EXERCISES

Present Perfect Simple / Continuous Complete the sentences with correct form of the verbs. Use the Present Perfect Simple or Continuous. Use short forms where possible. 1 How long _______flu? (have) 2 We _______the house all morning. (clean) 3 I _______abroad for a year, but now I'm going home. (live) 4 Ouch! I _______my finger on the oven!. (burn) 5 Alan _______French since September. (learn) 6 How long _______Jim? (you go out with) Present Perfect / Present Perfect Continuous Robin: I think the waiter (forget) _____us. We (wait) _____here for over half an hour and nobody (take) _____our order yet. Michele: I think you're right. He (walk) _____by us at least twenty times. He probably thinks we (order, already) _____. Robin: Look at that couple over there, they (be, only) _____here for five or ten minutes and they already have their food. Michele: He must realize we (order, not) _____yet! We (sit) _____here for over half an hour staring at him. Robin: I don't know if he (notice, even) _____us. He (run) _____from table to table taking orders and serving food. Michele: That's true, and he (look, not) _____in our direction once. Present Continuous / Present Perfect Continuous Mr. Smith: So tell me a little bit about yourself, Mr. Harris. I would like to find out a little bit more about your background. Mr. Harris: I (work) ________in the insurance industry for over ten years. I worked for Met Life for six years and World Insurance for four and a half. During that time, I heard many good things about Hollings Life Insurance and that's why I (apply) ________for the new sales position. Mr. Smith: Tell me a little about your hobbies and interests. Mr. Harris: In my spare time, I hike in the mountains outside of town, volunteer at the Sierra Club and play tennis. In fact, I (compete) ________in a tennis
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tournament this weekend. Mr. Smith: Really, how long (you, play) ________tennis ? Mr. Harris: I (play) ________since high school. I love the sport. Mr. Smith: Great! We like dedication here at Hollings Life. You mentioned you volunteer at the Sierra Club. I (work, currently) ________with them on the sea turtle project. We (try) ________to create a wildlife sanctuary near the bay. Mr. Harris: Do you know Frank Harris? He's my brother. He (work, presently) ________on the same project. Mr. Smith: I know Frank quite well. Any brother of Frank's would be a welcome addition to Hollings Life. Just one more thing, we (look) ________for somebody who is fluent in Spanish; many of our clients are from Mexico. Mr. Harris: No problem. I (study) ________Spanish since elementary school. Mr. Smith: Sounds like you are the perfect candidate. Present Continuous / Present Perfect Continuous 1. It (rain) _______all week. I hope it stops by Saturday because I want to go to the beach. 2. A: Where is Gary? B: He (study, at the library) _______for his German test on Wednesday. In fact, he (review) _______for the test every day for the last week. 3. You look really great! (You, exercise) _______at the fitness center ? 4. Frank, where have you been? We (wait) _______for you since 1 P.M.. 5. A: What is that sound? B: A car alarm (ring) _______somewhere down the street. It (drive) _______me crazy - I wish it would stop! It (ring) _______for more than twenty minutes. 6. Joseph's English (improve, really) _______, isn't it? He (watch) _______American television programs and (study) _______his grammar every day since he first arrived in San Diego. Soon he will be totally fluent. 7. A: You look a little tired. (You, get) _______enough sleep lately? B: Yes, I (sleep) _______relatively well. I just look tired because I (feel) _______a little sick for the last week. A: I hope you feel better soon. B: Thanks. I (take, currently) _______some medicine, so I should feel better in a couple of days. Simple Past / Present Perfect 1. A: Did you like the movie "Star Wars"? B: I don't know. I (see, never) _______that movie. 2. Sam (arrive) _______in San Diego a week ago. 3. My best friend and I (know) _______each other for over fifteen years. We still
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get together once a week. 4. Stinson is a fantastic writer. He (write) _______ten very creative short stories in the last year. One day, he'll be as famous as Hemingway. 5. I (have, not) _______this much fun since I (be) _______a kid. 6. Things (change) _______a great deal at Coltech, Inc. When we first (start) _______working here three years ago, the company (have, only) _______six employees. Since then, we (expand) _______to include more than 2000 full-time workers. 7. I (tell) _______him to stay on the path while he was hiking, but he (wander) _______off into the forest and (be) _______bitten by a snake. 8. Listen Donna, I don't care if you (miss) _______the bus this morning. You (be) _______late to work too many times. You are fired! 9. Sam is from Colorado, which is hundreds of miles from the coast, so he (see, never) _______the ocean. He should come with us to Miami. 10. How sad! George (dream) _______of going to California before he died, but he didn't make it. He (see, never) _______the ocean. 11. In the last hundred years, traveling (become) _______much easier and very comfortable. In the 19th century, it (take) _______two or three months to cross North America by covered wagon. The trip (be) _______very rough and often dangerous. Things (change) _______a great deal in the last hundred and fifty years. Now you can fly from New York to Los Angeles in a matter of hours. 12. Jonny, I can't believe how much you (change) _______since the last time I (see) _______you. You (grow) _______at least a foot! 13. This tree (be) _______planted by the settlers who (found) _______our city over four hundred years ago. 14. This mountain (be, never) _______climbed by anyone. Several mountaineers (try) _______to reach the top, but nobody (succeed, ever) _______. The climb is extremely difficult and many people (die) _______trying to reach the summit. 15. I (visit, never) _______Africa, but I (travel) _______to South America several times. The last time I (go) _______to South America, I (visit) _______Brazil and Peru. I (spend) _______two weeks in the Amazon, (hike) _______for a week near Machu Picchu, and (fly) _______over the Nazca Lines. Simple Past / Present Perfect Since computers were first introduced to the public in the early 1980's, technology (change) _______a great deal. The first computers (be) _______simple machines designed for basic tasks. They (have, not) _______much memory and they (be, not) _______very powerful. Early computers were often quite expensive and customers often (pay) _______thousands of dollars for machines which actually (do) _______very little. Most computers (be) _______separate, individual machines used mostly as expensive typewriters or for playing games. Times (change) _______. Computers (become) _______powerful machines with
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very practical applications. Programmers (create) _______a large selection of useful programs which do everything from teaching foreign languages to bookkeeping. We are still playing video games, but today's games (become) _______faster, more exciting interactive adventures. Many computer users (get, also) _______on the Internet and (begin) _______communicating with other computer users around the world. We (start) _______to create international communities online. In short, the simple, individual machines of the past (evolve) _______into an international World Wide Web of knowledge. Present Perfect / Present Perfect Continuous 1. A: How long (be) _______in Canada? B: I (study) _______here for more than three years. 2. I (have) _______the same car for more than ten years. I'm thinking about buying a new one. 3. I (love) _______chocolate since I was a child. You might even call me a "chocoholic". 4. Matt and Sarah (have) _______some difficulties in their relationship lately, so they (go) _______to a marriage counselor. I hope they work everything out. 5. John (work) _______for the government since he graduated from Harvard University. Until recently, he (enjoy) _______his work, but now he is talking about retiring. 6. Lately, I (think) _______about changing my career because I (become) _______dissatisfied with the conditions at my company. 7. I (see) _______Judy for more than five years and during that time I have (see) _______many changes in her personality.

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