Question

Present Perfect Continuous and Present Perfect Simple! Твои руки такие грязные! Чем ты занимался? - Я чинил свою машину. Машина в порядке (ОК). Я её починил. Сколько ты читаешь эту книгу? Ты читал эту книгу? Где Даша и Олег? - Они играют в теннис. Они играют с 2-х часов. Ты когда-нибудь играл в теннис? На этой неделе мы играли в теннис 3 раза. Я сегодня написала 5 писем. Я сегодня всё утро пишу письма. Приятно видеть тебя снова. Чем ты занимался с тех пор, как мы в последний раз встречались? Ты в последнее время (recently) слишком много ешь. Тебе следует есть меньше. Помогите пожалуйста!!

Answer 1

Your hands are so dirty! What have you been doing?
I have been repairing my car.
The machine is OK. I have repaired it.
How long have you been reading this book?
Have you read this book?
Where is Dasha and Oleg? - They are playing tennis. They have been playing for 2 hours.
Have you ever played tennis?
This week we have played tennis 3 times.
Today I have written 5 letters.
I have been writing letters all morning today.
It's good to see you again. What have you been doing since we last met?
You've been eating too much recently.
You should eat less.

Answer 2

Present Perfect Continuous (Present Perfect Progressive) is used to describe an action that started in the past and has continued up until the present moment. It emphasizes the duration or ongoing nature of the action.

Present Perfect Simple, on the other hand, is used to describe an action that happened at an unspecified time before now. It focuses on the completion of the action rather than its duration.

Let's analyze the sentences you provided and determine whether Present Perfect Continuous or Present Perfect Simple is more appropriate in each case.

Твои руки такие грязные! Чем ты занимался?

In this sentence, we are talking about the state of the person's hands (dirty) and asking about the activity that led to this state. Since we are referring to a specific activity in the past (cleaning their hands), we should use Present Perfect Simple. The correct form would be:

Чем ты занимался? (What have you been doing?)

Машина в порядке (ОК). Я её починил.

In this sentence, the person is saying that the car is now fine because they have repaired it. Since the focus is on the completion of the repair action, we should use Present Perfect Simple. The correct form would be:

Я её починил. (I have repaired it.)

Сколько ты читаешь эту книгу? Ты читал эту книгу?

In these sentences, we are asking about the duration of reading the book and whether the person has read it before. Both questions imply an ongoing action or a repeated action in the past. Therefore, we should use Present Perfect Continuous for the first question and Present Perfect Simple for the second question. The correct forms would be:

Сколько ты читаешь эту книгу? (How long have you been reading this book?)

Ты читал эту книгу? (Have you read this book?)

Где Даша и Олег? - Они играют в теннис. Они играют с 2-х часов.

In this conversation, we are talking about the current activity of Dasha and Oleg, which started in the past and is still ongoing. Therefore, we should use Present Perfect Continuous to describe their ongoing tennis game. The correct forms would be:

Они играют в теннис. (They have been playing tennis.)

Они играют с 2-х часов. (They have been playing since 2 o'clock.)

Ты когда-нибудь играл в теннис?

In this sentence, we are asking about the person's past experience of playing tennis at any time in their life. The focus is on the completion of the action, so we should use Present Perfect Simple. The correct form would be:

Ты когда-нибудь играл в теннис? (Have you ever played tennis?)

На этой неделе мы играли в теннис 3 раза.

In this sentence, we are talking about the past actions of playing tennis that happened within the current week. The focus is on the completion of the actions, so we should use Present Perfect Simple. The correct form would be:

На этой неделе мы играли в теннис 3 раза. (We have played tennis 3 times this week.)

Я сегодня написала 5 писем.

In this sentence, the person is talking about the completed action of writing 5 letters today. The focus is on the completion of the action, so we should use Present Perfect Simple. The correct form would be:

Я сегодня написала 5 писем. (I have written 5 letters today.)

Я сегодня всё утро пишу письма.

In this sentence, the person is talking about the ongoing action of writing letters throughout the entire morning. The emphasis is on the duration or ongoing nature of the action, so we should use Present Perfect Continuous. The correct form would be:

Я сегодня всё утро пишу письма. (I have been writing letters all morning.)

Приятно видеть тебя снова. Чем ты занимался с тех пор, как мы в последний раз встречались?

In this conversation, the person is expressing pleasure at seeing the other person again and asking about their activities since their last meeting. Since the focus is on the activities that have happened since their last meeting, we should use Present Perfect Simple. The correct forms would be:

Чем ты занимался с тех пор, как мы в последний раз встречались? (What have you been doing since we last met?)

Ты в последнее время (recently) слишком много ешь. Тебе следует есть меньше.

In this conversation, the person is expressing concern about the other person's recent excessive eating and giving them advice to eat less. Since we are talking about the person's eating habits in the recent past, we should use Present Perfect Simple. The correct forms would be:

Ты в последнее время слишком много ешь. (You have been eating too much recently.)

Тебе следует есть меньше. (You should eat less.)

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.