2017-06-22 Grammar: perfect progressive

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: finish exercise 4, then do p. 20 exercise 6 (the same thing, but choose between perfect and simple instead). (You might want to read p. 19 first.)
p. 18 exercise 4
4 isn’t studying
5 speaks
6 a was looking
  b discovered
7 a reached
  b thought
8 am trying
9 a was studying
  b heard
10 be sleeping
p. 20 exercise 6
1 had said
2 had conducted
3 has had
4 has visited
5 a came
  b hadn’t been (If he had never been away from them before he came to the US.)
  or: wasn’t (If he was never away from his parents after he came to the US.)
6 have traveled
7 haven’t slept
8 a had completed
  b realized
  c were not
9 have lived
10 has studied
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Some actions are “long actions”, with no difference between simple and progressive aspect:
I am living in Boston now. = I live in Boston now.
I have been living in Boston since 2008. = I have lived in Boston since 2008.

Some are “medium actions”, with an important difference between simple and progressive:
I speak Spanish. = I have the ability to speak Spanish.
I am speaking English. = I am speaking English right now.
I have read that book. = I have finished it.
I have been reading that book. = I have not finished it.

Others are “short actions”, which take very little time to complete, so usually aren’t progressive:
I have met her. - Correct.
*I have been meeting her. - Strange, because how long does it take to meet someone?
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There are also non-action verbs, which are not used in progressive:
I want to see a movie.
*I am wanting to see a movie.
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p. 21 exercise 7 - Choose whether each verb should be perfect or perfect progressive. (Remember, you also need to decide the correct time frame.)
1 has been raining
2 had worked / had been working
3 have found (“found” is also okay; in American English we usually use simple past even for very recent events)
4 has been finding (“more and more difficult” means this is a continuing problem)
5 has been cooking (“I hope the food will be” means the food still isn’t finished, so Gladstone is probably still cooking it now.)
6 a had been looking
  b had left
7 have been trying
8 will have lived / will have been living
9 a have been coming / have come
  b have moved / moved
10 have tried
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If you talk about the number of times, it’s not progressive. (“several times”)
If you talk about the lengh of time, it can be progressive. (“for several hours”)
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Time clauses about the future don’t use future grammar:
When I get home, I will do my laundry.
By the time he finishes his homework, it will be midnight.
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p. 23 exercise 10 - sentence with (4) and (5)
By the time I get there, I’m sure that everyone will have started dancing already.
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Homework (optional): p. 22-23 exercises 8, 9, 10