FORM I/you / we/ they have been working Have I/ you/ we/ they been working?
He/ she/ it has been working Has he/ she/ it been working?
I/ you/ we/ they have not been working
He/she/ it has not been working
USES
- talking about continuous activities
( We use the present perfect progressive when the focus is on an extended period of time. The situation or activity started in the past and has been in progress for a period until now.)
Exports have been growing steadily over the past six months.
Foreign earnings have been moving ahead to record levels.
(The above situations are incomplete; the present perfect simple, on the other hand, tells us that the action has finished.)
Compare:
I ve been reading your proposal.
She s been checking the calculations. (the focus is on the activities)
I ve read your proposal.
She s checked the calculations. (the focus is on their completion)
- talking about the effect of recent events
Why are your hands so dirty? I ve been trying to repair my car all afternoon.
You look tired. I am. I ve been working on the report all day.
(What is important is the present result or evidence of this activity- in the first example, his hands are dirty; in the second, he looks tired.
- talking about repeated actions
Compare:
Have you seen my wife? (I am looking for her).
Have you been seeing my wife? (I suspect youre both having an affair).
(But we cannot use ing if we specify the number of occasions or quantity)
I ve been playing a lot of golf recently.
I ve played golf twice this week.
I ve written 15 pages today.
PRACTICE
1. Answer these questions with reference to your own situation.
1)What projects have you been working on recently?
2)Who have you been working with?
3)What have you been trying to do, but not yet succeeded in doing?
2. What explanations could there be for the following?
1) Thomas always looks worried and in a hurry. He also finds it difficult to sleep at night.
................ Hes been working too hard...........
2)There are fewer knives and forks in the canteen than a month ago.
.......................................................................
3)Top secret company information often gets reported in the press.
............................................................................
4)A lot of dead fish have been found in the river next to the chemical plants.
..............................................................................
5)Pamela was unable to speak any Spanish on her last trip to Madrid but now she can.
..............................................................................
3. Complete each of these sentences, using the present perfect simple or progressive.
1. How long (you/wait)?
.......................................................
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2. I (play) tennis four times this week.
.......................................................
3. Look outside. It(rain); the pavements still wet.
.......................................................
4. You look tired. I (drive) all day long.
.....................................................................
5. I(know) John since we were at school together.
......................................................................
6. The government (announce) a drop in unemployment.
........................................................................
7. I(read) a book on negotiating skills but I dont think Ill finish it.
.........................................................................
8. He (work) as a consultant for three different firms in the same sector of activity; I think theres conflict of interest and he should resign.
.........................................................................
9. He (work) as a consultant for three different firms in the same sector of activity, but he was fired from the first two.
.........................................................................
ENJOY YOURSELF
TWENTY SIX LETTERS
Twenty-six cards in half a pack;
Twenty-six weeks in half a year;
Twenty-six letters dressed in black
In all the words you ever will hear.
Think of the beautiful things you see
On mountain, riverside, meadow and tree.
How many their names are, but how small
The twenty-six letters that spell them all.
UNIT IV THE FUTURE
FORM 1
There are a number of ways of making reference to future time. These include:
Present progressive: I m seeing Kamil tomorrow.
Going to: We re going to discuss the new secret deal.
Present simple: His plane gets to Heathrow at 12.45.
Will: It will probably arrive late owing to air traffic congestion.
Future perfect simple: I ll have arranged his hotel accommodation by then.
Future progressive: He ll be staying at the Mansion House Hotel.
Be + Infinitive: You are to tell nobody of our discussions.
USES
- talking about plans or arrangements
( We can talk about plans using the present progressive)
I m meeting Mr. Wong next week. He s arriving on Tuesday.
- talking about present intentions
( We use going to rather than will for plans, decisions and firm intentions ).
She is going to leave in a months time. (Avoid She will leave...)
When are you going to visit us next? (= When do you intend.....?)
How much money are you going to offer? (= have you decided to offer)
In general, we prefer a present form when the future event involves some sort of present plan, intention or arrangement. We prefer will when we are not focusing on a present idea. Compare:
He s going to take early retirement. (present intention/arrangement)
He s taking early retirement. Hell have a lot more free time. (future situation).
- making predictions
( To make a prediction we can use either will or going to)
Im sure you will/are going to enjoy your visit to our head Office.
(We use going to when there is present external evidence for a future event and will when we state our own intuitions)
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Look at those clouds it s going to rain.
I expect he ll want to stay in the best hotel.(I know what kind of person he is).
- will is used to make a commitment for the future
Could you lend me $50? I ll pay you back tomorrow.
I dont know if I can finish the job by Friday but I ll do my best.
- will is used (usually contracted to ll) when an offer is made at the moment of speaking.
Are you going? I ll give you a lift to the station if you like.
I havent got any means of transport. Dont worry, I ll lend you my car.
- for a future event based on an official calendar or schedule we use the present simple. The event is unlikely to change between now and then.
The train leaves from Waterloo at 17.45.
Our next planning meeting is on Wednesday.
- for events that will be finished before a time in future we use the future perfect simple.
By the time they arrive we will have gone home.
At the end of the year we will have recovered our initial investment.
- we use the future progressive to describe situations which will arise in the future if things go on as predicted and follow their expected patterns.
No doubt the unions will be asking for more money.
She ll be retiring at the end of the year.
Over the next few years the average temperature will be rising.
- if an event is still in progress at a future time we use the progressive form.
This time next year I ll be lying on a beach in the Bahamas.
During the seminar you ll be learning about negotiation strategies.
(The future progressive is also used to talk about arrangements)
During your visit you ll be staying at the Plaza hotel and meeting the commercial attache. You ll also be visiting some of the most important potential clients.
- the future progressive can be used to ask questions without giving the impression that we want to influence or direct peoples actions. Compare:
Will you be staying for dinner? (an enquiry about plans)
Will you stay for dinner? (a request)
- in time clauses and conditional clauses after if, when, until, as soon as we use the present simple to refer to the future. It is incorrect to use will in this case.
If you give us a discount we ll place the bulk order.
Switch off the lights when you leave.
We wont begin until everyone arrives.
Ill give you a ring as soon as I get there.
- if a condition has to be met before something else can happen, we use the present perfect to refer to the future event in the time and conditional clauses beginning with if, when, until, as soon as.
Ill send you a fax when I ve made all the arrangements.
I cant go if I havent obtained a visa.
We wont make a decision until we have consulted everyone.
Ill get back to you as soon as I ve spoken to my boss.
- the infinitive is used to make an official announcement.
Lear Corporation is to axe 2,800 jobs.
The President is to visit Iran next month.
(The verb to be is often omitted in newspaper headlines).
Bonn to speed cut in corporate taxes.
Central America to get $6bn aid.
PRACTICE
1. These forecasts were made by the Financial Times at the beginning of 1999. Match the questions to the answers. Did the predictions come true?
1. Which science will make the news?
2. Will PCs start talking?
3. Will international telephone calls cost less?
4. Will recession hit the UK?
a) Yes. The Treasurys forecast of 1 1.5% growth in 1999 will turn out to have been too optimistic and economic activity will slow abruptly in the early part of 1999 as companies shed excess stocks of unsold goods.
b) Yes. As the worlds telecommunications markets open up, newcomers are using price to take market share from the domestic operator.
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c) The past year has been dominated by biomedical stories: genes, clones and embrio research. No doubt they will hit the headlines again but there is a good chance that physics, space and astronomy will get more media attention.
d) More potent microprocessors and further improvements in the various voice and other technologies underlying computer speech will gradually enable PCs to handle more complex tasks including speech. It probably will not be long before computers speak rather than display messages.
2. How could you offer to help in these situations?
1. Its really hot and stuffy there.
2. I dont understand this English and need translating.
3. This desk is too heavy. I cant move it.
4. Damn! Ive missed the last bus.
5. I dont know how Im going to find time to prepare any slides.
3. Look at the timetable and ask the questions which elicit the following answers.
London Heathrow Birmingham London-Heathrow - Manchester
Depart Arrive Flight No. Depart Arrive Flight No
.
10.40 11.25 BA 3277 10.55 11.55 BA 3266
11.40 12.25 BA 3287 11.55 12.55 BA 3276
1...........................................................................................................................
at 12.25
2..........................................................................................................................
An hour
4. You may not agree with these predictions but you can choose the right verb from anyway. Choose between future perfect and future perfect progressive.
1. By 2020 the first men.................(land) on the planet Mars.
2. In the next 100 years, the Netherlands.......................(disappear) under water.
3. In the second decade of the 21st century people..............(eat) more genetically modified food.
4. By 2030 Chinese....................(become) the language of international scientific communication.
5. Many people................(live) to over 100 as medical science advances.
5. A group of travel agents has been invited by a tour operator on a familiarization trip so that they can find out more about the holidays they sell. Look at the itinerary and complete the tour description using the future progressive.
