The present perfect continuous

Some people think the present perfect continuous is difficult to use, but

really it's not very complicated, and it sounds very impressive when you

use it correctly.

There are two main times we use this tense. Remember we can't use it

with stative verbs.

1: To say how long for unfinished actions which started in the past

and continue to the present. We often use this with for and since.

I've been living in London for two years.

She's been working here since 2004.

We've been waiting for the bus for hours.

2: Actions which have just stopped (though the whole action can

be unfinished) and have a result, which we can often see, hear, or feel,

in the present (focus on action).

I'm so tired, I've been studying.

I've been running, so I'm really hot.

It's been raining, the pavement is wet.

I've been reading your book, it's very good.

The past simpleWhen do we need to use the past simple tense in English? Remember,

this is the basic past tense. We use it whenever we want to talk about the

past and we don't have any special situation that means we should use

the past perfect, present perfect, past continuous etc.

Here's when we use it:

1 Finished events in the past with no connection to the

present:

1

Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.

The Vikings invaded Britain.

2 With a finished time word (yesterday, last week, at 2

o'clock, in 2003):

I went to the cinema yesterday.

We visited Japan in 2007.

3 For stories / lists of events:

He went to a café, sat down and lit a cigarette.

Yesterday I went to the library, met a friend for lunch,

and playedtennis.

4 Details of news:

I've hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder when I was painting my

bedroom.

I've been on holiday. I went to Spain and Portugal.

5 As part of the second conditional:

If I won the lottery, I would buy a house in Chelsea.

If she knew his number, she would call him.

The Past Continuous

The past continuous tense in English is used quite often, especially when telling stories.

2

1 A continuous action in the past which is interrupted by

another action or a time:

I was taking a bath when the telephone rang.

At three o'clock, I was working.

2 Background information, to give atmosphere to a

story:

It was a beautiful day. The birds were singing, the sun was

shiningand in the cafes people were

laughing and chatting.

3 An annoying and repeated action in the past, usually

with 'always':

He was always leaving the tap running.

(In the same way as the Present Continuous)

4 For two actions which happened at the same time in

the past:

I was watching TV and he was reading.

3