Pres. Perfect Cont. vs Simple

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

"I have been proving them wrong my entire life," says Carter. The organisation has transformed several blocks of the riverfront into a park. "I have been investing in bonds with people here for twenty years."

Grammar Reference · Pres. Perfect Cont. vs Simple

Present perfect

She has been working here for twenty years. — ongoing action, still happening now

Present perfect simple

She has transformed the riverfront. — completed result with visible effect

How long have you

How long have you been living here? — asks about duration of an ongoing action

Common error

She has been transforming three parks. ✗ → She has transformed three parks. ✓ — use simple for a counted result

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Pres. Perfect Cont. vs Simple

1.Carter (work) in the South Bronx for more than twenty years.

2.The team (already / complete) two major regeneration projects this year.

3.How long you ... (try) to restore the community garden?

4.The volunteers (plant) over five hundred trees in the park so far.

5.She (fight) to overcome funding problems since the organisation started.

6.The local council (just / approve) a new budget for neighbourhood regeneration.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.She started building the programme in 2005 and she still builds it today.

2.They finished the park last year. It is open now.

3.He began investing in local bonds three years ago and he continues.

4.The group completed its fifth regeneration project this summer.

5.She started working to overcome the challenges two months ago and she is still doing it.

6.The activists restored the riverside. It looks different now.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Pres. Perfect Cont. vs Simple01EnglishPlans.com