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Grammar lessons and practice

Each lesson shows a pattern, common mistakes next to the correct form, and ten exercises — multiple choice, gap fill, word order and matching — with a reason for every answer.

foundation · Present perfect continuous with since / for

Talking about how long: have been + -ing

Use "have/has been + -ing" for an action that started in the past and is still going on now.

subject + have/has been + verb-ing + since (start point) / for (length of time)

When something started in the past and continues now, English links the past and the present with the present perfect continuous: "I have been working here since 2019." The present continuous alone ("I am working here since 2019") is common in several varieties of spoken English, including Indian English, but in international workplace English it sounds unfinished, because "am working" only describes now.

Use since with a starting point (since Monday, since 2019, since I joined) and for with a length of time (for three years, for two hours). Some verbs that describe states — know, have (possession), be, like — normally use the simple present perfect instead: "I have known her for ten years."

In questions, ask "How long have you been ...?" and answer with since or for.

Common mistakes and the correct form

Incorrect: I am working here since 2019.Correct: I have been working here since 2019.The action started in 2019 and continues now, so we need have been + -ing.
Incorrect: She is waiting for one hour.Correct: She has been waiting for an hour.Duration up to now needs the present perfect continuous; "for an hour" is the natural phrase.
Incorrect: I am knowing him since college.Correct: I have known him since college."Know" is a state verb, so it takes the simple present perfect, not -ing.
Incorrect: How long you are living in Pune?Correct: How long have you been living in Pune?Questions about duration up to now use have + subject + been + -ing.

About this page

Lessons chosen for real communication

The starter track covers the grammar that most affects clarity at work: "have been working since", present simple vs continuous, articles, time prepositions, past simple vs present perfect, questions and indirect questions, agreement, uncountable nouns, comparatives, polite requests, conditionals, verb patterns, question tags, passive voice and future forms.

How answers are checked

Typed answers are compared after a documented normalisation (version norm-1): capital letters, extra spaces and final punctuation are ignored; contractions match their full forms ("haven’t" = "have not"); British and American spellings are equal; and small numbers can be digits or words. Every exercise lists its accepted answers, and each attempt records the answer-key version used.

Questions

What if my answer is correct but marked wrong?

Open Progress and mark the attempt as disputed. Disputed answers are excluded from your accuracy, and the original record is kept.

Are regional forms treated as wrong?

Forms like the universal "isn’t it?" tag are explained as features of a regional variety. Exercises target the form most international listeners expect, and the explanation says so.

Who wrote these lessons?

They are self-authored for the starter pack v1 and have not yet been independently reviewed by a teacher. Please treat them as practice material, not an official curriculum.