Real English ESL - Lesson 57 - The Present Perfect Continuous

Lesson 57 -- Exercise 2 - Present Perfect Continuous Grammar

Double-click on any word for an English definition (the best solution), or translate the text on this page. Be careful of the automatic translation!
I just translated this page into French, and the translation is not good. This is because it is impossible to translate the Present Perfect tenses!

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The interviewer's question is expressed in the present perfect continuous: "How long have you been juggling today?" She must also answer using the present perfect continuous:
She can answer the question using
- a specific amount of time (10 minutes) or
- the point in the past when she began juggling (since 10 o'clock, for example).
Note: it is NOT necessary to use "for". In fact, Betty Jean answers "Uh, about 10 minutes".
But it IS NECESSARY to use since if she answers using a point of time in the past (since 10 o'clock).
More practice with the Present Perfect here, and more practice withthe Present Perfect Continuous here.

Listen: Practice your pronunciation:

Record: Listen again. Record again.

Betty Jean began juggling at ten o'clock. She bought her clubs in 1999. Now, it is the year 2010. Choose the 4 correct answers..
She juggles for ten minutes.
She has been juggling for 10 minutes.
She has been juggling since 10 a.m.
She has had her clubs about 11 years.
She has had her clubs since 2010.
She has been having her clubs since 2010.

In quiz # 1 above, this is one of the wrong answers: She has been having her clubs since 2010. (NOT correct) "Have" is sometimes a non-continuous verb. Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. The present perfect tenses are very difficult, but practice makes perfect!

What is the other wrong answer. Why?
        The other wrong answer is "She has had her clubs about 11 years." because we must use "for" for amounts of time.
        The other wrong answer is "She juggles for ten minutes." because you can not use the present simple for an action which began in the past and continued in the past.
        The other wrong answer is "She has been juggling for 10 minutes." because we must use "since" for amounts of time.

What is the interviewer's question?
        How long have you been juggling today?
        How long are your juggling clubs?
        How long does it take you to come here to juggle?

How long has Betty Jean been juggling today? Answer with a COMPLETE SENTENCE. Type it.

        She has been juggling for 10 minutes today.
        She has been juggling for 10 hours today.
        She has been juggling for 10 days.

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