What does that mean?

那是什麼意思？

Does it mean I've been trying to film, but now I've given up?

這代表我已經試著在拍片，但我現在放棄了嗎？

Or does it mean that I've now finished filming?

或這代表我現在已經完成拍片？

Today, we're talking about the present perfect continuous tense, which we use to talk about an activity that is ongoing.

今天我們要來看現在完成進行式，我們用來說一件持續的動作。

But how does it work?

該怎麼用呢？

The present perfect continuous tense is created using 4 words in the correct order at the beginning of a sentence.

現在完成進行式是由四個字按照順序放在句子的開頭。

I have been playing the piano all morning. 

我已經彈了一整個早上的鋼琴。

First of all, we have the subject, so in this case, "I".

首先，我們要有主詞，這裡使用的是「我」。

Then, we use "have" or "has", depending on the subject. 

接著我們根據主詞使用 "have"或"has"。

Next is the word "been". 

再來是"been"。

This is the part that shows the activity is ongoing and it doesn't change no matter what the subject or the verb is. 

這部分是持續動作的展現，並不會隨著主詞或動詞改變。

And finally, we have the main verb, with an "-ing" ending. 

最後我們放上主動詞，並在後面放上 "-ing"結尾。

I have been playing.

我已經彈了。

And then you can finish off the sentence, including details of the activity and how long it has been going on for, usually by adding the subject and then a time phrase.

然後你可以用動作的細節和持續的時間來完整句子，通常會放入主詞和時間片語。

I have been playing the piano all morning.

我已經彈了一整個早上的鋼琴。

Here's a pro tip: If you want to sound more like a native speaker, you can get a little bit lazy. 

這裡有個專業的小技巧：如果你想要聽起來更像英語母語人士，你可以懶惰一點。

We'll often use a contraction of the subject and "has" or "have", which means we shorten it to one word.

我們通常會把主詞跟 "has"或"have"縮寫在一起，也就是濃縮成一個字。

"I have" becomes "I've", "you have" becomes "you've", "they have" becomes "they've".

"I have"變成"I’ve"、"you have"變成"you’ve"、"they have" 變成"they've"。

"He has" becomes "he's", and "she has" becomes "she's".

"He has"變成"he’s"、"she has"變成"she’s"。

Oh! "Anna has" becomes "Anna's". 

"Anna has"變成"Anna’s"。

Anna's been teaching English all morning.

Anna一整個早上都在教英文。

Now, let's talk about those time phrases.

我們來看一些時間片語。

What's the difference between the word "for" and the word "since"?

"for"和"since"有什麼差別呢？

This is a very common mistake with non-native English speakers, so let's go through it carefully.

這是非英語母語人士很常犯的錯誤，我們來仔細看看。

The word "for" is used when you are talking about an amount of time.

"for" 是當你在講一段時間時使用。

Duration.

持續的時間。

For example, "She practiced the dance for 2 hours."

舉例來說「她已經練舞長達兩個小時。」

Or "I've been at the bus stop for half an hour."

或「我已經在公車站等了半個小時。」

The word "since" is used when you want to say the start time.

"since"是用在當你想講特定開始的時間。

For example, "I've been here since 6 o'clock." or "I've lived in this house since 2011."

例如「我從6點就在這裡了」或「我從2011年就住在這間屋子了」。

If you want to be less specific, you could say "for a while".

如果你想要不那麼明確的話，你可以說「一段時間」。

I've been thinking about it for a while.

我已經想了一段時間。

This usually means "quite a long time", but it's not a specific amount of time.

這通常代表「很長一段時間」但不是很明確的時間。

If you want to say you've not been doing something for a long time, but without being too specific, you could say "for a little while".

如果你想說你沒有做某件事很長一段時間，但又沒有太明確的話，你可以說「一下子」。

Anna, I'm sorry I'm late. Have you been waiting long?

Anna，我很抱歉我遲到了。妳等很久了嗎？

Only a little while.

只有等一下子。

Another time phrase you can use is "all", and then a longer time period.

另一個時間片語你可以用「整個」，再接上比較長的時間。

For example, "I've  been here all week." or "I've been trying to call you all month."

例如「我整個禮拜都在這裡」或「我整個月都在試著打給你」。

Again, this comes from native speakers being lazy.

同樣的，這也是由於英語母語人士的懶惰。

It actually means "for all of the".

事實上是"for all of the"的意思。

So, rather than saying, "I've been trying to find you for all of the day," a native speaker would simply say, "I've been trying to find you all day."

所以比起說「我一整天都試著去找到你」英語母語人士會簡略地說「我整天都在試著找你」。

So now, I'm going to say 5 sentences, leaving a space for the word "for" or "since".  

我現在要來出5個句子，挖空一格來填入"for"或"since"。

I'll pause for a few seconds between each one to let you think about your answer.

我會在句子中暫停幾秒讓你想好你的答案。

Ok, are we ready?

準備好了嗎？

Number one: I've been playing tennis ____ last year.

第一題：我____ 去年打網球。

And the answer is, "since". I've been  playing tennis since last year. 

答案是 "since"，我從去年就開始打網球。

Number two: He's been talking about it ___ weeks.

第二題：他已經說了 ___禮拜。

And the answer is, "for". He's been talking about it for weeks.

答案是 "for"，他已經說了好幾個禮拜。

Next question.

下一題。

Number three: They've been driving ____ hours.

第三題：他們已經開車____小時。

The answer is, "for". They've been driving for hours. 

答案是"for"，他們已經開車開了好幾個小時。

Question four: I've been dancing _____ I was 6 years old.

第四題：我跳舞_____我在6歲時。

The answer is, "since". I've been dancing since I was 6 years old. 

答案是"since"，我從6歲時就開始跳舞。

And the final question: She's been annoying me ____ all morning.

最後一題：她煩我____整個早上。

I'm sorry. That was a trick question.

對不起，這題是陷阱題。

We don't use "for" or "since" when we say "all morning", so the full sentence is: She's been annoying me all morning.

我們在說「整個早上」時，不會用"for"或"since"。所以整句話應該是：她整個早上都在煩我。

What was your score out of 5? Let me know in the comments section below.

你5題的分數如何？可以在底下的留言區告訴我。

Oh, and I noticed that a lot of you don't have your notifications turned on, so if I do a live lesson, how will you know about it?

我還注意到你們很多人都沒把通知鈕打開。這樣如果我放直播課程，你們要怎麼知道呢？

Guys, turn on your notifications, and don't forget, my regular lessons come out on Mondays and Fridays, so be sure to catch up.

打開通知鈕。別忘記了，我固定的課程是在禮拜一跟禮拜五播出，記得跟上我們。

Until next time, you could watch one of these lessons. See you soon. Bye.

下堂課開始之前，你可以去觀看這些課程。我們很快就會見面，掰掰。