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The Present perfect continuous

The present perfect continuous tense is used to describe situations or activities that started in the past and continue to the present, often accompanied by time expressions like 'since' and 'for'. It is commonly used in questions about duration, while avoiding state verbs and distinguishing itself from the present perfect tense, which focuses on the result of an activity. Key differences include the emphasis on ongoing actions in the present perfect continuous versus the completion or effect of actions in the present perfect.

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9 views

The Present perfect continuous

The present perfect continuous tense is used to describe situations or activities that started in the past and continue to the present, often accompanied by time expressions like 'since' and 'for'. It is commonly used in questions about duration, while avoiding state verbs and distinguishing itself from the present perfect tense, which focuses on the result of an activity. Key differences include the emphasis on ongoing actions in the present perfect continuous versus the completion or effect of actions in the present perfect.

Uploaded by

youcefmahdi1989
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Present perfect continuous

1. We use the present perfect continuous to talk about a situation


or activity that started in the past and has been in progress for a
period until now. Sometimes, we use the present perfect continuous
with expressions that indicate the time period. (e.g. with since and
for):
Ex: She's been living in New Zealand for over a year now.

I’ve been working as a lawyer since 2000.

2. The situation or activity may still be going on, or it may just have
stopped.

Ex: We’ve been living here for eight (8) years.

You look tired; have you been studying?

3. We often use the present perfect continuous when we ask questions


with How long...? and when we say how long something has been
in progress.
Ex: How long have you been waiting for me?

They have been watching TV for hours.

4. When we talk about situations or actions that went on over a past


period of time but finished at a particular point in time before now,
we do not use the present perfect continuous.
Ex: I was reading until midnight last night, (Not I have been reading...)

5. Like when using the present continuous & the past continuous; we
generally avoid the present perfect continuous with verbs that
describe states.

Some of these verbs are:


Agree, assume, believe, belong to, contain, cost, disagree, feel, hate,
have, hope, know, like, look, love, own, prefer, realize, regret, resemble,
smell, taste…etc

The main differences between the present perfect continuous & the
present perfect:
1. We use both the present perfect continuous and the present
perfect to talk about something that started in the past and
which affects the situation that exists now. The difference is
that the present perfect continuous focuses on the activity or
event which may or may not be finished. The present perfect,
however, focuses on the effect of the activity or event, or the
fact that something has been achieved.
Ex: I’ve been a lawyer for 20 years. (I’m no longer a lawyer)
I’ve been teaching since 8 o’clock. (I’m still teaching)

2. We said that we use the present perfect continuous when we


ask questions with How long...? and when we say how long
something has been in progress.
We use the present perfect to say how much, how many, and
how many times sth has happened.
Ex: How many times have you read that book?

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