has been playing football vs has played football

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Verona_82

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Hello,

I've got a question regarding the use of the present pefect and present perfect progressive. There's a picture of Tom's room, which is a terrible mess. Studens are supposed to find clues that show what Tom has done / has been doing. For example, there's an apple core, a crushed Cola can, a bin with a car magazine in it, a soaking wet towel, a deck of cards with some cards lying around, a pair of boots with a dirty football next to them, and a guitar on the bed.

The key reads

1. He has eaten an apple - ok,
2. He has drunk some Coke - ok,
3. He has read a car magazine - ok,
4. He has been swimming - ok,
5. He has played football - ?
6. He has played cards - ?
7. He has played the guitar - ?

I'd use the progressive in 5, 6 and 7, because there is some evidence for the process that was taking place.
Could anybody comment on that, please?

Thank you.
 

5jj

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This is one of those unhelpful exercises where the writer has tried hard to create a context in which only one form is possible - and has failed. When the evidence of the recent activities is clearly before us, then we can use the progressive form in all the answers.
 

Verona_82

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Thank you!
Is there a book with good grammar exercises? The one a native teacher would recommend? I guess I should go to another forum with this question.
 

5jj

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Is there a book with good grammar exercises? .
In my opinion, no. Raymond Murphy's Murphy's Essential Grammar in Use and English Grammar in Use have worked well for many learners and teacher's over the years, but they are not perfect. I doubt if any book of grammar exercises can be perfect.

The main problem is that the creators of exercises are trying to create situations with (for reasons of space) very little context, in which case only one form is possible. In real life, it is often possible to produce an acceptable alternative.

The inexperienced teacher may reject a perfectly acceptable answer, because it is not what the exercise is designed to elicit. This may cause problems for the learner later - and may even cause problems for the teacher at the time if the learner knows their answer is acceptable.
 
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