The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar with Exercises

Present perfect continuous

Form: present perfect continuous

Present perfect continuous with FOR and SINCE

Present perfect continuous for continuous events that have just finished

Present perfect continuous for habitual actions

Form: present perfect continuous

HAVE/HAS + BEEN + PRESENT PARTICIPLE (VERB-ING)

The present perfect continuous (also called the present perfect progressive) is formed with have/has (the present tense forms of have) + been (the past participle form of be) + the present participle -ing form of the verb.

Affirmative

Subject

Auxiliary

Verb (present participle)

I

have

been

working

all week.

You

We

You

They

He/She/It

has

The following contracted forms are often used in spoken and in informal written language:

I have

»

I've

you have

»

you've

he/she/it has

»

he's/she's/it's

we have

»

we've

you have

»

you've

they have

»

they've

Negative

Subject

Auxiliary 1

not

Auxiliary 2

Verb (present participle)

I

have

not

been

working

all week.

You

We

You

They

He/She/It

has

The contracted forms haven't and hasn't are often used instead of have not and has not in spoken and in informal written language.

Interrogative

(Question word)

Auxiliary 1

Subject

Auxiliary 2

Verb (present participle)

(Why)

have

I

been

working

all week?

you

we

you

they

has

he/she/it

Related topics:

The forms of the participle

Subject-auxiliary inversion in questions

Present perfect continuous with FOR and SINCE

The question words how long? and since when?, and the prepositions for and since are used with the present perfect continuous tense to express events that started in the past and are still in progress in the present. How long? and for refer to an incomplete period of time, while since when? and since refer to a point in time:

I'

ve been waiting

for you

for ages

.

He

has been living

here

since last week

.

"

How long have

you

been learning

Spanish?" "For two months."

"

Since when have

they

been dating

?" "Since October."

The point in time after since can also be expressed with a clause containing a verb in the past simple:

He has been living here

since he started school

.

They have been dating

since they first met last May

.

Related topics:

Present perfect with FOR and SINCE

Past perfect continuous for continuous events in the past

Future perfect continuous for continuous events in the future

Present perfect continuous for continuous events that have just finished

The present perfect continuous tense is used to refer to continuous events that started in the past and have just finished but have a result in or an effect on the present moment. A time expression is not necessary:

I'

ve been working

on the computer all day. My eyes are sore.

Your clothes are filthy! What

have

you

been doing

?

I'

ve been writing

this letter all week.

Present perfect continuous for habitual actions

The present perfect continuous is used to express repeated or habitual actions happening in an incomplete period of time. A time expression is usually necessary:

She

has been getting up

at 6 for the last two weeks.

I'

ve been coughing

all day.

Related topics:

Past perfect continuous for habitual actions in the past