II. USING THE PERFECT TENSE FOR TIME
3.0 Using Time Words and Phrases with the Perfect Tense
When writing about how long an action has been happening, we often use adverbs or preposition phrases to talk about when the action occurs. Preposition phrases often act as adverbs of time.
since ... June, his graduation, Tuesday
by ... the end of the week, ten o'clock, noon
in the past ... few days/hours/minutes, etc. (preposition phrase)
over the ... past week, few days, year (preposition phrase)
for ... one week, two years, five hours (preposition phrase)
Examples
He has been to San Paolo five times since he started his new job.
He has been traveling to San Paolo constantly since he started his new job.
He has been to San Paolo five times in the past five years.
He has been traveling to San Paolo over the past five years.
He has been sick three times over the last two years.
He has been getting sick constantly over the last two years.
He had finished all of his work by noon.
A number of other time words or adverbs are commonly used with the Perfect Tenses. They add detail to the time or cause/effect relationship. This will be covered in a later section.
- so far (to that point—more commonly used in the past or future)
- lately (usually used with the Perfect Continuous Tense)
- never, always
- just, yet
3.1 Using the Perfect Tense for Length of Time from the Start of the Action until Time of Reporting
When talking about total time, use 'for'. When talking about when the action started, use 'since'. In the present tense, we assume the end time of the action is NOW. In the past and future Perfect Tenses, the end point often needs to be stated, so we sometimes we use 'by' to indicate the completion of a certain action at a certain time after it began. Here, the starting time of the action is often stated or known to both the communicator and the person receiving the message.
Examples
I have worked here for three years.
I have been working here since July.
I had read 3 chapters by the end of the week.
I started answering my email about an hour ago, and I will have finished them by 10:00 p.m.
Exercise 1: Write 'for', 'since', or 'by' in the blank.
Nhập câu trả lời vào ô trống.
Present
1. He has worked at the clinic _____ five years.
Trả lời:
2. She has lived in that house _____ 1982.
Trả lời:
3. Jon has not cleaned his room _____ three weeks.
Trả lời:
4. Lily has worked on this project _____ Tuesday of last week.
Trả lời:
5. They have been to ten different counties _____ the time that they got married.
Trả lời:
Past
6. She had already finished reading five chapters _____ this last Wednesday.
Trả lời:
7. They had not eaten _____ five hours when their flight finally arrived.
Trả lời:
8. Pablo had not slept _____ two days, before his job interview. So, he was tired.
Trả lời:
9. Mahmud had seen his family _____ four years when he finally returned to his country.
Trả lời:
10. He had not eaten _____ the night before.
Trả lời:
Future
11. He will have driven ten hours _____ the time he arrives in Seattle.
Trả lời:
12. I will have completed answering all of my email _____ 10 o'clock tonight.
Trả lời:
13. She will have worked thirty years when she retires next year.
Trả lời:
14. By next year, they will have been friends _____ ten years.
Trả lời:
*Note: In the future, since is not used because no matter how long the action lasts, the starting point is the same.
Exercise 2: Using the Past Perfect Tense, write about three things you did in the past (that you are no longer doing).
Be sure to identify when you stopped doing them. For how long did you do them?
Example: When I finally finished my project last week (when I stopped doing it), I had worked on it for two weeks.
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Exercise 3: Using the Present Perfect Tense, write about three things that you have completed recently or have just completed.
For how long have you done them to this point in the present?
Example: I have worked on my resume for four days.
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Exercise 4: Using the Future Perfect Tense, write about three things that you will complete in the future.
Maybe you have already started them, but they will be complete in the future. How much time, work or effort do you think it will take you to complete them?
Example: By this time next year, I will have owned my car for four years and will have driven it for about 150,000 kilometers.
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