Present Perfect Continuous

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Definition: The Present Perfect Continuous tense describes actions that started in the past and are still continuing or have recently stopped, emphasizing the duration or the process of the action.

 

Structure: Subject + have/has + been + verb + -ing

Forms:

  1. Positive Sentences:
    • I have been (I’ve been) eating.
    • You have been (You’ve been) eating.
    • He/She/It has been (He’s/She’s/It’s been) eating.
    • We have been (We’ve been) eating.
    • They have been (They’ve been) eating.
  2. Negative Sentences:
    • I have not (haven’t) been eating.
    • You have not (haven’t) been eating.
    • He/She/It has not (hasn’t) been eating.
    • We have not (haven’t) been eating.
    • They have not (haven’t) been eating.
  3. Questions:
    • Have I been eating?
    • Have you been eating?
    • Has he/she/it been eating?
    • Have we been eating?
    • Have they been eating?

Uses:

  1. Actions that started in the past and are still continuing:
    • I have been studying for three hours.
    • She has been working here since 2010.
  2. Actions that have recently stopped but have present results:
    • He is tired because he has been running.
    • They are wet because they have been swimming.
  3. Emphasizing the duration or process of an action:
    • We have been waiting for the bus for 20 minutes.
    • You have been talking on the phone for a long time.

Signal Words:

  • For
  • Since
  • All day/week/month/year
  • Recently
  • Lately

Examples:

  1. Actions continuing:
    • She has been reading that book for two hours.
    • They have been living in New York since January.
  2. Recent actions with present results:
    • I am dirty because I have been gardening.
    • He has been working hard, so he is very tired.
  3. Emphasizing duration:
    • We have been learning English for five years.
    • She has been practicing the piano all day.

Common Mistakes:

  1. Using the wrong form of ‘have/has’:
    • Incorrect: She have been eating.
    • Correct: She has been eating.
  2. Forgetting ‘been’:
    • Incorrect: I have eating.
    • Correct: I have been eating.
  3. Using Present Perfect Continuous for non-continuous verbs:
    • Incorrect: I have been knowing the answer.
    • Correct: I have known the answer.

Non-continuous verbs: These verbs are usually not used in the Present Perfect Continuous tense because they describe states rather than actions. Common non-continuous verbs include:

  • Like, love, hate
  • Want, need
  • Know, understand, believe
  • See, hear, smell, taste
  • Belong, own, possess

Examples of non-continuous verbs:

  • I have known her for a long time. (Not: I have been knowing her for a long time.)
  • He has always loved chocolate. (Not: He has been loving chocolate.)

Present Perfect Continuous Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks with the Correct Present Perfect Continuous Form

Fill in the blanks with the correct present perfect continuous form of the verbs in parentheses.

  1. She __________ (read) that book for hours.
  2. They __________ (play) soccer since this morning.
  3. I __________ (work) on this project for two weeks.
  4. He __________ (study) for the exam all day.
  5. We __________ (wait) for the bus for twenty minutes.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the Sentences in Negative Form

Rewrite the following sentences in the present perfect continuous negative form.

  1. She has been reading that book for hours.
  2. They have been playing soccer since this morning.
  3. I have been working on this project for two weeks.
  4. He has been studying for the exam all day.
  5. We have been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.

Exercise 3: Form Questions from the Given Sentences

Form questions from the following statements in the present perfect continuous tense.

  1. She has been reading that book for hours.
  2. They have been playing soccer since this morning.
  3. I have been working on this project for two weeks.
  4. He has been studying for the exam all day.
  5. We have been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.
 

Exercise 1

  1. has been reading
  2. have been playing
  3. have been working
  4. has been studying
  5. have been waiting

Exercise 2

  1. She has not (hasn’t) been reading that book for hours.
  2. They have not (haven’t) been playing soccer since this morning.
  3. I have not (haven’t) been working on this project for two weeks.
  4. He has not (hasn’t) been studying for the exam all day.
  5. We have not (haven’t) been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.
Exercise 3
  1. has been working
  2. have been living
  3. have been learning
  4. has been cooking
  5. have been exercising

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