Support material

Learning activity 4

Presentation

A. Present perfect with for and since

1. Function

For and Since are two adverbs of time frequently used along with the Present
Perfect.

For: You use For to talk about the period of time in which an activity has been
performed.

Examples:

 I have lived in Bogotá FOR 39 years.

 She has been waiting FOR 10 minutes.

Since: You use Since to talk about the point in time in which an activity started
being performed.

Examples:

 She has worked for that company since 2004. (In 2004 she started working
there)

 I have made my own bed since I was ten. (From the moment I turned 10, I
started making my own bed)

2. Structure

For and Since are usually used at the end of the sentence. See the examples:
 Subject Auxiliary Verb Complement Adverb
I have Worked there for 5 years.

They have designed houses Since 1987

B. Be able to / Be good at

Function

We use be able to and be good at to talk about abilities and competences

people have. See the examples below and notice how we can use them in
different tenses.

Examples:

 I have been able to learn how to use different computer programs by myself.

 I was good at math when I was in high school.

 She was able to solve any kind of conflict in minutes.

 Carlos is really good at learning languages. He has learned 5 languages now.

Remember: When you use a verb after the preposition AT, you have to use a
gerund. Example: They are good AT playing soccer.

C. Phrasal verbs

Function

Phrasal verbs are the verbs attached to particular prepositions or adverbs to

form a verb expression with a new meaning. Examples of phrasal verbs include:
get up, look after, speak up, turn down, and chill out.

Some phrasal verbs are separable. This means they do not have to be followed
immediately by the preposition they are attached to. Examples of separable
phrasal verbs include: write down, turn down, check out, point out, try on, and
call off. Check the following sentences:

 I wrote down the shopping list to remember what to buy.

  I wrote the shopping list down to remember what to buy.

 They will check out my new apartment next weekend.

 They will check my new apartment out next weekend.

Remember: Even if you separate the verb from the preposition or adverb, the
meaning does not change.

On the other hand, some phrasal verbs are inseparable. They have to be
followed by a preposition or adverb. If we separate them, they lose their
meaning. Examples of inseparable phrasal verbs include: disagree with, look
after, care for, hear from, and run against. Check the following examples:

 I disagree with your nonsensical ideas. ( Correct )

 I disagree your nonsensical ideas with. ( Incorrect )

 She had to look after her sick grandmother. ( Correct )

 She had to look her sick grandmother after. ( Incorrect )

Practice

A. Look at the following time expressions. For each one, choose either for or
since.

1. Since August 29.

2. since last night.

3. since 4 weeks ago.

4. since I was at school.

5. for my friend's wedding.

6. for a year.

7. since last Tuesday.

9. since my daughter was born.

 10. for two hours.

11. for a long time.

12. since she was a teenager.

B. Complete the following sentences using for or since.

1. Nobody has seen him since last Friday.

2. It has been rainy for some days now.

3. José has been sleeping since seven o'clock.

4. We've been living in Japan for nine years.

5. The teachers have been on strike for three months.

6. We've had terrible weather since last week.

7. I have been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.

8. They haven’t lost a match since April.

9. Things have changed since he got divorced.

10. The police have been looking for them for a week.

11. I've been looking for this movie for a long time.

12. She has been cooking since I got up.

13. The kettle has been boiling for five minutes.

C. Fill in since or for and the present perfect, present perfect continuous or past
tense. Use the verbs in parenthesis

1. I ________ (not see) Leon _______ three weeks.

2. I __________ (wait) for you _______ two o’clock.

3. Olga ________ (live) in Russia ______ 10 years.

 4. She ________ (move) to Russia in 1992.

5. She __________ (work) at the university of Stalingrad ______ then.

6. Her mother ___________ (visit) her last year.

7. You ___________ (watch) TV _______ more than 6 hours.

8. The train for Moscow __________ (leave) at 1:20.

9. They _____________ (not look) at the timetable ______ weeks.

10. They ___________ (not look) at the timetable______ December.

D.

1. Read the following story and write all the phrasal verbs you see in the box
below in the order they appear. Use the base form of the verbs. If a verb if
repeated, ignore it.

Grow up - bring up - take care of - get up - get ready - feed up - pick

up - run away - look for - find out - turn up

Growing up in the countryside

My mom was brought up in a small town in Cundinamarca. She enjoyed

growing up there because she loves gardening and animals. One of her
responsibilities was to take care of the chickens and the pigs; however, this is
not as easy as it sounds. She had to get up very early to get ready for school.
She would do her homework, feed up the pigs, and pick up the eggs. One
day, one of the pigs ran away from the farm and she had to look for it. She
spent 2 hours trying to find it. She didn’t want her mom to find out. Luckily, the
pig finally turned up.

2. Match the verbs you put it the box with their corresponding definitions.
 Verb Definition
a. To give someone more food than usual
in order to make them stronger or less
thin.
b. To be found, especially by accident,
after being lost or not known about.
c. To secretly leave a place where you
should stay, because you are not happy
there.
d. To lift someone or something up from a
surface.
e. To prepare yourself or someone else to
do something.
f. To change from being a baby or young
child to being an older child or adult.
g. To treat something carefully so that it
stays in good condition.
h. To look after a child until he or she
becomes an adult.

E. Complete the following sentences using the words in the box. You don’t have to
use them all.

To apply for a job.

To work part-time.
To have a part-time.
To work overtime.
Resume.
Interview.
Contract.
To work full-time.
To look for a job.
Freelance worker.
Health insurance.
Raise.

1. Charles should _________________ if he wants to start making money for

his trip. Being at home doing nothing won’t help.
 2. Last week Martha ______________. They told her they would call her to
schedule an _____________.

3. Frank decided to quit his full-time job and _______________. He wants to

have more free time to spend with his family.

4. After working for ten years at Birds Incorporated, he finally got a ________.
He surely deserves that extra money.

5. John used to _______________ because of the extra money it represented.

6. He needs to update his _______________ to account for the new seminars

he has participated in.

7. Laura is a __________________. She doesn’t like to have bosses or

supervisors.

8. Before you sign the _______________, make sure you read carefully all the
clauses and conditions.

9. Miguel got really sick last week and when he went to the hospital he was told
his ________________ did not cover the cost of the medicine he needed.

Production

A. Write a composition about the city you are from. Describe how it has changed
through the years. If necessary, go online and get some specific date that will
help you complete the task.
B. Write about an interesting anecdote that happened to you while growing up. Use
some of the phrasal verbs you studied in this learning activity. If you are curious
enough, go online and find some new phrasal verbs.

C. Sometimes we all tend to forget the qualities our loved ones have. Choose a
person you love and write about his or her abilities using be able to and be good
at.
 Document control

Name Position Dependence Date

Theme expert
Johanna Vera Dirección de
Author Asesor English
Diettes Formación October
Dot Works -
& Profesional - 2014
Programa de
Nicole Bruskewitz Dirección General
Bilingüismo

Centro
Luz Clarena Arias Copy editor – Línea October
Adaptation Agroindustrial.
González de producción 2014
Regional Quindío