TENSE TUESDAY: PRESENT PERFECT WITH SPECIFIC TIME (PART 1)
21 / 10 / 2014
TENSE TUESDAY: PRESENT PERFECT WITH SPECIFIC TIME (PART 1): meaning and examples
Hello again everyone.
As you know, on Tense Tuesday the Daily Vitamin focuses on one of the twelve English tenses.
Last week we looked at the present perfect with non-specific time. Sentences like "I have been to China" tell us that the speaker went to China in the past, but we do not know exactly when the speaker visited China; we just know that, as of today (the present), this experience has happened. To see last week's lesson, click on the link below.
https://www.ziggurat.es/es/lecciones_ingles/index.asp?id=2428
Today we are looking at a way we use the present perfect with specific time to talk about activities/situations in progress. In this case we use FOR or SINCE with the present perfect when we want to express the exact time that an activity in progress started or for how long we have been doing that activity. Today, we look at how we use the word FOR with periods of time (three years, two weeks, etc.) to say how long an activity or situation has been in progress. Consider the examples below.
Example 1: I have lived in my apartment for three years.
Example 2: She has worked in our company for a decade.
Example 3: He has been my neighbour for two weeks.
We can also use FOR with less-precise time expressions.
Example 4: We have been friends for a long time.
Example 5: She has been a fan of U2 for years and years.
Example 6: It seems like he has lived in this building for eternity.
Next week we will look at using SINCE in this same type of sentence to mark a specific starting point in the past of the activity/situation in progress.
Tune in tomorrow for Wordy Wednesday; we will look at words we use when we make more money.
Have a great day!
As you know, on Tense Tuesday the Daily Vitamin focuses on one of the twelve English tenses.
Last week we looked at the present perfect with non-specific time. Sentences like "I have been to China" tell us that the speaker went to China in the past, but we do not know exactly when the speaker visited China; we just know that, as of today (the present), this experience has happened. To see last week's lesson, click on the link below.
https://www.ziggurat.es/es/lecciones_ingles/index.asp?id=2428
Today we are looking at a way we use the present perfect with specific time to talk about activities/situations in progress. In this case we use FOR or SINCE with the present perfect when we want to express the exact time that an activity in progress started or for how long we have been doing that activity. Today, we look at how we use the word FOR with periods of time (three years, two weeks, etc.) to say how long an activity or situation has been in progress. Consider the examples below.
Example 1: I have lived in my apartment for three years.
Example 2: She has worked in our company for a decade.
Example 3: He has been my neighbour for two weeks.
We can also use FOR with less-precise time expressions.
Example 4: We have been friends for a long time.
Example 5: She has been a fan of U2 for years and years.
Example 6: It seems like he has lived in this building for eternity.
Next week we will look at using SINCE in this same type of sentence to mark a specific starting point in the past of the activity/situation in progress.
Tune in tomorrow for Wordy Wednesday; we will look at words we use when we make more money.
Have a great day!
