The Present Perfect Progressive

The Present Perfect-Continuous (Progressive) Tense
Ex. 1. Read and translate the sentences. Comment on the tenses in them.
1. What's been going on? Why haven't you been answering my letters? 2. There's something I've been meaning to ask you.
3. A fine rain has been falling steadily since six o'clock and there is a dark mist on the river. 4. "Are you thinking of selling
off one of the hotels?" "I have been toying with the idea," Sarah admitted. 5. She is filling the case with the papers she has
been working on all day.
Ex. 2. Use the right form of the verbs in brackets.
1. Good gracious, Kit, whatever you (do)? You seem to have all the paint on yourself that there is in the world. 2.1 (think)
about you all day, Emma. 3. What you (do) since we last (meet)? 4. – You look hot. – Yes, I (play) tennis. 5. I (work) in a
bookshop now. I (work) here for about six weeks.
Ex. 3. Translate into English.
1. Мы слушали тебя очень внимательно последние два часа, и теперь мы уверены, что ты говоришь правду. 2. Ты
можешь все мне рассказать. Ты доверяла мне все свои секреты с тех пор, как научилась говорить. 3. Мы живем
рядом с Романовыми двадцать четыре года. И мы всегда были хорошими соседями. 4. «Я хранила это кольцо много
лет и теперь отдаю его тебе», — сказала мне бабушка. 5. Не могу передать, что чувствовали твои родители все то
время, пока тебя не было.
Ex. 4. Use the right form of the verbs in brackets.
Tanya: Julia, what you (do)? It's already 2.00. Aren't we going shopping?
Julia: I know, but everything takes twice as long to do as I expected. I (have) a lot of problems since I (move) into this
apartment.
T: How long you (paint) those cabinets?
J: I started at 8.00 this morning.
T: You mean you (paint) for six hours!
J: I really don't know what I (do). I never (paint) before. Besides, nothing (go) right today. The man from the phone
company still not (come). I (wait) for him all day.
Т: What's that strange noise I hear?
J: Oh, that! That's the toilet. It (run) like that since last night. And the refrigerator not (work) properly since I moved in.
T: Well, just call the superintendent to fix those things.
J: I don't know. Maybe I (make) a mistake. I (think) things over lately. Maybe I shouldn't have moved into this apartment.
It (need) too much work.
T: It's not that bad. Your apartment will be great in a few weeks.
J: Maybe. All I know is that I (have) nothing but headaches ever since I moved in.
T: But don't forget that you (have) a lot of fun, I too.
The Past Perfect-Continuous (Progressive) Tense
Ex. 5. Translate into English.
1. Она подошла к двери, чтобы поприветствовать своего адвоката, которого она ждала (to expect). 2. Когда я вошел
в комнату, все замолчали, и я понял, что они говорили обо мне. 3. Молодой человек поднялся со ступенек, на
которых сидел, и вошел в дом. 4. Художник внимательно рассматривал картину, которую рисовал уже несколько
недель. 5. Он беспокоился о своей жене. В последнее время она посещала (to see) психоаналитика, пытаясь
выяснить причину своей депрессии.
Ex. 6. Explain the difference between the following pairs of sentences.
1. When I last went to London, they had renovated the National Portrait Gallery.
When I last went to London, they had been renovating the National Portrait Gallery.
2. Although she tried to hide her face, we could see that Vicky was crying.
Although she tried to apply some make-up, we could see that Vicky had been crying.
3. When they got to their dacha, they discovered that water was leaking through the roof.
When they got to their dacha, they discovered that water had been leaking through the roof. There were pools on the floor.
4. By the smell in the room and his guilty expression I could tell that Stephen had been smoking.
Yesterday he was caught red-handed. When I came in, he was smoking.
5. When Denny joined in the conversation, they were discussing the latest events in the Balkans.
Everybody looked unhappy. They had been discussing the Concorde's crash.
The Future Perfect-Continuous (Progressive) Tense
Ex. 7. Read and translate the sentences. Comment on the use of the Future Perfect-Continuous Tense.
1. Next year I will have been living in Moscow for thirty years. 2. Next month we shall have owned this house for ten years.
3. When he is forty, he will have been learning English for twenty five years. 4. By the time the manager turns up, the
customers will have been waiting for him for several hours. 5. He complains that by May he will have been reading "War
and Peace" for five months. 6. I shall have been staying here just a year this July.
Ex. 8. Translate into English.
1. К первому сентября этого года я уже десять лет буду работать в этом университете. 2. В июле будет год, как они
женаты. 3. К тому времени, как ты проснешься завтра утром, мы уже три часа будем лететь над Европой. 4. К маю
будет пять лет, как он водит эту машину. 5. Они будут экспериментировать в этой области уже много лет к концу
тысячелетия. 6. К тому времени, как приедет полиция, детектив уже два часа будет изучать место происшествия.