2. Have you been waiting long?3. What have you been doing?4. How long have you been living on

Main Street?5. How long have you been selling

computers?

9.3

2. 've been waiting (have beenwaiting) [for the bus]

3. 've been studying (have beenstudying) Spanish

4. She's been working (She has beenworking) there / in Tokyo

5. 've been writing (have beenwriting) to each other

9.4

2. 've been looking (have beenlooking)

3. are you looking4. 've been going (have been going)5. 've been thinking (have been

thinking)6. 's working (is working)7. 's been working (has been working)

10.1

2. 's been traveling (has beentraveling) for three months;She's visited (She has visited) sixcountries so far.

3. He's won (He has won) thenational championship four times.;He's been playing (He has beenplaying) tennis since he was ten.

4. 've made (have made) ten moviessince they graduated from college;They've been making (They havebeen making) movies since theyleft college.

10.2

2. How long have you been waiting?3. How many fish have you caught?4. How many people have you

invited?5. How long have you been teaching?6. How many books have you

written?; How long have you beenwriting books?

7. How long have you been saving?;How much money have you saved?

10.3

2. 's broken (has broken)3. Have you been working4. Have you ever worked5. 's appeared (has appeared)6. haven't been waiting (have not

been waiting) long7. 's stopped (has stopped)8. 've lost (have lost); Have you

seen9. 've been reading (have been

reading); haven't finished (havenot finished)

10. 've read (have read)

11.1

3. have been married4. RIGHT5. It's been raining (It has been

raining)6. have you been living or have

you lived7. has been working or has worked8. RIGHT9.1 haven't worked (have not

worked)10. have you had

11.2

2. How long have you been teachingEnglish?

3. How long have you known Carol?4. How long has your brother been

in Australia?5. How long have you had that

jacket?6. How long has Scott been working

at the airport? or How long hasScott worked at the airport?

7. How long have you been takingguitar lessons?

8. Have you always lived in SanFrancisco?

11.3

3. 's been (has been)4. 've been waiting (have been

waiting)5. haven't played (have not played)6. 's been watching (has been

watching)7. haven't been watching (have not

been watching) or haven'twatched (have not watched)

8. 've had (have had)9. 've been feeling (have been

feeling) or 've felt (have felt)10. 's been living (has been living) or

's lived (has lived)11. haven't gone (have not gone)12. 've always wanted (have always

wanted)

12.1

2. for3. since4. for5. for

6. since7. since8. for

12.2

2. How long has she been studyingJapanese?When did she start studyingJapanese?

3. How long have you known him?When did you first meet him?

4. How long have they beenmarried?When did they get married?

12.3

3. been sick since Sunday4. been sick for a few days5. married two years ago6. had a camera for ten years7. to France three weeks ago8. been working in a hotel since June

or worked in a hotel since June

12.4

2. haven't eaten (have not eaten) in arestaurant for ages

3. haven't seen (have not seen) herfor about a month

4. No, I haven't gone/been (have notgone/been) to the movies for along time.

6. been ages since I ate in arestaurant

7. it's been (it has been) about amonth since I saw her

8. No, it's been (it has been) a longtime since I went to the movies.

13.1

3. RIGHT4. were you5. graduated6. RIGHT

7. RIGHT8. was9. wasn't (was not)

10. was this book

304 ANSWER KEY TO EXERCISES

Present perfect continuous (I have been doing)and present perfect (I have done)

Compare the use of the present perfect continuous and the present perfect:

The guests have been arriving since about6 o'clock.Since the operation two months ago, Joehas been learning to walk again. He canalready take two or three steps unaided.She's been driving for 3 years now.

Mark and Helena have arrived - they're inthe sitting room.I have learnt a lot about painting fromPaul.

We have driven all the way here without abreak.

We use both the present perfect continuous and the present perfect to talk about something thatstarted in the past and which affects the situation that exists now. The difference is that thepresent perfect continuous focuses on the activity or event which may or may not be finished. Thepresent perfect, however, focuses on the effect of the activity or event, or the fact that somethinghas been achieved.

Sometimes the difference between them is simply one of emphasis (see also Unit 10B):• I've been following their discussions with great interest, (emphasises the activity; that is, my

following their discussions)• I've followed their discussions with great interest, (emphasises the result; I may now react to

what was said or decided)

D We can use either the present perfect continuous or the present perfect to talk about activities orevents that are repeated again and again until now:

• Joseph has been kicking a football against the wall all afternoon, (or ...has kicked...)• The press has been calling for her resignation for several weeks, (or ...has called...)

However, if we mention the number of times the activity or event was repeated, we use thepresent perfect rather than the present perfect continuous:

• I've bumped into Susan 3 times this week.• He has played for the national team in 65 matches so far.

We use the present perfect rather than the present perfect continuous when we talk about long-lasting or permanent situations, or when we want to emphasise that we are talking about thewhole of a period of time until the present (see also Unit 5D):

• I have always admired Chester's work.• They are the most delicious oranges I've ever eaten.

When we talk about more temporary situations we can often use either the present perfectcontinuous or the present perfect:

• 'Where's Dr Owen's office?' 'Sorry, I don't know. I've only worked / I've only been workinghere for a couple of days.'

When we want to emphasise that a situation has changed over a period of time up to now, andmay continue to change, we prefer the present perfect continuous to the present perfect:

• The pollution problem has been getting worse over the last decade.• Sales have been increasing for some time.

However, if we talk about a specific change over a period of time which ends now, particularly tofocus on the result of this change (see A), we use the present perfect:

• Prices have decreased by 7%. (= in a period up to now)• The population has grown from 35 million in 1950 to 42 million today.

8-1 Compipresem

claim

1 a Ab PJ

2 a Db M

3 a Wb A!

4 a Fcb Tl

5 a Alb G<

Complettnot, use t,

8.4

Present perfect and past simple = Present perfect continuous:

i doing)

S' ?ed - they're in

nting from

r here without a

something that: is that thet be finished. The: that something

IOB):tivity; that is, my

nay now react to

)ut activities or

kked...)Jled...)K use the

k about long-g about the

t perfect

ly been working

to now, andirfect:

particularly to

EXERCISES

8.1 Complete the sentences with these verbs, using the same one for each sentence in the pair. Use thepresent perfect in one sentence and the present perfect continuous in the other. (A)

claim disappear give move stop

1 a An important file from my office.b Plants and vegetables from my garden since we had new neighbours.

2 a Dr Fletcher the same lecture to students for the last ten years.b Mr Goldman nearly a million pounds to the charity this year.

3 a With their win yesterday, Italy into second place in the table.b As house prices in the cities have risen, people into the countryside.

4 a For years he that he is related to the royal family.b The earthquake over 5000 lives.

5 a All day, the police motorists to question them about the accident.b Good, the noise I can start concentrating on my work again.

8.3

UNIT

8

8.2 Choose the most appropriate sentence ending. (B)

I I've swum...2 I've been swimming...

3 They have asked me...4 They have been asking me...5 I have visited Vienna...6 I've been visiting Vienna...

7 We've stayed...8 We've been staying...

a and I feel exhausted,b thirty lengths of the pool.

a to visit them for ages, but I've never had the time,b to join the company on a number of occasions.a three or four times before,b since 1990 and I've always felt very safe here.

a at this hotel a couple of times before,b at a small hotel near the sea.

Complete these sentences using the verb given. If possible, use the present perfect continuous; ifnot, use the present perfect. Use L to add any words outside the space. (C)

\ Since they were very young, the children (enjoy) travelling by plane.2 It (snow) heavily since this morning.3 I'm pleased to say that the team (play) well all season.4 I never (understand) why we have to pay so much tax.5 I (not read) any of Dickens' novels.6 In recent years, Brazilian companies (put) a lot of money into developing advanced

technology.

8.4 Complete the sentences to describe the information in the graph. Use the verb given. (D)

1 Inflation —since(fall)

3 The number ofdeaths from lungcancersince(rise)

czo

n

Rate

ofin

flat

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

1 1 D

eath

s fro

m lu

ng c

ance

r

_--

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

2 Industrial outputin

. to

today, (grow)

4 Production ofwoolbysince(decline)

ndus

trial

outp

ut

o

sigoii

from$

$2 billionn

; billion

1945 today

$2 m i l l i an

$2 millionr1985 now 17

Key to exercises

6 /7 talked8 bought9 /

10 have lived

5.2The most likely verbs are given.1 crashed2 have worked3 started4 have been5 haven't missed6 wore7 has happened8 have spent9 rescued

5.32 Did you ever eat (a)3 Have you ever met4 Have you ever thought5 Did you ever learn6 Did you ever talk7 Have you ever heard8 Did you ever have

UNIT 6

6.12 broke...was skiing3 met...was working4 was looking...slipped5 ordered...was waiting6 arrived...was getting7 closed...sat8 shut...started9 wasn't concentrating...was

thinking10 was writing...was driving11 came...put12 took...place

6.2The past simple could be usedinstead of the present continuousin 2, 3 and 5 with a similarmeaning.In 1, the past simple implies that Iwas already in the bath when thefire alarm went off; the pastcontinuous implies that I was inthe process of getting in - I wasn'tin yet.

In 4, the past simple suggests twoactions that followed each other -his mother looked away and thenSteve slipped away; the pastcontinuous implies that she waslooking away for a longer period,and during this time Steve slippedaway.In 6, the past simple is unlikely toreplace the past continuous.

6.31 a were having or had; b had2 a lived; b were living

or lived3 a was; b were being or were4 a was enjoying or enjoyed;

b enjoyed

6.41 ...was talking...2 / ('I spent' is also possible)3 ...won...4 ...had to...5 / ('were going to the beach' is

also possible)

UNIT?

7.1Most likely verbs are given.1 have been risking2 has been helping3 have been preparing/working/

revising4 have been thinking5 have been carrying6 has been holding/organising

7.22 The project to send astronauts

to Mars has been going onsince 1991.

3 Campbell has been serving alife sentence for murder since1992.

4 Colin James has been runningthe company for six months.

5 Graham has been sufferingfrom a knee injury since the USOpen earlier this year.

6 Local authorities have beeninvesting heavily in newcomputer systems since thebeginning of the 1990s. (Notethe preposition 'in' after'heavily'.)

7.31 has been going on2 always find

3 have been wanting4 I've been learning5 phone's ringing6 have you been learning7 has been working

7.42 have been fighting3 /4 was looking5 /6 was working7 have been receiving8 /

UNITS

8.11 a has disappeared; b have

been disappearing ('havedisappeared' is also possible)

2 a has been giving ('has given'is also possible); b has given

3 a have ('has' is also possible,but less likely) moved;b have been moving ('havemoved' is also possible)

4 a has been claiming ('hasclaimed' is also possible);b has claimed

5 a have been stopping ('havestopped' is also possible);b has stopped

8.2lb;2a 3b; 4a 5a; 6b 7a; 8b

8.31 have enjoyed2 has been snowing ('has

snowed' is also possible)3 have ('has' is also possible, but

less likely) been playing ('have(or has) played' is also possible)

4 have never understood. (Notethe word order: 'have' comesbefore 'never')

5 haven't read6 have been putting ('have put' is

also possible)

8.41 Inflation has been falling since

1990. ('has fallen' is alsopossible)

2 Industrial output has grownfrom $2 billion in 1945 to $6billion today.

3 The number of deaths fromlung cancer has been risingsince 1950.

290

Key to exercises

4 Production of wool hasdeclined by a million tonnessince 1985.

UNIT 9

9.1had foundaskedhad overflowedhad leftremembered

6 had died7 looked8 resigned

9.21 By the time I got to the party,

most people had gone home.2 When Glen opened the book,

some pages fell out.3 When we went back to look

for the fox, it had disappeared.4 When she picked up her bag,

the handle broke.

9.32 I had meant to call my parents3 She hadn't expected to see

David again4 She had wanted to leave the

meeting early5 I had hoped for a relaxing day

9.41 had typed ('typed' is also

possible)...gave2 came...started3 had checked...went4 turned...caught5 collapsed...phoned6 had eaten ('ate' is also

possible)...picked

9.5order of eventRoy went with Neil - Roy'smother thought...Roy stayed behind - Neilbelieved...Roy vanished - they realised...

order of accountRoy's mother thought... - Roywent with Neil(—* Roy had gone with Neil)Neil believed... - Roy stayedbehind(-» Roy had stayed behind)They realised... - Roy vanished(-> Roy had vanished)

UNIT 10

10.12 had been cycling quite fast3 had been smoking a cigar (or ...

smoking cigars)4 hadn't been attending classes5 hadn't been paying his bills6 hadn't been trying to steal the

car

10.2Suggested verbs are given.1 a had been carrying ('had

carried' is also possible);b had carried

2 a had applied; b had beenapplying ('had applied' is alsopossible)

3 a had flown; b had beenflying

4 a had been working ('hadworked' is also possible);b had finally worked

(The past simple could be used inIb, 2a, 3a, and4b.)

1O.31 had been suffering ('had

suffered' is also possible)2 had seen3 had been fighting ('had fought'

is also possible)4 had known5 had been talking ('had talked'

is also possible)6 had broken down7 we had always agreed (Notice

the word order here: 'had'comes before 'always')

10.41 a They finished renovating the

cathedral before I went toMoscow, b They were stillrenovating the cathedral whenI went to Moscow.

2 a Clara was still crying.b Clara was no longer crying.

UNIT 11

11.1The most likely verbs are given.

1 's going to explode. (B:prediction - evidence)

2 's going to retire (C: reportinga previous decision)

3 '11 walk (C: 'will' is morelikely here if this is a decisionmade at the moment ofspeaking; if the decision wasmade some time beforespeaking, 'going to' would beused)

4 will enter (B: prediction -opinion)

5 '11 see (C: spontaneousdecision)

6 'm going to paint(C: intention or a previousdecision)

7 'm going be sick!(B: prediction - evidence)

8 will re-open(C: intention - formal writtenstyle. Notice that in aninformal spoken style wewould prefer 'going to'. 'Will'is also preferred because aprevious detailed arrangementis involved.)

9 '11 have (B: prediction -opinion)

10 're going to eat. (C: a previousdecision)

11 will leave (C: intention -formal style)

12 's going to collapse. (B:prediction - evidence)

13 're going to increase (C:reporting a previous decision)

14 '11 show (C: spontaneousdecision)

15 '11 phone (C: spontaneousdecision)

11.22 I'll / I'm going to tell3 we'll / we're going to miss4 I'll give5 you'll / you're going to catch6 he'll / he's going to die.7 will drive8 you'll be (made)

11.31 will is more likely here

(B: prediction - opinion)2 / (will or '11 are also possible)3 won't4 will or '115 </ (will or '11 are also possible)6 're going to is more likely here

(C: reporting a previousdecision)

7 '11 (C: spontaneous decision)8 /

291