Implied Meanings
Using adverb clues to understanding meaning
Possible Meanings
| PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE | PRESENT PERFECT | ||
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I have been working as a pilot for several years on different routes. repetitive, ongoing |
I have worked as a pilot for fifteen years. long-time experience, perhaps ongoing |
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I have been working as a reserve pilot now and then. repetitive, ongoing |
I have worked as a pilot continuously. duration, long-time experience |
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I have been working as a pilot in the Air Force. military service, temporary |
Congress has worked with Federal Flight Administration. past experience, perhaps ongoing |
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I have been working as a pilot over the past 15 years and will retire soon. ongoing |
I have worked as a pilot recently. temporary experience, completed |
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I have been working as a pilot since 1990. repetitive, ongoing |
I have done my work already. completed |
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Clues to Meaning - The Adverbs!
| ADVERBS FOR PRESENT PERFECT NONPROGRESSIVE & PROGRESSIVE | |||||
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Adverbs used with present perfect tell us when: how long or since when, and they express complex aspects such as frequency of occurrence, experience, recency, repetition or speaker's expectation for completion. Present perfect sentences focus on the duration of time more than the activity. |
Present perfect progressive sentences tend to focus more on the activity — its repetition (several times) or ongoing (still) duration. Most present perfect adverbs are used with the progressive. However, an adverb of repetition is not generally used (and is awkward) with the progressive because the tense already carries the meaning of repetition. |
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SINCE / FOR – duration Use with activities that began in the past and continue to the present. |
SO FAR / THIS – duration Use with activities that began in the indefinite past and continue to the present. |
*REPETITION Use with repeated activities that began in the past and continue to the present. |
FREQUENCY – experience Use with habitual activities that began in the past and continue to the present. |
EXPECTATION – early/late Use with activities that occur earlier or later than the speaker expects. |
MENTAL TIME FRAME – completed Use with activities that are completed but still within the speaker's present frame of mind. |
since noon (exact time – midnight, 3:00 a.m.) |
so far (to date) |
repeatedly |
always (routinely, customarily, normally, as a rule, in general) |
already – completed |
recently |
since this morning (today, this week, this year, etc.) |
up to now (until now) |
several times |
usually (most of the time) |
yet – ongoing |
lately |
since July 2003 (summer, 1900, the 4th century) |
over the past two years (weeks, decades, centuries) |
continuously |
often (frequently, half of the time) |
still – ongoing |
just |
ever since then (I met you, I was little) |
in my life (in these times, situations, moments) |
continually |
sometimes (occasionally, on occasion) |
finally – completed |
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for a minute (hour, day, week, month, year, decade) |
tonight ( today) |
again and again (over and over) |
rarely (seldom, hardly ever) |
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for a while (a minute, an hour, a day, 30 years – quantity of time) |
this week (morning, evening, week, month, year) |
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never (not ever) |
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for the time being (for now) (quantity of time) |
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* not commonly used with progressive tense |
ever in a negative sentence or question |
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Practice
A Street Entertainer – The World Famous Bushman
Read and find the implied meanings in this context.
David Johnson, known as the World Famous Bushman, is a street performer who has been entertaining passers-by (tourists) along Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco since 1980. He began the bush man act in order to be original (and to collect money.) So what is the World Famous Bushman act? David Johnson hides behind some eucalyptus branches and waits for people to walk by. As they pass, he jumps out and surprises them by yelling "Ugga-bugga!" Some of the people he surprises laugh, while others have gotten angry and have called the police.
Crowds have been gathering across the street from where he usually sits to see Johnson entertain people. In a "good year", Johnson claims he has earned as much as $60,000. He has been employing a bodyguard to protect him against attacks by people who are unhappy with himand to let Johnson know if elderly people are coming so he can avoid scaring them.
The police have recently received a number of complaints about the Bushman, and Fisherman's Wharf merchants have been trying to shut him down. In 2004, he was charged with four misdemeanors by the police, but a jury cleared him. The city District Attorney has given up pursuing him: "the community has spoken".
If you haven't seen him yet, go to San Fransicso's Fisherman's Wharf and beware of that clump of leaves that looks like a bush.
misdemeanors (n.) – small crimes, unacceptable behavior
More images on YouTube and Wikipedia– The World Famous Bushman