This post will teach you Present Perfect Continuous grammar step by step. Learn with charts, images, and lots of natural examples. You will also find some audio/video clips in this post so you can review this grammar while you improve your English listening skills.
The present perfect continuous (also known as the present perfect progressive) is have/has + been + the continuous tense of a verb. (Continuous tense is verb ~ing.) This verb tense has a connection to events happening now. “I’ve been studying all night.”
Enjoy this grammar resource and be sure to download the free 17-page Present Perfect Continuous grammar PDF so you can study and review anytime offline.
Present perfect continuous English grammar is sometimes called the present perfect progressive.
It uses the verb HAVE/HAS plus BEEN (the past participle of TO BE) followed by a verb in its continuous (progressive) form VERB+ING.
| I/we/they/you have he/she/it has | been | waiting studying raining |
This grammar pattern talks about a past action that still continues. It’s connected to what is happening now.
We can also use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an activity that has stopped recently.
(The act of looking has just stopped. A new teacher has been found.)
The present perfect continuous references how long an activity has been happening. We often use it with adverbs and expressions of time.
We often use the Present Perfect Continuous with since and for to talk about how long something has been happening.
More examples with adverbs of time:
*Both of these examples talk about an activity that is still happening. My brother still works at the movie theater and I still train in Jiu-Jitsu.
*The activity (raining) has recently finished in this example. It’s not raining now but the fact that it has been raining a lot this week has an effect on the condition of the field now. It is wet.
More Examples
*They started the renovations 5 months ago and they haven’t finished yet. It still continues. (renovations is the noun form of the verb renovate)
renovate verb to repair and paint an old building, a piece of furniture, etc. so that it is in good condition again
Listen to the audio for these 5 examples
The present perfect uses the past participle verb tense to talk about a finished action. The present perfect continuous talks about an activity that still continues. Let’s compare two example sentences.
Present Perfect
*This sentence is from my present perfect post.
(MADE is the past participle of the verb TO MAKE)
An accident happened and it has caused people to be more careful. It had an effect on people.
[The accident is the subject of our sentence and it is over now, it does not continue.]
Present Perfect Continuous
The sign is causing people to be more careful. It is still having an effect on people.
[The sign is the subject of our sentence and it continues to be seen by people. It continues to have an effect on people.]
This comparison can be confusing because both actions result in people becoming more careful.
The subjects of our sentences are different and that’s why the grammar is not the same.
| An accident happened | It is finished | present perfect |
| A sign was put up | It continues to be seen | present perfect continuous |
We use present perfect grammar in the first sentence, the accident is finished, and present perfect continuous grammar in the second, the sign continues to be seen.
These 2 questions both include the question phrase how long and are asking about an amount of time. We can answer with an amount of time (FOR an amount of time) or SINCE a specific time in the past until now.
A: How long has your brother been working at the movie theater?
B: 11 months . (He has been working there FOR 11 months.)
A: How long have you been training Jiu-Jitsu?
B: SINCE I was 21. (I have been training Jiu-Jitsu from the time I was 21 years old until now.)
We can also ask questions using this grammar that start with have or has.
This question doesn’t ask about an amount of time. It is asking if Alex has been doing something recently that still continues.
These kinds of questions need a YES or NO answer.
B: Wow Alex you look great! Have you been working out?
A: YES I have, thanks. I joined the gym at my school last month.
The negative form will use the auxiliary verbs haven’t and hasn’t been.
Lisa: Hi Jeff, sorry I’m late. Thanks for waiting.
Jeff: It’s okay, I haven’t been waiting long.
“I haven’t been working out very often this year. Time to get back to the gym!”
A: “Terry is a good guitar player.”
B: “He has natural talent. He sounds like a pro already and he hasn’t even been playing very long.”
(Learn how to use the adverb EVEN here.)
In spoken English, we use contractions a lot. You will hear these contractions used very often in natural conversation.
Contractions of HAVE and HAS
The verb HAVE is written/spoken as the contraction ‘VE for these subjects.
| I have | I’ve |
| You have | You’ve |
| We have | We’ve |
| They have | They’ve |
The Third Person Singular of the verb HAVE is HAS.
HAS is written/spoken as the contraction ‘S for the Third Person Singular
| He has | He’s |
| She has | She’s |
| It has | It’s |
The Third Person Singular form of the verb TO BE is IS. The verb IS is written/spoken as the contraction ‘S. (The same as HAS)
| He is | He’s |
| She is | She’s |
| It is | It’s |
Learn more about Third Person English grammar at my helpful blog post here >
Worldenglishblog.com/third-person-singular-grammar
How Do I Know If A Contraction is HAS or IS?
In English the contractions for HE HAS and HE IS are the same. (‘S)
Here is an easy way to tell if the contraction is for HAS or IS. Please look at the following example.
= He is busy. He has been working hard all week.
IS Contraction
In English, adjectives will be followed by a form of the verb TO BE.
*From our example sentence the word busy is an adjective so we know it follows a form of the verb TO BE. The contraction must be IS.
Present continuous tense verbs (that end in ~ing) will also follow a form of the verb TO BE.
HAS Contraction
The verb HAS will be followed by the PAST PARTICIPLE form of a verb when it is used with the perfect tense.
From our example sentence, the word BEEN is the past participle of the verb TO BE so we know that the contraction must be HAS.
Again, the past participle SEEN follows the contraction ‘s, so we know the contraction must be HAS in this sentence.
| Subject is (‘s) + ADJECTIVE | She’s tall. – IS |
| Subject is (‘s) + CONTINUOUS TENSE | She’s riding the bus. – IS |
| Subject has (‘s) + PAST PARTICIPLE | She’s seen the movie. – HAS |
From The News
[The world is getting lots of news about the spread of this virus. Since I wrote this post we continue to get news updates.]
[Immigration staff started screening passengers last week, and this action continues until now. *The time of writing this post.] Update 2022 – Everyone must show a negative COVID-19 test before getting on the plane, not only people who visited Wuhan.
screening noun the testing or examining of a large number of people or things for disease, faults, etc.
News update (2022)
She-Hulk Episode 5 Teases the Moment Marvel Fans Have Been Waiting For LINK
Here are answers to some great questions that I get from my private students.
1) What’s the difference between Present Perfect Continuous Vs. Continuous Tense?
The present perfect continuous and the continuous tenses are both used to talk about something that is happening now.
Continuous tense only tells us what is happening.
Present Perfect Continuous is used with prepositions and adverbs of time to give us more information.
Compare
Continuous
Present Perfect Continuous
2) What’s the difference between What are you doing? and What have you been doing?
The question ‘What are you doing?’ is asking about this exact moment.
Sarah: Hey Jennifer what are you doing?
Jennifer: Hi Sarah, I’m just watching TV. (This means I’m watching TV right now.)
The question ‘What have you been doing?’ is asking more about things you have been doing lately or recently, not at this exact moment. Here’s a conversation where it’s natural to use this question.
Sarah: Hey Jennifer, I heard you got a promotion, congratulations.
Jennifer: Hi Sarah, Thanks, how about you? What have you been doing recently?
I made some changes to this blog post so I adjusted this PDF from its original version. Even if you have already downloaded this PDF once, I recommend getting the upgrade.
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