PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Present Perfect Continuous

Quick example:

• I have been working as a teacher for 30 years.
• What have you been doing?

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The Present Perfect Continuous (Progressive) has a long and scary name. But don't worry! Read on to learn how to use it.

Use

1. Actions that started in the past and continue in the present
2. Actions that have recently stopped

USE 1: Continuation in the Present

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We use the Present Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and continues in the present.

Examples:

• He has been painting the house for 5 hours. (He's still painting it)
• I have been working as a fireman since 1973. (I still work as a fireman)

USE 2: Past actions recently stopped

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Use this tense also to talk about actions that began in the past and have recently stopped.

Examples:

• I have been waiting for you for half an hour! (I'm not waiting anymore because you have come)
• Look at her eyes! I'm sure she has been crying. (She stopped crying when she saw them)

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: "What have you been doing?". The boy replies: "Nothing, mum".

• Why is this in Present Perfect Continuous? Click on the button labeled "event 1". You can see that the boy is playing a computer game. Now click on the button labeled "event 2". In this scene, someone knocks at the door. It's his mother. In the next scene, she asks him "what have you been doing?". The use of Present Perfect Continuous is correct here because in this last scene Marcus no longer is playing a computer game (he stopped the moment he heard someone knocking at the door). This is exactly use 2 described above.

For and Since...

"Since" and "for" are very common time expressions used with the Present Perfect Continuous.
We use "for" with a period of time, for example:

• I have been living here for 20 years.

When talking about a starting point, we use "since", for example:

• I have been living here since 1960.

Form

To form a sentence in the Present Perfect Continuous, what you need is:

1. The proper conjugation of the auxiliary verb "to have".
2. The auxiliary verb "to be" in the Past Participle form: "been".
3. The Present Participle of your verb (verb + ing)

1. Auxiliary Verb "to have"
We conjugate the auxiliary verb "to have" the same way we would conjugate the normal verb "to have".

Person	Singular	Plural

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I have	We have
Second	You have	You have
Third	He/she/it has	They have

As you can see, the third person singular is irregular.

More examples:

• She has never seen my brother.
• Neither of my brothers has ever driven a truck.

2. Auxiliary verb "to be"
The past participle of the verb "to be" is "been". This is also an auxiliary verb, and you must never forget about it!

• I have working as a teacher for 10 years.

• I have been working as a teacher for 10 years.>

3. The Present Participle
The present participle is of a verb is a verb form that appears with the present tenses. The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the verb.

• talk + ing = talking
• be + ing = being

There are exceptions.

Positive Sentences

Subject	+	Auxiliary verb	+	Auxiliary verb	+	Verb + ing
e.g. I/a dog etc.		has/have		been		e.g. swimming/talking etc.

Examples		Use
	Have you been running?	(Use 2)
	Has Tom been walking the dog?	(Use 2)
	How long have you been learning English?	(Use 1)
	Q: What have you been doing there? A: I've been eating	(Use 1 or Use 2)

Questions

Auxiliary verb	+	Subject	+	Auxiliary verb	+	Verb + ing
has/have		e.g. I/a dog etc.		been		e.g. swimming/talking etc.

Examples		Use
	Have you ever seen this program?	(Use 1)
	Where has she lived for the past 21 years?	(Use 3)
	Have you found the telephone number?	(Use 1,2)
	Have you ever been to France?	(Use 1)
	Has anyone taken my bag?	(Use 1,2)

Negative Sentences

Subject	+	Auxiliary verb	+	Auxiliary verb	+	Verb + ing
e.g. I/a dog etc.		has not/have not		been		e.g. swimming/talking etc.

Examples		Use
	He hasn't taken any drug for two years	(Use 3)
	I haven't met my perfect partner yet	(Use 3)
	They haven't contacted you, have they?	(Use 1)