Wow. They've won two games in a hundred
years. I bet they've been waiting for a while. Hi. I was just reading the paper, and when
I was doing it, if you were listening, I was talking in the present perfect, and I also
used the present perfect continuous. Although they can be the same at times, sometimes they
have distinctly different meanings. In today's lesson, I'm going to try and teach you what
those meanings are. Okay? Let's go to the board. Now, when we talk about the present
perfect, what we're basically saying is two events have occurred. Okay? Generally, something
has happened, and it's completed, and then something else happens. And when we say, when
we use the perfect condition, not only do we say two things have happened, we say they
are connected. There's something joining them together. Now, usually, especially the present
perfect, one thing starts in the past, and it is connected to the present. Why is this
important? Well, we're going to look at the present perfect simple and continuous. They're
separate meanings, and what they mean when they have a singular meaning, the same meaning.
So, let's look at present perfect simple. When we use the present perfect simple, we
usually want to talk about how much or how many, because we're really dealing in the
result. What do you mean? Well, something has happened here, yes, and later on, there
is an effect. Something has happened because of it. So, we want to know what is the result
from this here. So, we're usually dealing with numbers. Okay? So, how many, how much?
What do you mean? Well, how many books have you read? There's a number, 4, 5, 20. How
many books have you read? How much money do you have? How much money do you have? Well,
let's see, $20, $30, it's a number. So, in this case, when we use the present perfect
simple form, like I have read four books, I have watched five movies, I have read 16
pages, we're talking about numbers. I want a number from you, the result. This number
shows me the result. Cool, yeah? Now, let's compare this to the present perfect continuous.
When I talk about the continuous form, really, I don't care how many, not the number, but
what have you been doing? So, you may have read, I have read 10 pages, but then I will
ask you, what were you doing at 2 o'clock? And you would say, I have been reading. I
have been reading. I'm concerned about the activity, not the number. Okay? So here, we're
going to talk about the activity. Now, this is very interesting, because with the continuous
form, I'm concerned about your activity, and with the simple form, I'm concerned about
your result, and we are talking about two things, okay? So this is simple, the continuous
would go from here to here. I can do some magic. Want to see? Here, magic trick. We're
in a different land now, okay? This is where I explain. When the little blue screen comes
up, you'll have the knowledge, promise. Watch. Now, remember, I told you, two things are
connected. If it's continuous form for the present perfect, it goes from one part to
another, and they're joined. If it's simple, one thing affects another. So what's the magic?
Well, if you put them together, we talk about when. Okay? So look, we have the activity.
What are you doing? We have the results. How many things have you done? But let's just
say something. Remember, result has number. So let's just say something like, I have been
married for 20 years. There's a number. But did you hear what I said? I have been married
for 20 years. That answer tells me how long. You like that? Now, we can't say, I have been
marrying for 20 years. We can't say that. But we could say, I have been waiting for 20
minutes. You might have noticed something. When I said, I have been married for 20 years,
20 years is a long time. Well, when I said I have been waiting for 20 minutes, 20 minutes
is a short time. This comes to the things we put on the board. Activities don't last
forever. They're usually short-lived. So in this case, we would use present perfect continuous.
So for short activities, we use the present perfect continuous. I have been waiting 20
minutes. See? Activity, short. So for short times of activity, we use present perfect
continuous. But if we believe something has been for a long time, right, the result after
a long time, a long work, we would actually use the present perfect simple. I have lived
in Canada for 30 years. It's a long time. There's more permanence. To be honest with
you, there's another lesson which I'm going to be happy to share with you later. Because
it has to do with this right here. Okay? So when we want to talk about a long time and
the result, how much, how many, we use that for long time. And that's the present perfect
simple. Short time. So to keep it simple, when we want to talk about how long, we have
two options. We can use the present perfect simple to tell people we've done something
for a long time. I have been, mmm, long time. If it's a short time, we can use the present
perfect continuous. I have been waiting. I have been doing, mmm, short time. I hope this
has been informative for you. Now, let's look at the board. I want to give you some more
information. If you need to know more, and you will, because there's a reason why we
have short and long time and the perfects mean present perfect continuous and perfect,
present perfect simple. There's a reason why they have to do with time and it has to do
with something here. Now, if you want to know more about this, come to the forum. I'll be
happy to explain. Okay? So, forum, you say. What forum? Now, you've confused me enough already.
Well, the forum you can find at www.engvid.com. We'll answer more of your questions about
the present perfect and its uses, what's so special about the present tense, and any other
questions you might have. In fact, not only I, but there are other teachers you can meet
and we'll be happy to help you. So, come visit the website and have
a great day. Take care.
