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A2 Grammar • 12 Min Theme: People who help us in the community

Present Perfect with For and Since

Learn how to talk about actions and situations that started in the past and continue into the present, using for, since, and How long...?

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How to use this lesson

👩‍🏫 For the Teacher

Guide students through the 4 rules step by step in 5 minutes. Check answers together after students complete the 12 practice items.

🧑‍🎓 For the Learner

Read the 4 short rules carefully and look at the examples. Complete all 12 practice questions to test your understanding.

📘 Grammar Rules

4 Core Patterns

Present Perfect Formation

Use have or has with the past form of a verb for something that started before and is still true now.

Remember special forms: be becomes been, have becomes had, and know becomes known.

• The pharmacist has lived on our street all her life.

• The electrician has been in our neighborhood since morning.

Using FOR with Length of Time

Use for with a length of time to say how long something is true. Use it for minutes, hours, or years.

• The librarian has worked at the town library for twenty years.

• The shopkeeper has had this store for ten years.

Using SINCE with Starting Point

Use since with the starting point when an action began. Do not use since with a number of months or years.

✅ DO: say since March (starting point)

⚠️ AVOID: saying since three months

• The gardener has looked after the park since March.

• The mayor has known my family since 2015.

Questions with How long...?

Ask How long + have/has + person + past participle to find out when something started. Use the Past Simple if the time is already finished.

Present Perfect: How long has she been a nurse? (Still a nurse now)

Past Simple: How long was she a nurse? She stopped in 2015. (Finished time)

• How long has your sister been a nurse in this town?

• How long have you known the town caretaker?

📝 Practice Exercises

Answer the 12 questions below. Look at the clue in brackets for each item.

Question 1 of 12 Choose the correct sentence

1. Choose the sentence that uses the time word correctly: (start)

____ a. The caretaker has cleaned the school since 8 AM. ____ b. The caretaker has cleaned the school for 8 AM.

Question 2 of 12 Choose the correct sentence

2. Choose the correct question form about a community worker: (question)

____ a. How long did the shopkeeper lived here? ____ b. How long has the shopkeeper lived here?

Question 3 of 12 Choose the correct sentence

3. Choose the sentence that shows a duration of time: (duration)

____ a. The electrician has fixed wires since two hours. ____ b. The electrician has fixed wires for two hours.

Question 4 of 12 Rewrite Sentences

4. Rewrite the two short sentences as one sentence with since. Do not use short forms. Put the time at the end. (start)

Sentence pair: "The mayor is in office. He started in 2020."

____ (Type full sentence here...)

Question 5 of 12 Rewrite Sentences

5. Rewrite the two short sentences as one sentence with for. Do not use short forms. Put the time at the end. (length)

Sentence pair: "The pharmacist has a shop. She bought it five years ago."

____ (Type full sentence here...)

Question 6 of 12 Rewrite Sentences

6. Rewrite the two short sentences as one sentence with since. Do not use short forms. Put the time at the end. (start)

Sentence pair: "The gardener knows the park trees. He started working here in spring."

____ (Type full sentence here...)

Question 7 of 12 Fill in the Gap

7. Fill in the blank with for or since: (duration)

The librarian has worked at the town library ____ ten years.

Question 8 of 12 Fill in the Gap

8. Fill in the blank with for or since: (start)

The police officer has chased the thief ____ two o'clock.

Question 9 of 12 Fill in the Gap

9. Fill in the blank with for or since: (length)

The doctor has helped people with this injury ____ three weeks.

Question 10 of 12 Correct the Error

10. Read the message below and correct the mistake: (time)

💬 "Hi! The electrician has been here since three hours to fix the lights."

Type the correct word to replace since:

____ (Type correct word...)

Question 11 of 12 Correct the Error

11. Read the message below and correct the mistake: (question)

💬 "Hello, how long are you a caretaker in this big building?"

Type the correct 3-word phrase to replace are you:

____ (Type correct 3-word phrase...)

Question 12 of 12 Correct the Error

12. Read the message below and correct the mistake: (verb)

💬 "My uncle is a mayor for ten years and he loves his job."

Type the correct 2-word verb phrase to replace is:

____ (Type correct verb phrase...)

Present Perfect with For and Since

Present Perfect with For and Since

How to use this lesson

📘 Grammar Rules

Present Perfect Formation

Using FOR with Length of Time

Using SINCE with Starting Point

Questions with How long...?

📝 Practice Exercises

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