Understanding Grammar: Present Perfect Continuous
Introduction
Jack: Hello my name’s Jack
Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast
Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.
Rich: We recommend that you listen to this podcast on the Premier Skills English website because that is where we have the transcript, language examples, activities, quizzes and a discussion page to help you understand everything we talk about.
Jack: However, if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, you can leave answers to our questions in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.
Rich: We are also looking for more people to interview in our podcasts.
Rich: Don’t forget that we have our football English podcast called This Week that you can listen to at the start of every week. This week’s episode is about Matchweek 22 and a historical moment for Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero.
Jack: Some of the football words and phrases we look at include legend, to overtake and to smash a record.
Rich: It’s on the Premier Skills English homepage, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and lots of other places right now!
Jack: In last week’s podcast, we spoke about nicknames and mascots. I was thinking of a new nickname and mascot for my local football club. It was good to see that many of you agreed with my choices.
Rich: The Ludlow Badgers. Lots of people liked it. Lakerwang from China even wrote a tongue twister in the comment section. I thought we could read it out and our listeners could try to repeat it. Do you want to do the honours, Jack?
Jack: Sure. So this is Lakerwang from China’s tongue twister about pictures of badgers, the animal being put on badges on football shirts. Listen and repeat:
Jack: A club with badgers on the badge, badgers on the badge, badges on the badger.
Rich: It’s quite difficult. One more time, this time a bit faster.
Jack: All right, listen and repeat. A club with badgers on the badge, badgers on the badge, badges on the badger.
Rich: Excellent. I think a badger was a good choice as a mascot. Not so many listeners went with my choice.
Jack: Not many have your special sense of humour, Rich. Who would think that the Chickens is a good nickname?
Rich: I do and actually Hubertoo from Poland agreed with me.
Jack: He was the only one!
Rich: I’m sure there were many more that agreed with me. They just didn’t want to say! Anyway, if you want to go back and complete our lesson on mascots and nickname, and tell us the nickname you would choose for Jack’s local football team, you can write your answers on the Premier Skills English website.
Jack: You need to go to the homepage, click skills, click listen and click podcasts. It’s called Learning Vocabulary: Mascots and Nicknames.
Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re going to talk about my new dog.
Jack: Ah, yes, your new dog - a Spanish greyhound I believe.
Rich: That’s right. In fact, it’s my first dog. I’ve never had a dog before.
Jack: So, in this week’s roleplay you’re going to find out how life with a dog is going for Rich. We’re also going to focus on grammar.
Rich: We’re going to help you talk about things that happened in the past and continue into the present.
Jack: That sounds like the present perfect or maybe the present perfect continuous to me.
Rich: That’s right. After the roleplay, we’ll look at how we use the present perfect continuous with words like for, since and because.
Jack: And your task this week is to talk about a few different topics and use the present perfect continuous.
Rich: Before all that though, we need to look at last week’s football phrase.
Last week’s Football Phrase
Rich: If you didn’t hear our football phrase last week we’re going to give you one more chance to guess now. We’ll give you the correct answer at the end of the show when we give you a new football phrase.
Jack: Well done if you got it right last week and congratulations to those of you who wrote the correct answer on the Premier Skills English website.
Rich: Alex from Ukraine was the first to get the phrase right last week. Well done, Alex. And well done to Ahmed Adam from Sudan, Rafael Robson from Brazil, Takuya from Japan, Fred Zhong and Lakerwang from China, and Hubertoo from Poland who also got the right answer.
Jack: Remember you can also write your answers in the review section on Apple Podcasts if that’s where you listen to us.
Rich: Let’s hear last week’s phrase one more time. Do you know what the phrase is?
Jack: The phrase was *****-*******. This phrase is used when a team from a lower division beats a team from a higher division in a cup competition. Last week, Wayne Rooney’s Derby County knocked out Premier League Crystal Palace in the FA Cup. It was a *****-*******. Another good example of a *****-******* is when Bradford City from the third division knocked Chelsea out of the cup in 2015.
Rich: We’ll give you the answer at the end of the show and we’ll have a new football phrase for you to guess.
Introduction to Roleplay
Jack: In this week’s roleplay, you are going to hear Rich talking about his new dog.
Rich: While you are listening, we want you to answer a question:
Jack: Why is Rich so tired?
Roleplay
Jack: You look tired, Rich. What’s up?
Rich: It’s the dog. She’s been doing my head in.
Jack: Ahh, yeah I forgot. What’s it called again?
Rich: Billie.
Jack: Oh yeah, named after your favourite footballer - Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp.
Rich: No, not Billy with a ‘y’, Billie with an ‘ie’ like the singer Billie Holiday. She’s a girl.
Jack: How could I forget? You adopted her a few months ago. She was pregnant. Why did you adopt a pregnant dog again?
Rich: I didn’t know she was pregnant. There was some kind of mix-up at the shelter.
Jack: I see, oh dear. Why didn’t you send her back?
Rich: No, I couldn’t have sent her back by then.
Jack: Has she had the puppies?
Rich: Yeah, about a month ago. Twelve of them. They’ve been keeping me busy for a while now.
Jack: Twelve? What have you been doing with twelve puppies in your house?
Rich: I’ve been mainly cleaning. I’ve never worn rubber gloves so much.
Jack: I’m sure they’re quite cute.
Rich: Yeah, they’re yellow with pink flowers on them.
Jack: Not the gloves! The puppies.
Rich: Yes, they are. I’ve been taking them all out on the garden. They’ve been running about all over the place since they started walking. They like playing.
Jack: Awww!
Rich: Better in the garden because they’ve been chewing and scratching and biting all the furniture inside the house.
Jack: That’s not good. And how’s Billie?
Rich: That’s why I’m tired. I haven’t been sleeping for a week or so. She’s been waking me up all the time. She’s driving me round the bend.
Jack: Give her a break! She’s just had twelve puppies. She must be more tired than you.
Rich: I know but she’s been barking every night. She wants to go out or she wants something to eat or she wants to sleep on my bed.
Jack: Have you been feeding her enough? Or maybe you’ve been feeding her too much.
Rich: I don’t know. I’m exhausted. Billie then cleaning and more cleaning and the barking and the yapping then more cleaning. I think I need to go and see the vet.
Jack: You must be tired. I think you need to go and see the doctor - your dog sees the vet.
Language Focus
Rich: Did you get the answer to the question we gave you? Why am I so tired?
Jack: Well, Rich is tired because he hasn’t been sleeping. He hasn’t been sleeping because his dog has been barking every night.
Rich: That’s right. I haven’t been sleeping. I’m sure it will get better. I might have sounded a bit negative in that roleplay but I love her very much and I’m very happy that I adopted her.
Jack: That’s nice. Right, let’s move on to some of the language we used in the roleplay. We said at the start of the show that we’re going to focus on grammar and the present perfect today. Rich hasn’t been sleeping. That’s the present perfect continuous right there.
Rich: We use the present perfect continuous to link something in the past that has been happening over a period of time with the present.
Jack: Rich hasn’t been sleeping. Here we are talking about a situation that started in the past and is still happening now. It’s been happening over a period of time. How long have you not been sleeping?
Rich: About a month now. I’m exhausted. The dog’s been barking every night.
Jack: The dog’s been barking every night. There is the present perfect continuous again. A habitual action that has been happening and is still happening now.
Rich: Not right now.
Jack: No, but she’ll be barking again tonight.
Rich: Probably. Unfortunately, yes.
Jack: So how do we create the present perfect continuous? What is the form? Well, we use the auxillary verbs have been plus a verb in the -ing form.
Rich: So, it’s subject plus have or has plus been plus the verb in the -ing form. I haven’t been sleeping.
Jack: Rich hasn’t been sleeping.
Rich: We can also use the present perfect continuous to talk about situations or activities in the past that have stopped but have a result in the present.
Jack: The furniture in Rich’s house is damaged. Hey, Rich, Why is all your furniture damaged?
Rich: Because the puppies have been chewing and biting it. Thanks for reminding me.
Jack: Here’s another example of the present perfect continuous being used in this way.
Rich: Hey Jack, why are you covered in paint?
Jack: Err … because I’ve been painting.
Rich: Hey Jack, why are you wet?
Jack: Because it’s been raining Einstein.
Rich: It’s not usually necessary to be sarcastic or rude when you’re using the present perfect continuous. Jack’s just being funny.
Jack: That’s right. Notice the contraction and how we pronounce have and has. We say I’ve, you’ve, we’ve, they’ve and he’s or she’s.
Rich: We might not say bi:n either, we say bɪn. So instead of it has bi:n raining we say itz bin raining.
Jack: Listen to these examples and repeat.
Rich: I’ve been playing football.
Jack: She’s been studying all morning.
Rich: The dog’s been barking all night.
...
Jack: Two words we often use with the present perfect continuous are ‘for’ and ‘since’. Listen to these two examples from the roleplay:
Rich: They’ve been keeping me busy for a while now.
Jack: They’ve been running about all over the place since they started walking.
Rich: We use the present perfect continuous with 'for' or 'since' to be more specific about when we started doing something or for how long we have been doing something.
Jack: We use 'for' when we want to say a period of time. For example, 'ten years', 'six months', or 'five days'.
Rich: We use 'since' when we want to say a specific point in time. For example, 'I was eight', 'last summer', or '2015'.
Jack: Listen to these examples:
Rich: I’ve been living in Spain for over ten years.
Rich: I’ve been living in Spain since 2008.
Jack: We’ve got more examples and activities connected to the present perfect continuous on the website where you can practise the language we’ve been looking at in this podcast.
TASK
Rich: In this week’s task, we want to see you using the present perfect continuous in your answers.
Jack: We’re going to give you five topics and you have to choose which ones to talk about and use the present perfect continuous.
Rich: Remember that you use the present perfect continuous for things that you started doing in the past and still do now.
Jack: Here are the topics:
Rich: Topic one: How long have you been living in your current house/city/country? What’s the best thing about it?
Jack: Topic two: How long have you been learning English? What do you find most difficult about it?
Rich: Topic three: Have you been watching any good TV series recently? Tell us about it.
Jack: Topic four: How well has your football team been doing this season? Are you happy with their performances?
Rich: Topic five: What’s been going on in the news in your country? Tell us something other listeners might not know about.
Jack: Those are your five topics. Answer one of them or all five - it’s up to you.
Rich: And don’t forget to reply to other listeners and create little conversations and opportunities to practise your English.
Football Phrase
Jack: Ok, it’s time for this week’s football phrase. It’s your turn this week.
Rich: This week’s football phrase is * **** ****. The phrase is used most in the summer and January as that is when transfers can take place. It’s an informal way of saying that a transfer has been completed. It’s usually used by football websites and newspapers - I think they like it as the two words begin with the same letter. The second word is also used in business a lot when two businesses make an agreement. Fernandes has moved to Tottenham from Benfica - it’s * **** ****.
Jack: I’m not sure if it’s tricky or not. We usually see this phrase written down - we don’t say it too often.
Rich: Before we leave you we need to tell you last week’s football phrase. The answer was giant-killing.
Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. If you get it right, we’ll announce your name on next week’s show.
Rich: If you have any questions or comments or suggestions for the podcast or anything football or English related, you can leave them on the website in the comments section, on social media - on facebook or twitter, on apple podcasts or you can email us at
premierskills@britishcouncil.org.
Jack: Remember you can also email us if you want to practise your English skills and answer a few questions for a future podcast.
Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football!
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Komentar
11/03/2021
points
I've been living in my current house (a flat) for five years.It's wide and has two big balcony. Many flowers pots there. The neigbourhood is silent and greeny.There are a lot of facility such as market,hospital, sport center and walking path. People who lives here generally well-educated and kind at their relations. I like this place.
PHRASES;
• Her match predictions were spot on so won a lot of money on the bet.
• I've sense of humor and like to write some of my comments with humor.
• I used to be scared of dogs but now I like them. If I had have a house with garden I'd have got a dog.
• It was a fantastic match I’ve ever watched.How could I forget.
• There was a mix-up at the hospital. He diagnosed as if he had got the flu.
• Washing machine broke down. Because the electric voltage have been rising the whole day.
• I've hobbies and they have been keeping me busy in my free times.
• The second athlete did a sprint and overtook first one.Finally she/he was winner of marathon.
• She smashed the record for ski-jumping in the last olympic games.
11/03/2021 18:39
Tottenham Hotspur
5552
I've been living in my current house (a flat) for five years.It's wide and has two big balcony. Many flowers pots there. The neigbourhood is silent and greeny.There are a lot of facility such as market,hospital, sport center and walking path. People who lives here generally well-educated and kind at their relations. I like this place.
PHRASES;
• Her match predictions were spot on so won a lot of money on the bet.
• I've sense of humor and like to write some of my comments with humor.
• I used to be scared of dogs but now I like them. If I had have a house with garden I'd have got a dog.
• It was a fantastic match I’ve ever watched.How could I forget.
• There was a mix-up at the hospital. He diagnosed as if he had got the flu.
• Washing machine broke down. Because the electric voltage have been rising the whole day.
• I've hobbies and they have been keeping me busy in my free times.
• The second athlete did a sprint and overtook first one.Finally she/he was winner of marathon.
• She smashed the record for ski-jumping in the last olympic games.
11/06/2020
points
This week's football phrase is ( a done deal )
11/06/2020 19:05
Manchester United
6536
This week's football phrase is ( a done deal )
11/06/2020
points
1. I have been living in Izmir for almost 7 years since 2014
But I have been staying in my new house for about 2 years
2. I have been learning English since I was 5 years old at Kindergarten
I find slang are the most challenging in English & political vocabulary
3. I have been watching a Turkish TV series called Çilek Kokusu ( The strawberry scent ) and it has been so exciting and the cast has been performing wonderfully
4. Manchester United has been doing very well since the arrival of Bruno Fernandes. Looking forward to the restarting of the season next Wednesday
5. The people has been rushing to the streets and they have been travelling to the beaches since the lockdown ends lately
11/06/2020 18:40
Manchester United
6536
1. I have been living in Izmir for almost 7 years since 2014
But I have been staying in my new house for about 2 years
2. I have been learning English since I was 5 years old at Kindergarten
I find slang are the most challenging in English & political vocabulary
3. I have been watching a Turkish TV series called Çilek Kokusu ( The strawberry scent ) and it has been so exciting and the cast has been performing wonderfully
4. Manchester United has been doing very well since the arrival of Bruno Fernandes. Looking forward to the restarting of the season next Wednesday
5. The people has been rushing to the streets and they have been travelling to the beaches since the lockdown ends lately
24/01/2020
points
I've been living in Guaratinguetá since I was born. It is a medium-sized city in the São Paulo State, and my favourite place there is the public university where I've been studying for 5 years.
I've been studying English for at least 5 years, and the most difficult about it has been how to get more fluency.
I haven't been watching TV series recently, however, I've been watching Premier League games every weekend over the last years.
A piece of news that has been widely discussed in Brazil is the dismissal of the secretary of culture, after a dreadful and unacceptable official speech last weekend.
24/01/2020 11:50
Tottenham Hotspur
615
I've been living in Guaratinguetá since I was born. It is a medium-sized city in the São Paulo State, and my favourite place there is the public university where I've been studying for 5 years.
I've been studying English for at least 5 years, and the most difficult about it has been how to get more fluency.
I haven't been watching TV series recently, however, I've been watching Premier League games every weekend over the last years.
A piece of news that has been widely discussed in Brazil is the dismissal of the secretary of culture, after a dreadful and unacceptable official speech last weekend.
21/01/2020
points
I've been learning English for 5 years. The most difficult part for me is how to speak English more authentically.
A new coronavirus has been spreading since the outbreak began in Wuhan at the end of 2019. It's believed that the virus came from human contact with wild animals. Now it has come to the phase of human-to human transmission. Some people believe Wuhan government have been concealling information about the epidemic.
The football phrase is "* **** ****".
21/01/2020 16:26
Chelsea
337
I've been learning English for 5 years. The most difficult part for me is how to speak English more authentically.
A new coronavirus has been spreading since the outbreak began in Wuhan at the end of 2019. It's believed that the virus came from human contact with wild animals. Now it has come to the phase of human-to human transmission. Some people believe Wuhan government have been concealling information about the epidemic.
The football phrase is "* **** ****".
22/01/2020
points
Hi Lakerwang.
Yesterday, when we had lunch with my coworkers, we talked about that virus, we are all very worried. I hope you find the cure quickly.
Countries should stop investing in war material and invest more in people's health.
Regards
22/01/2020 11:50
Leeds United
5086
Hi Lakerwang.
Yesterday, when we had lunch with my coworkers, we talked about that virus, we are all very worried. I hope you find the cure quickly.
Countries should stop investing in war material and invest more in people's health.
Regards
22/01/2020
points
You're right. People should've shown respect for the nature and the environment. It's a shame that some of Chinese people prefer cooking and eating wild animals.
22/01/2020 16:35
Chelsea
337
You're right. People should've shown respect for the nature and the environment. It's a shame that some of Chinese people prefer cooking and eating wild animals.
21/01/2020
points
Hi Lakerwang
Fantastic PPC use and well done on the football phrase!
This new virus sounds terrible - I hope it doesn't turn into a more serious epidemic.
Gong xi fa cai!
21/01/2020 16:58
Arsenal
560
Hi Lakerwang
Fantastic PPC use and well done on the football phrase!
This new virus sounds terrible - I hope it doesn't turn into a more serious epidemic.
Gong xi fa cai!
22/01/2020
points
Thanks, and happy Chinese new year to you!
Technically, this virus is like a brother of SARS. Luckily, It doesn't spread as fast as SARS... for now.
22/01/2020 17:02
Chelsea
337
Thanks, and happy Chinese new year to you!
Technically, this virus is like a brother of SARS. Luckily, It doesn't spread as fast as SARS... for now.
21/01/2020
points
I think that the phrase is '* **** ****'
21/01/2020 15:19
Watford
4417
I think that the phrase is '* **** ****'
21/01/2020
points
Spot on Liubomyr
21/01/2020 15:48
Arsenal
560
Spot on Liubomyr
20/01/2020
points
My team, River Plate has been playing very well since 2014, they have won one Sudamericana cup that is equivalent to the Europa League and two Libertadores cups that are equivalent to the Champions League, they have also won other national and international tournaments. Last year, they won the Argentina Cup and lost the final of the Libertadores Cup in the last two minutes, today they are first in the SuperLiga. They have been doing very well for six years and in South America it is very difficult to stay on top for a long time because European teams take the best players all the time.
20/01/2020 12:33
Leeds United
5086
My team, River Plate has been playing very well since 2014, they have won one Sudamericana cup that is equivalent to the Europa League and two Libertadores cups that are equivalent to the Champions League, they have also won other national and international tournaments. Last year, they won the Argentina Cup and lost the final of the Libertadores Cup in the last two minutes, today they are first in the SuperLiga. They have been doing very well for six years and in South America it is very difficult to stay on top for a long time because European teams take the best players all the time.
20/01/2020
points
The news that has been communicating in all media, this week, in Argentina, was the viralization of a video where a very wealthy Argentine man, on holidays in Uruguay, was going to make a barbecue, but he lacked the meat, when a helicopter flew over his house and threw a lamb that fell into the swimming pool. People were so indignant that they went out with sprays to write "killer" in his clothing stores.
20/01/2020 12:26
Leeds United
5086
The news that has been communicating in all media, this week, in Argentina, was the viralization of a video where a very wealthy Argentine man, on holidays in Uruguay, was going to make a barbecue, but he lacked the meat, when a helicopter flew over his house and threw a lamb that fell into the swimming pool. People were so indignant that they went out with sprays to write "killer" in his clothing stores.
20/01/2020
points
I made some mistakes. He was an Argentinian man and people wrote "asesino", but I translated that, with spray paint. I hope you have understood me.
20/01/2020 15:22
Leeds United
5086
I made some mistakes. He was an Argentinian man and people wrote "asesino", but I translated that, with spray paint. I hope you have understood me.
20/01/2020
points
My Liverpool' s been playing perfectly well for more than a year : since January 3, 2019 when they lost to ManCity last, the Reds have been collecting only wins and a few draws. Their mentality's been strengthening with every new challenge. In December last year the team beat the Brazilian champion Flamengo to become the World Club Champion 2019. Since the draw with ManUnited on October 20, 2019 they've been only winning. Their main goal this season has been staying the same : to win Premier League at last. Yesterday ManUnited was overcome at Anfield. That's a good sign : no PL team avoided defeat against Liverpool in their 22 matches so far. Let them not lose the victorious drive to the last game in May! All their fans have been waiting for the Gold since the start of PL.
20/01/2020 12:20
Liverpool
6562
My Liverpool' s been playing perfectly well for more than a year : since January 3, 2019 when they lost to ManCity last, the Reds have been collecting only wins and a few draws. Their mentality's been strengthening with every new challenge. In December last year the team beat the Brazilian champion Flamengo to become the World Club Champion 2019. Since the draw with ManUnited on October 20, 2019 they've been only winning. Their main goal this season has been staying the same : to win Premier League at last. Yesterday ManUnited was overcome at Anfield. That's a good sign : no PL team avoided defeat against Liverpool in their 22 matches so far. Let them not lose the victorious drive to the last game in May! All their fans have been waiting for the Gold since the start of PL.
20/01/2020
points
This was also great conversation.
Please introduce more grammar!
Thanks for always talking here.
Lovely Premier Skills English and the.UK!!
20/01/2020 10:29
Chelsea
30
This was also great conversation.
Please introduce more grammar!
Thanks for always talking here.
Lovely Premier Skills English and the.UK!!
20/01/2020
points
I have been living im my house since a was born.Last year I had some house renovation.This have been first renovation since 2010.There is still some small adjustment that need be done.It has been exhausting work to be done.
I just want to mention that my basketball team Partizan have been playing great games so far.I think they have been in a winning streak for 9 games.
20/01/2020 06:43
Manchester United
2663
I have been living im my house since a was born.Last year I had some house renovation.This have been first renovation since 2010.There is still some small adjustment that need be done.It has been exhausting work to be done.
I just want to mention that my basketball team Partizan have been playing great games so far.I think they have been in a winning streak for 9 games.
19/01/2020
points
This week's phrase is * **** ****.
19/01/2020 09:43
Liverpool
6562
This week's phrase is * **** ****.
19/01/2020
points
The phrase is * **** ****.
19/01/2020 02:17
Manchester United
80
The phrase is * **** ****.
18/01/2020
points
Football Phrase
* **** **** is a phrase you're looking for
18/01/2020 20:11
Chelsea
1749
Football Phrase
* **** **** is a phrase you're looking for
18/01/2020
points
I guess this week's football phrase is '* **** ****'. Hope to be the first to guess it correctly.
18/01/2020 05:55
Liverpool
2903
I guess this week's football phrase is '* **** ****'. Hope to be the first to guess it correctly.