The 7.15 to Nowhere — Present Perfect + for / since (B1 Grammar)

B1 - How long ... ? (for & since)

7.15 to Nowhere

PICTURE

(you add this)

Every morning he puts on his suit, kisses his wife goodbye — and sits in a library.

Present perfect + *for / since* · present perfect continuous · *How long...?*

Reading

Speaking

LEAD-IN

One in five

In one survey, 1 in 5 people admitted they had kept a major secret from their family for over a year. Discuss.

1. What kinds of secrets do people keep?

2. Which kind would be hardest to keep?

3. Is there a secret that is kinder to keep than to tell?

PICTURE

(you add this)

BEFORE YOU READ

The 7.15 to nowhere

The text you are going to read is called "The 7.15 to nowhere". A 54-year-old man leaves home in a suit every morning.

PREDICT

PICTURE

1. What do you think his secret is?

2. Who does he live with?

3. Read and check your ideas.

(you add this)

READING

The 7.15 to nowhere

Every weekday morning, Kenji, 54, puts on his suit, kisses his wife goodbye, and catches the 7.15 train into the city. He carries a briefcase. He buys the same coffee from the same kiosk. Then he sits in a public library until 5.30 p.m., because Kenji hasn't had a job since February.

"I've been doing this for six months," he says quietly. "My wife thinks I've been going to the office all this time. I haven't been able to tell her."

Kenji worked for the same electronics company for twenty-six years. When the company restructured, men of his age were the first to go. "I've known my wife since university. She has never seen me fail at anything. How do I start that conversation?"

His days have a strict routine. He's been applying for jobs every morning — he's written over two hundred applications. In the afternoons he's been studying English and bookkeeping. Lately, though, the routine has been getting harder to maintain. "The money from my final salary has almost gone. I've been taking small amounts from our savings and my wife has started to notice. Last week she asked me why my suit doesn't smell like the office any more."

Counsellor Aiko Mori has been working with unemployed executives for over a decade, and she says Kenji's case is far from unique. "These men haven't been lying because they don't love their families," she says. "They've been lying because they do. The shame is enormous. But every week that passes makes the truth more expensive."

COMPREHENSION

Complete each sentence with a number or time expression from the text.

1. Kenji has been pretending to go to work for ____________.

2. He hasn't had a job since ____________.

3. He worked at the company for ____________ years.

4. He has known his wife since ____________.

5. Aiko Mori has been working with unemployed executives for ____________.

DISCUSSION

Kenji's secret

1. Should Kenji's wife forgive him when she finds out?

2. Is a lie like this ever kind?

3. Who is more responsible for the situation — Kenji, or a culture where failure is unspeakable?

GRAMMAR FOCUS

Started in the past — still true now?

a) I've known my wife since university.

b) I've been doing this for six months.

c) He worked for the same company for twenty-six years.

d) She's been cutting onions. (someone's eyes are red)

1. In (a) and (b), did the situation start in the past? Is it still true now?

2. (a) is present perfect simple; (b) is present perfect continuous. Know is a non-action verb, do is an action verb. Which type takes the continuous?

3. Look at (c). Kenji does not work there any more. Which tense do we use for a finished period?

4. In (d), is she still cutting onions? What does the present perfect continuous suggest here?

GRAMMAR FOCUS (continued)

for or since? Sort these time expressions into the table.

six months · February · university · twenty-six years · 2011 · a decade · last week

FOR + a period of time

SINCE + a point in time

THE RULES

Complete the rules

• Present perfect + for / since with non-action verbs (know, have, be, like): situations that started in the past and are still true. NOT I know her for ten years.

• Present perfect ________ (have / has been + -ing) with action verbs: actions that started in the past and continue now, or very recent actions with present results.

• Use ________ + a period of time. Use ________ + a point in time.

CAREFUL

For a finished period, go back to the past simple: He worked there for ten years, but he left in May.

PRACTICE

Correct the mistake in each sentence. Two sentences are already correct.

1. Kenji is unemployed since February.

2. How long do you know your husband?

3. I've been having this phone since 2022.

4. She's been crying — her eyes are red.

5. We don't see each other for ages!

6. He works at that company for ten years, but he left in May.

7. They've been going out together since about three years.

8. My neighbour has been playing the drums for two hours. Two. Hours.

SPEAKING

"How long...?"

Interview your partner. Follow up every answer: Really? Since when? How's it been going?

• Their home.

• Their oldest friendship.

• Their current job or studies.

• A skill they are learning.

• A habit they cannot quit.

PICTURE

(you add this)

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key

COMPREHENSION 1 six months · 2 February · 3 twenty-six · 4 university · 5 over a decade.

GRAMMAR FOCUS 1 Yes; yes. 2 Action verbs. 3 Past simple. 4 She has probably just finished — a recent action with a present result (red eyes).

FOR / SINCE for: six months, twenty-six years, a decade. since: February, university, 2011, last week.

RULES continuous · for · since

PRACTICE 1 Kenji has been unemployed since February.

2 How long have you known your husband?

3 I've had this phone since 2022 (have = possession, so no continuous).

4 correct.

5 We haven't seen each other for ages!

6 He worked at that company for ten years (finished period).

7 ...for about three years.

8 correct.