j) This is the first/second, etc.

time (that) + Present Perfect

I'm very excited now, because this is the first time (that) I've driven a car.
This is the second time (that) he has played tennis, so he isn't good at it.
This is the third exam (that) we have taken so far this term.

You shouldn't drink so much coffee. It's bad for you.

This is the fifth cup of coffee (that) you have drunk in the last two hours.

k) This is + Superlative (that) + Present"Perfect

This is the most boring book (that) I have ever read.
(Bu hayatımda okuduğum en sıkıcı kitap.)

This is the most difficult situation (that) I have ever been in.
He is the most talkative person (that) I have met in my whole life.

1) gone or been
"go" fiilini Perfect Tense ile iki şekilde kullanabiliriz:

Eğer kişi, sözü edilen yerde ise, ya da sözü edilen yere gitmek üzere yola çıkmışsa, göne
kullanılır.
- I'd like to talk to your mother. Is she at home?
- No, she has gone shopping.

- Can I speak to Mr. Jones, please?

- Sorry. He has gone out of town and hasn't come back yet.

Eğer kişi, sözü edilen yerde daha önce bulunduğunu ifade ediyorsa, yani konuşma sırasında
başka bir mekanda ise been kullanılır.

- Have you ever been abroad? (The speakers are now not in Germany.)
- Yes, I've been to Germany several times.

- I want to do some shopping, but I'm afraid I haven't got enough money.
- Don't worry. I've been to the bank today. I can lend you some.

EXERCISE 9: Use the Present Perfect Simple or Simple Past -

1. I don't know why he's offering to drive some of the way. He (not, pass)
................................. his driving test yet.
2. She (follow) ................................. him to work this morning because she (not,
believe) .................................. that was where he was actually going.
3. He (speak) ................................. several times to the manager about moving to
another branch, but he (not, have) .................................. an answer yet.
4. Before she (start) ................................. university, I (worry) .................................... a lot
about her living away from home, but she (make) ................................. so many new
friends that now my fears (subside) ....................................
5. The weather (be) ................................. glorious so far this summer, unlike last year,
when it (rain) ................................. every day.
6. He (not, get) .................................. used to living in Britain yet. He can never
remember from which side of the road the cars will come and he (not, start)
................................ drinking tea with milk yet.
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 7. I (read) ..................................most of his novels when I (be) ................................... at
school; however, as they (be) ................................. compulsory books, I (never, take)
................................. much interest in them and (not, really, appreciate)
................................. what a wonderful writer he is.
8. Oh no! I (break) ................................. a glass - can you pass me the broom please?
9. I'm sorry, I know we (meet) ................................. two days ago but I (forget)
................................ your name already!
10. I (learn) ................................... how to windsurf on holiday last year, but I (not, have)
................................ the opportunity to do it since.
11. A: This is the third time you (be) .................................late this week, and you (bej
................................ late twice the previous week. Well, what reason will you give
on this occasion?
B: I'm really sorry. I (not, hear) ................................. my alarm clock and I (Just,
oversleep) ....................................
12. I (often, dream) .................................. of running my own company, but I doubt that
I ever will.
13. The two companies (merge) .................................. a couple of months ago, and since
then, they (show) ................................. a considerable increase in profits.
14. I don't know my way around because I (not, be) ..................................in this part of
the city before.
15. Because he (have) ................................. an important exam the next day, James
(not, come) .................................. to the practice session on Thursday night.
16. I (see) .................................. that film twice already, but still would enjoy seeing it
again.
17. He (do) .................................. nothing but argue with the boss ever since he (get)
................................ here. I (never, meet) .................................. anyone who argues
as much as he does.
18. Although I (have) ................................. a car for just two weeks now, I (get)
................................ completely used to it. I wonder how I (endure)
................................ travelling by public transport before I (buy) :
................................ it.
19. Ever since they (open) ................................. a university in our town, we (observe)
................................ a number of changes. First of all, the population (almost,
double) .................... , which is both good and bad - good because the shop-
owners can now earn more, bad because having so many people (cause)
................................ crowded public transport and high rents.
20. Except for the few spells of extreme temperatures, this summer (be)
................................ quite cool, unlike last summer, when the temperatures (be)
................................ above 40 degrees centigrade most of the time.
21. I'm afraid I can't make a comparison between Turkish and Indian cuisine because I
(never, try) ..................................the latter.
22. They (sell) ................................... an antique chest for one million pounds on Friday.
That's the highest price that a piece of furniture (ever, raise) .................................. at
auction.
23. Yesterday, disabled tennis players (take) .................................. part in the Australian
Open and they are continuing today. This is the first time disabled players (appear)
.................................in a major tournament.
24. Although Martina Hingis (beat) ..................................Capriati five times so far in
tennis competitions, Capriati (beat) .................................. Hingis in the French Open
in 2000.
25. Colin (believe) .................................. Greg's lies on many occasions, but this time, he
(know) ................................. he was lying the moment Greg (finish)
................................. his story.

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1-17 THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

FORM

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I have been working. You I haven't been working. You Have I been working? Have
have been working. He/She/It haven't been working. you been working? Has
has been working. He/She/It hasn't been working. he/she/it been working?

We have been working. We haven't been working. You Have we been working?
You have been working. haven't been working. They Have you been working?
They have been working. haven't been working. Have they been working?

They have been living in this country since last year.

You've been studying for exactly three hours.
She lias been learning English since she was in secondary school.

1-18 USE OF THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

a) Present Perfect Continuous Tense, geçmişte başlayıp, içinde bulunduğumuz anda hala
devam etmekte olan eylemleri anlatır ve for, since, all day, all week, all year gibi
zaman zarflarıyla çok sık kullanılır.

I started to read this book two hours ago, and I'm still reading it. I
have been reading this book for two hours.

It started to rain yesterday morning, and it is still raining.

It has been raining since yesterday morning.

You have been working very hard all week. You should take some time to relax
at the weekend.

The discussion has been going on for two hours, but they haven't taken a
decision yet.

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b) Present Perfect Continuous Tense, geçmişte başlamış, içinde bulunduğumuz anda
henüz bitmiş, ancak belirtileri devam eden eylemler için, ya da özellikle, yakınma,
hoşnutsuzluk ve kuşku gibi duygulan ifade ederken de kullanılır.
- Is that child crying?
- No, but his eyes are watery. He has been crying.
- Your hands are covered in oil. What have you been doing?
- I have been fixing the car.
- You look very tired.
- Yes, I have been working hard today.
- Sorry, I'm late. Have you been waiting long?
- No, I've only just arrived.
You look guilty. You've been doing something bad, haven't you?
c) 'Since" ve "for" ile belirtilen zamanlan "how long' soru sözcüğü ile sorabiliriz. Present
Perfect Simple ve Continuous tense'ler, geçmişten günümüze bir süreç belirttiği için,
kesin bir zaman isteyen "when" soru sözcüğünü bu tense'lerle kullanamayız.
- When did you move to this city?
- I moved here seven years ago.
- How long have you been living in this city?
- I have been living here for seven years.
- When did you become a teacher? (Ne zaman öğretmen oldunuz?)
- I became a teacher in 1986.
- How long have you been a teacher? (Ne zamandan beri öğretmensiniz?)
- I have been a teacher since 1986.

1-19 PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE or PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

a) Geçmişte başlayıp, içinde bulunduğumuz anda hala devam etmekte olan, ya da henüz
bitmiş olan bir eylemi anlatan bazı fiiller, her iki tense ile de kullanılır ve aynı anlamı
verir. Bu şekilde yaygın olarak kullanılan fiiller şunlardır:
expect lie rain snow study want
hope liv e sle e p s tand te ac h work
learn look sit stay wait
How long have you lived in this city? How
long have you been living in this city?
She has worked for that firm for the last two years.
She has been working for that firm for the last two years.
Bu iki tense, birbirinin yerine kullanılabilse de, (Present Continuous Tense'te olduğu gibi)
geçici durundan ifade etmek için Present Perfect Continuous tercih edilir.
My niece lias been living with us for two years, but she is moving to her
own flat next month.
b) Continuous Tense'lerle (I am doing, I was doing) kullanılmayan diğer fiiller (non-
progressive verbs) Present Perfect Continuous ile de kullanılmazlar. Ancak, "want' ve
"wish" bu kuralın dışındadır.
Look at that lovely shirt in the shop window! I've been wanting one like that
for some time.
I've been wishing to visit your mother since I heard that she was ill.

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Diğer non-progressive fiiller ise Present Perfect Simple ile kullanılır.

- What a lovely watch! How long have you bad it?

- For over a year.

- I see that you are very close friends. Have you known each other for long?
- Since we were children.

- What a nice old couple! They seem to be very fond of each other. How long
have they been married?
- For almost fifty years. They'll celebrate their golden wedding anniversary
next year.

- Hello, I have been looking everywhere for you. How long have you been in
this remote part of the park?
- Well, I have been thinking over my problems, and I lost track of time.

En son diyalogda "been" sözünün kullanımına dikkat ediniz. "How long have you been in this
remote part .... " ifadesinde "been", "be" fiilinin past participle biçimidir ve asıl fiil olarak
kullanılmıştır.
She Is still a student. She has been a student for over six years.
They are married now. They have been married for three months.

"I have been thinking over my problems." cümlesinde ise "been" yardımcı fiil olarak
kullanılmıştır. r
She has been working on her graduation thesis recently.
I have been helping her with her English assignments since the beginning of
the term.

c) Present Perfect Continuous Tense, always, never, sometimes gibi sıklık bildiren
zarflarla, once, twice, several times gibi eylemin kaç kez yapıldığını bildiren yapılarla, ya
da just, already, yet gibi eylemin bittiğini, tamamlandığını ifade eden yapılarla
kullanılmaz.

I have always lived here./ I have lived here all my life.

I have been living here since I was born.

I've been reading this book since this morning, and I've read a hundred pages so
far.

(Okuma eylemi devam ettiği için "have been reading', yüz sayfalık bölümü tamamlanmış
olduğu için "have read')

We've been trying to answer a number of questions since the beginning of the
class, and we've answered half of them already.

He's been writing letters since breakfast time. He's Just written the fourth
one, and he has two more letters to write.

The door bell has rung twice in the last half hour, and each time, it has been a
visitor for my roommate.

The door bell has been ringing for the last minute. Why doesn't someone open
the door?

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EXERCISE 10: Use either the Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Continuous of the
verbs In parentheses.
1. Jim: Look! It's snowing. How nice!
Jack: Yes, I know. It (snow) ..................................for almost ten minutes ................
you (just, notice) .............................. it?
Jim: It's very exciting, really. I (never, see) ..................... snow in my life. This is
the first time I (see) .................................. it.
2. We (drive) .................................. since 8 o'clock this morning, and I think we (drive)
............... half of the way so far.
3. I don't think he'll refuse this position. He (always, want) .................................. to
work independently, and this job suits his purpose exactly.
4. Hurry up! You (work) ................................. on this job for two days, and you (only,
paint) ................................. two rooms so far.
5. This is the first prize she (receive) ................................. in her career, so she is very
excited about it.
6. The government (work) .................................. on a new tax system recently. They
(already, change) .................................. it twice, and each time there (be)
................................ a public outcry. I wonder what will happen this time.
7. We have to send for a plumber. The faucet (leak) ................................... since last
week and we (not, be able to) ..................................have a bath since.
8. You can have a bath. The plumber (just, fix) .................................. the leak. There
isn't any problem now.
9. The people in Africa (suffer) .................................. from hunger for as long as I can
remember, and I'm afraid they'll have the same problem forever if they aren't given
the right kind of help.
10 .......................... you (work) ............................. on the car? You're covered in oil.
11. I (repair) .................................. the car, so you won't have any more problems now.
12. Israelis and Palestinians (kill) .................................. each other for decades, and so
far, no peace treaty (last) .................................for long.
13. Oh no! you (shrink) ...................................my jumper and I (only, have)
................................ it for a couple of weeks!
14. We must have enough wood now. You (chop) .................................. logs all afternoon.
15. For the last four weeks, he (./earn) ..................................Japanese after work, so he
(not, have) ................................. much time for any social life recently.
16. We know that one of our competitors (offer) .................................. you an excellent
position, so we (expect) ..................................your resignation for some time.
17. I (think) .................................. about changing jobs several times, but I (work)
................................. here happily for so many years that I always decide to stay.
18. Dominic and Carl (revise) .................................. hard all month for their final exams,
and they (not, even, go) ................................. to any football matches.
19. A: What's the matter? ........................ you (cry) ............................... ?
B: Not exactly. I (peel) .................................. onions to make some soup.
20. We (run) .................................. our business since September and (gain)
................................. lots of regular customers already.
21. I (want) .................................. to buy that table in the antique shop for weeks, but up
until now, I (resist) .................................. the temptation.
22. We (receive) ...................................lots of applications for the job, and since this
morning, we (consider) ................................. which ones to put on the short list. So
far we (choose) .................................. five suitable ones.
23. I (consider) .................................. ordering a new carpet since January and my
husband (try) ..................................to persuade me not to for just as long.
24. The Australian bush fires (burn) ................................. for three days now and the
authorities are worried as the flames (reach) ..................................within a mile of a
major urban area.
25. Jasmin: Let's get a taxi home, darling.
Steve: Why?
Jasmin: It's obvious. You (drink) ....................................
Steve: I'm fine. I (only, have) .................................two cans of beer.

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