English exercises / B1 / Verbs & tensesfor, since, just, yet, already, ever: the words that pick the tense.
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Since vs for
For takes a length of time: for three years, for ten minutes. Since takes the point it began, since 2019, since Monday, since I moved here. Both normally require the present perfect, and using a present tense with them is the error that outlasts the since-or-for choice itself.
Read the full explanationPresent perfect vs present perfect continuous
The simple form looks at the result: I’ve written three emails. The continuous looks at the activity and how long it went on: I’ve been writing emails all morning. If you can count what was produced, use the simple; if you are explaining how the time was spent, use the continuous.
Read the full explanationBeen vs gone
Been means the person went and came back: she’s been to Japan describes an experience. Gone means they went and are still there: she’s gone to Japan explains why she is not here. The distinction exists only in the perfect; the past simple has went for both.
Read the full explanationThe present perfect
The present perfect is have or has plus a past participle. It connects a past event to now, and covers three things: experience with no time attached, something inside a period that is still open, and a past action whose result still matters. A finished time expression blocks it.
Read the full explanationPresent perfect: worked examples
Five from the set, with the answer filled in and the rule that decides it.
- 01
We've known each other since we were at primary school.
since + the moment it started, a date, a day, or a whole clause.
- 02
She's been a nurse for nearly ten years.
for + a length of time; since + the point it began.
- 03
I've had this jacket since 2019 and it still looks new.
- 04
We've been waiting for over an hour.
- 05
I haven't been to the theatre for a long time.
A long time is a period, not a point, so for, never since.