Present Perfect with “For / Since”

Lesson 50 YourEnglishSource.com

I have lived in Canada for 3 years.

I have lived

in Canada since 2012.

She has studied

with me for 3 months.

She has studied

with me since October.

Why do we use “For / Since” [FUNCTION]

- to measure time (usually with the present perfect sentences)

- to show how long the action (that is not finished) has happened

How do we use “For / Since” [FORM]

[ Subject + have/has + past participle + for/since ]

I + have + lived here + for + ten years.

He + has + worked there + for + three months.

I + have + lived here + since + 1996.

He + has + worked there + since + October.

Quick Grammar Exercise

Put either for or since into the following sentences.

[1] I have lived in LG Metro City Apartments ___since

__ 2006.

[2] He has been in my class ________ 2 years.

[3] They have owned that restaurant ________ I was 10 years old.

[4] We have played soccer on Sunday morning ________ June.

[5] My brother has been stronger than me _________ 3 years.

[6] She has been here _________ 8am this morning.

[7] American soldiers have been in Korea _________ 1950.

[8] Christmas has been celebrated ________ 700 years.

Lesson 50 YourEnglishSource.com

Change It

If the sentence uses “for” change it to “since” and finish the sentence.

If the sentence uses “since” change it to “for” and finish the sentence.

[1] I’ve lived in Busan for 6 years.

 I’ve lived in Busan since 2009.

[2] He’s played soccer since he was 5. (He is 15 years old now.)

 He’s played soccer for 10 years.

[3] They’ve lived in Canada since June.



[4] We’ve played Minecraft for 3 hours today.



[5] You’ve sat in that seat since Tuesday.



[6] His mom has driven us to school every day for 3 days.



[7] I’ve gone jogging every morning since March.



[8] I have boiled this pasta for 20 minutes.



[9] He hasn’t seen his family for 10 years.



[10] It has smelt bad in this room for one hour.



[11] I haven’t seen you since 2013.



[12] We haven’t played computer games for 2 weeks.



January / February / March / April / May / June / July / August / September / October / November / December

Lesson 50 YourEnglishSource.com

Many Questions

Ask your partner some of the following questions. Make sure you answer using both

“for” and “since” to communicate the same information with each.

[1] How long have you lived in Busan?

 I have lived in Busan for my whole life.

 I’ve lived in Busan since 1998.

[2] How long have you had your hairstyle?

[3] How long have you swum for?

[4] How long has your family had your car.

[5] How long have we studied the lesson for?

[6] How long has your brother/sister gone to their school?

[7] How long has your dog/cat been with your family?

[8] How long have you studied…

[9] How long have you worn…

[10] How long have you been…

Ask your classmates about their hobbies. Ask them how long they have done them.

If you don’t have any hobbies you can pretend that you have some.

-play candy crush -paint pictures -write stories

-grow plants (garden) -build models -write a diary

-play guitar/piano/etc. -practice Tae-Kwon-Doe -dance ballet/jazz

-cook new foods -take photos -make a blog website

-try new restaurants -surf the internet -read comic books

-read novels -use Facebook -make jewelry

-volunteer your time -collect coins/cards -play X-box

Example

[A] How long have you __painted pictures

__?

[B] I have painted pictures for 10 years. My mom taught me when I was young.

[A] How long have you __had your You Tube Channel __?

[B] I have had my YouTube Channel since July. It just started to get popular.

Lesson 50 YourEnglishSource.com

What I Usually Use

Talk about the things that you usually use every day. Talk about how long you have

used those things for by using the present perfect with for or since.

[1] What kind of phone do you use? I use an iPhone 5s.

-How long have you had your phone? I've had it since it 2013.

[2] How do you get to school/work?

-How long have you used that kind of transportation?

[3] Are you single or in a relationship (boyfriend or girlfriend)?

-How long have you been together/single?

[4]How do you get your exercise?

-How long have you been doing that?

[5] What is your favorite app to chat with friends?

-How long have you used that app?

[6] Ask about: Home/Shampoo/ Beauty Cream/Church/Academies/Vacations

Vitamins/Medicine/Computers/Email address/Toys/Video Games

A Great Introduction

Prepare an introduction for yourself. Make sure you use present perfect and “for/since”

to help you.

[A] Talk about these things in your introduction.

- Your family - Your pets - Your school

- Your home - Your hobbies - Your skills

[B] With a partner give your introduction to each other.

-Remember what your partner tells you about themselves.

-Take some quick notes if you need to.

[C] Tell a the class about your partner.

-Introduce them to the class.

-Make sure you don’t forget any information.

[ Subject + have/has + past participle + for/since ]

Lesson 50 YourEnglishSource.com

Homework

[1] Fill in the blanks in the sentences with either "for" or "since"

[1] I haven't seen my uncle _since

__ last Christmas.

[2] We have been in the same class ________ 2 years.

[3] We have lived here ________ March of 2010.

[4] He has been my teacher ________ May.

[5] They have studied web design _________ 3 months.

[6] Facebook has been popular _________ 5 years.

[7] I have had my iPhone _________ February 14'th.

[8] My city has had a subway system ________ 3 decades.

[9] Humans have travelled in space _________ 1964.

[10] That song has been #1 on the charts ________ 3 weeks.

[2] Fill in the blanks in the sentences with the correct verb in the Past Participle form.

work to be study have use

know practice save play drive

[1] How long have you ___used

___ your smart phone?

[2] How long has your mom ___________ that car?

[3] How long has he _____________ President of America?

[4] How long have they _____________ English at this school?

[5] How long have you ______________ Candy Crush Saga phone game?

[6] How long has your little sister __________ her money for a new bike?

[7] How long have you ____________ me?

[8] How long have you ____________ your pet dog?

[9] How long has he _____________ Taekwondo (martial art)?

[10]How long have we ____________ together at this job?

Writing Assignment:

Write a paragraph explaining what your three favorite hobbies or free time

activities are. Make sure you explain how long you have done them for, why

you started, and why you like them so much.

Lesson 50 YourEnglishSource.com

LESSON 50 / Target Language – Present Perfect with For & Since

PRESENTATION:

[1] -Introduce the idea that we use the present perfect to talk about actions that start in the past and

continue to today and will likely keep going into the future. (ex. I have been married...)

-Also show that "for" and "since" both measure the length of time the action has happened.

They both communicate the same information really but "since" starts with a past moment

(since 2009) whereas "for" will count units of time backward from the present (for 6 years).

-Review the units of time you can use with "for" (second, minute, year, day, week, month,

year, decade, century, millennium)

ANSWERS: [1] I have lived in LG Metro City Apartments ___since__ 2006.

[2] He has been in my class _for

____ 2 years.

[3] They have owned that restaurant __ since

__ I was 10 years old.

[4] We have played soccer on Sunday morning ___ since

_ June.

[5] My brother has been stronger than me ___ for

___ 3 years.

[6] She has been here __ since

__ 8am this morning.

[7] American soldiers have been in Korea __ since

__ 1950.

[8] Christmas has been celebrated ___ for

__ 700 years.

PRACTICE:

[1] -have s/s in pairs or small groups using "Change It" activity.

-s/s should speak first then write their answer, if examples uses for then change to since and

if the example uses since then change to for.

ANSWERS: [1] I’ve lived in Busan for 6 years. I’ve lived in Busan since 2009.

[2] He’s played soccer since he was 5. He’s played soccer for 10 years.

[3] They’ve lived in Canada since June.They've lived in Canada for ___ months.

[4] We’ve played Minecraft for 3 hours today.We've played Minecraft since _ a

time_.

[5] You’ve sat in that seat since Tuesday.You've sat in that seat for ____ days.

[6] His mom has driven us to school every day for 3 days. .... since __weekday

__

[7] I’ve gone jogging every morning since March. ... for ___ months.

[8] I have boiled this pasta for 20 minutes. ... since __a time

___.

[9] He hasn’t seen his family for 10 years. ... since 200#.

[10] It has smelt bad in this room for one hour. ... since __a time

___.

[11] I haven’t seen you since 2013.  ... for __ years.

[12] We haven’t played computer games for 2 weeks. .... since ___a date

___.

PRODUCTION:

[1] -have s/s in pairs or small groups using "Many Questions" activity.

-one s/s asks a "How long have you...?" question and the other s/s answer using both for/since

to get some practice understanding the different grammar of both.

-after completing speaking for questions 1-10 s/s can make their own questions for each other

using the prompts provided (or think of some of their own) and continue with the activity the

same way.

[2] -have s/s in pairs or small groups using "What I Usually Use" activity.

-s/s take turns asking each other questions from 1-5 then they can use the categories listed in #6

to think about some questions of their own to ask each other & continue activity the same way.

[3] -have s/s in pairs or small groups using "A Great Introduction" activity.

-first students come up with a short introduction of themselves (about 10 sentences) including

some present perfect with for/since to say how long have done some things.

-s/s A speaks their introduction to s/s B (a partner) who records some notes while listening.

They switch roles and repeat. Next they use their not and introduce each other to the class.

-first they use (I have collected coins for 3 years.) then would change to (He has collected..)

when they introduce that partner to the class.

Lesson 50 YourEnglishSource.com

PRODUCTION:

[1] ANSWERS: [1] I haven't seen my uncle __ since ___ last Christmas.

[2] We have been in the same class __ for

__ 2 years.

[3] We have lived here __ since

_ March of 2010.

[4] He has been my teacher _ since

_ May.

[5] They have studied web design __ for

___ 3 months.

[6] Facebook has been popular ____ for

___ 5 years.

[7] I have had my iPhone _ since

_ February 14'th.

[8] My city has had a subway system __ for

___ 3 decades.

[9] Humans have travelled in space _ since

__ 1964.

[10] That song has been #1 on the charts __ for

_ 3 weeks.

[2] ANSWERS: [1] How long have you ___used__ your smart phone?

[2] How long has your mom __ driven

___ that car?

[3] How long has he ____been

____ President of America?

[4] How long have they ___ studied

____ English at this school?

[5] How long have you ___ played

_______ Candy Crush Saga phone game?

[6] How long has your little sister ___ saved

____ her money for a new bike?

[7] How long have you ___ known

_______ me?

[8] How long have you ___ had

_______ your pet dog?

[9] How long has he ___ practiced

_______ TaeKwonDoe (martial art)?

[10]How long have we ___ worked

______ together at this job?

Writing Assignment:

-make sure they have a good topic sentence to begin the paragraph and use linking words

within the text.