Present Perfect:

Since and For

Come on!
You've been a pro
since 1994. Now

Forget it!
You haven't won a
match for weeks!
Go homd

lcHECKl POINT
Circle T (True) or F (False).
\

STATEMENTS

CHART CHECK 1

Check the correct

answer.

SUBJECT

HAVE

The present perfect is

made up of two parts:

I/ We/ You* /They

have

have + past tense

OJ

have + past

participle

base f9rm of
verb + -d or -ed

base form of
verb+ -en

(Nor)

PAST PARTICIPLE

(not)

lived
played
beent

has

He/ She/ It

StNCE/foR'

since May.

here

for a long time.

* You is both singular and plural.

t Been is an irregular past participle. For a list of irregular verbs,
see Appendix 1 on pages 336-337.

The regular form of

the past participle is:

rm

The man is still a professional

tennis player.

YES/NO QUESTIONS
HAVE

SUBJECT

PAST PARTICIPLE

Have

they

lived
played
been

Has

he

SINCE/FOR

here

since May?
for a long time?

SHORT ANSWERS
~-

AFFIRMATIVE

they

NEGATIVE

have .

Yes,

they

haven't.

he

hasn't.

No,
he

has .

N OTE: For contractions with have, see Appendix 24 on page 346.

46

Present Perfect: Since and For

CHART CHECK 2

--+~-

Check the correct

answer.

----

WH-WORD

For is used with:

WH- QUESTIONS
--~ -

PAST
HAVE SUBJECT PARTICIPLE
have they

lived
been

How long

0 / point of time

has

~ a length of time

he

SHORT ANSWERS
here?

Since January.
For a few months.

:Ci!,.

EXPRESS Ci!: I

Look at the past participles. Check the correct column.

driven
competed

Regular

Irregular

0
CY

cf

Regular

won
tried

Irregular

Gr"

Grammar Explanations

Examples

1. Use the present perfect with since or for to

talk about something that began in the past and
continues into the present (and may continue
into the future).

Martina Hingis has been a professional tennis

player since 1994.

Now

1994

She has been a professional tennis playet

for years.
(She began her professional career years ago,
and she is still a professional player.)

Past -f 1~~~~ .. ~ Future

has been

2. Use the present perfect with since + point

in time (since 5 :00, since Monday, since 1994)
to show when something started.

She has earned millions of dollars since 1994.

3. Since can also introduce a time clause.

Martina has loved sports since she was a child.

When the action in the time clause ended in

the past, use the simple past tense.

She has won many tennis tournaments

since she moved from Slovakia.
(She doesn't live there anymore.)

When the action in the time clause began in

the past but continues into the present, use the
present perfect.

4. Use the present perfect with for + length of

time (for ten minutes, for two weeks, for years,
for a long time) to show how long a present
condition has lasted.

\ e Y\ si ~1c

l ec"'f~O_

She has become extremely successful

since she.has been in Switzerland.
(She still lives in Switzerland.)

Martina's mother has been her coach

e'f,,~ ~v:J

for many years.

47

48 Unit 11
.. ' ' .........................
.

IDENTIFY Read about tennis star Martina Hingis. Underline all the verbs in the
present perfect. Circle all the time expressions with since or for.

Martina Hingis picked up her first tennis racket at the

age of two. $ ince theiy, she has become one of the greatest
tennis players in the world. Born in Slovakia, she has lived in
Switzerland or

~. She became the ou;door Swiss

champion at age nine. ince the , he has won many

- _____.,;
international competitions including Wimbledon, the U.S.
Open, and the Australian Open.
For young stars like Martina, life has its difficulties.
They are under constant pressure to win, and they don't
have time to just hang out with classmates. In fact,
Martina hasn't attended school since 1994, and she has
~in

the public spotlight for years. But she seems to be handling her

success well. ~ she turned professional, she has pla.Yd tennis all over the world
and h s earned millions of dollars. She sees her life as normal because tennis ~
been the most important thing to her
--------------,

ince

she~~ a little girl.

COMPLETE &CHOOSE Read this magazine excerpt about a child genius. Complete it with
the present perfect form of the verbs in parentheses. Choose between since and for.

Thirteen-year-old Ronnie Segal ___h_a_s.....,1-'-o_ve_d___ math ____e_in_c-,-e_ _ _ he

2. (since I for)

1. (love)

was a little boy. "I

VV1\/ <?"

interested in numbers

5.Jvv

3. (be)

- -4
- .__,(-,sin_c_e -,-/ -,fo-,r)- -

.
,'~
5 . (Si nce~)

nine years, five months, three weeks, and two days," says Ronnie.

the past year, Ronnie _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ graduate-level classes at the u niversity.

6. (attend)ec).,

He

11

:':>()

o VU.

badly.
,

7. (not do)

L1

five exams and

I' f -

~~ ~/~

~~~

C;-i,.~ c' a 'grade of less than 100 on any of them.

10. (not get) "

Ronnie began classes, he

1 \ (Since /)For)

January he _\,_ v-_ _ _ _ __)

~-

\"'

"+

12. (meet)

1.324 pe0p1e a month. And his future? Young Ronnie ' 1r, 5,
for years. He

11 JVv "

14. (know)

15. ~I for)

an average of

1
1v !Ai
13. (not think)

about it

he was a little boy that he is

going to become a famous sports announcer, get married, and have exactly 2.2 kids.

Present Perfect: Sinc e and For

ASK &ANSWER Complete the interview about Martina Hingis. Use th.e words in
parentheses to write questions. Then answer the questions with information from
Exercise 1.
1. (How long I she I play tennis?)

Q:

How long has she played tennis'?

A:

Since she was two.

Ji~/ liv~ in Switzerland?)

I o Y' ~"> s\J\ KI 1 00 d.-

2. (How long I

Q:

rte w

A:

1 () I

0'\

v \ (_,

\,(( {<

"'

3.

(~~ I ~%~ any competitions I since the outdoor Swiss championship?)

Q:
'0) (

A:
4.

_,.

U'

(~~ I attend'School I since

o.S.

1994?)

Q:
.I

A:

fvo

.!

'

3 .u

"tC_,w1 1
1

1) (< 'S
Ai
5. (How much money I she I earrt~/ since she began her career?)

Q:
A:

"'

'S Qc, 1 ) c'

"' \

'"

''

o~

.-fQ.., ,

..

6 . (How long H ennis

Q:
A:

tH... S

ueQv

-~

C()l

-\u \

, 'LL

,_,, c

I I\... f, ,'1 I

\'\J& 0

EDIT Read this student's paragraph. Find and correct seven mistakes in the use of the
present perfect. The first mistake is already corrected.

have been

1-Bffi- in Ms. Rodrigue2's physic.al education class

1-()f
$i.A~e

two months. I enjov.dt a lot

and have only mist t'wo classes since the beginning of the semesth . I especially
.

( (\i

like tennis, but since September we dor-# plaf because the weathe ):i.ave been too
V'J
\L
cold. I also like volleyball, and my team has rntwo games since We ~QVe started to

compete with Lincoln High School. I'm

looking~ forward to the next

game .

49