Vocabulary:

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for vs since
We can use for and since with present perfect or past perfect simple or continuous.

We use for + a period of time, e.g. for two weeks, for ten years, for ten days, for a few
hours, etc.

● We’ve been here for a few hours.

● He’s been studying for a long time.
● When I met them, they had been married for ten years.

We can also use for with the past simple when an action or event started in the past and
also finished in the past after some time. Compare:

● I have lived in London for 20 years. (=I am living in London now. The action has
not finished.)
● I lived in London for 20 years. (=I am not living in London now. The action started
and finished in the past.)

We use since + a starting point (the moment that marks the beginning of a period of
time), e.g. since I was born, since 10 o’clock, since last Wednesday, etc.

● We’ve been here since 4 o’clock.

● He’s been studying since he got up.
● They had been married since 2010.
since vs from
We use since and from + starting point. They are used to mark the beginning of
something: an action, a state or an event.

We normally use since with the present or past perfect to talk about the duration of an
action, event or state. Since indicates the starting point of this action, event or state.

● I have known John since I was a child.

● He’s been working for us since he finished school.
● I was exhausted; I had been at work since six a.m.

We use from in other cases.

● Masks will be compulsory from tomorrow.

● I’m usually here from six o’clock.

When we use from to indicate the starting point of something, we can also use to or
until/till to mark its endpoint.

● I work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (or until/till 6 p.m.)

● The city reported 400 new COVID-19 cases from Friday to Sunday. (or until/till
Sunday)

Present perfect simple or

continuous?
Situations that started in the past and still continue

We can use the present perfect simple and the present perfect continuous to talk about
situations that started in the past and still continue. But we must use the present
perfect simple with non-action verbs (stative verbs), and we normally use the present
perfect continuous with dynamic verbs (although the present perfect simple is also
possible.)

● We‘ve had this car for years.

● I haven’t been sleeping well lately.

We use the present perfect continuous (and NOT simple) with dynamic verbs for
situations that started in the past and still continue when we want to emphasise how
long the situation has lasted.

● I have been waiting for hours! (=I want to emphasise that I’ve been waiting for a
long time).
● I couldn’t do the dishes. I’ve been working all day.

Finished and unfinished situations

We use the present perfect simple for finished actions in the past when we don’t say
when. We use the present perfect continuous for actions or situations that maybe have
not finished or that maybe have finished (very recently)

● Who has eaten my cookies? (=We would say this if there are no cookies left. The
action is finished.
● Who has been eating my cookies? (=We would say this if there are some cookies
left)
● I‘ve been watching the series you recommended. I’ll tell you about it when I finish
watching it.
● I‘ve watched the series you recommended. I watched the last episode yesterday.

Actions with present results

We can use present perfect simple and present perfect continuous for actions with
present results. We use the present perfect simple if the present results come from
completing the action.
 ● Look how nice my car looks. I‘ve washed it. (=The car looks nice because I have
finished washing it.)
● Something is different in this house. Have you painted it? (=The house looks
different because you have completed the action of painting it.)

We use the present perfect continuous if the present results come from the process of
doing the action.

● Sorry I’m so sweaty. I‘ve been washing my car. (=I am sweaty because of the
physical activity that washing the car involves.)
● How come you are so dirty? Have you been painting? (=You are dirty because of
the process of painting.)

how long vs how many/much

We use the present perfect continuous to talk about the duration of an action, i.e. about
how long we have been doing something. And we use the present perfect simple to talk
about how many things or how much of something we have done.

● I’ve written twenty e-mails. (I’m talking about how many emails I’ve written.)
● I’ve been writing emails for hours. (=I’m talking about how long I have spend
writing emails)
Future continuous: use
Actions in progress in the future

We use the future continuous for situations or actions that will be in progress at a
certain time in the future.
 ● This time next week, we‘ll be travelling to Paris.
● Tomorrow at 10, you‘ll be doing your exam.
● When you get off the train, I‘ll be waiting on the platform.
● In two months’ time, we‘ll be lying on the beach and drinking a mojito.

Future arrangements (=present continuous)

We use the future continuous instead of the present continuous for future events that
have already been planned or decided

Past simple
We use the past simple to talk about completed actions in the past.

● We ate out yesterday. (the action is finished)

In a story, we use the past simple to talk about past events in chronological order; i.e.
the main events of a story.

● When she opened the door, she pretended that we weren’t there and she went to
her room.
● He called me and told me to go, but when I arrived he wasn’t there.

We also use the past simple to talk about past habits or past states.

● We often went to the bar for a drink before dinner.

● He really liked sport, and was very fit.

Past continuous
We use the past continuous the set the scene in a story.

● Last night I was walking home and listening to my ipod when …

● The sun was shining and lots of tourists were lying on the beach. Suddenly …

We use the past continuous for actions in progress in the past or longer actions
interrupted by shorter actions in past simple.

● After dinner I went into the living room and saw that she was crying.
● When she opened the door, we were talking about her.

Past perfect
We use the past perfect simple to talk about an earlier past: events which happened
before the main event.

Earlier single events

We use the past perfect simple to talk about earlier events and experiences, or single
actions completed earlier in the past.

● When she opened the door, he had already left.

● I realised that I had been there before.
● When I met her, I had never been in a serious relationship.
● He noticed I had cleaned the car. It was smooth and shiny.

We use the past perfect simple to say how much or how many we had done of
something earlier in the past.

● We had driven 500 miles and we needed some rest.

● How many hours had he slept when you woke him up?
Duration from earlier in the past (stative verbs)

We use the past perfect simple with stative verbs to talk about states or situations that
had started earlier in the past. We often use how long, for or since, always, etc.

● The day Anne died, they had been married for 48 years.
● The day I left, I had been in England for exactly 4 years.
● She told me she had always hated her sister.