Welcome to your Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous lesson! In this topic we talk about:
• What’s the difference between the Present Perfect Simple and the Present Perfect Continuous?
• Asking questions
• State Verbs
Take the quizzes when you’re ready! If you’re having problems, use the comment box to contact our English Teachers.
What’s the difference between the Present Perfect Simple and Continuous?
Have a look at this example:
Sarah is covered in paint. |
The wall is white, it used to be beige. |
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This sentence uses the Present Perfect Continuous. | This sentence uses the Present Perfect Simple. |
In this example, we are interested in the activity. It is not mentioned if the action is finished or not. In this case, however, the activity is not finished. | In this example, we are interested in the fact that an action has been completed. The most important part of this sentence is the completed activity. |
Here are some more examples:
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Asking questions
Have a look at these examples:
The Present Perfect Continuous is used with “how long”. (for an activity that is still happening) |
The Present Perfect Simple is used with “how much”, “how many” or “how many times”. (for completed actions) |
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State Verbs
Don’t forget that State Verbs cannot be used with the continuous form.
Recap
- With the Present Perfect Continuous, we are interested in the activity.
- With the Present Perfect Simple, we are interested in the fact that an action has been completed.
- With questions in the continuous form, we want to know how long an action has been happening.
- With questions in the simple form, we want to know how many times something has happened.
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