Present Perfect Continuous

(I have been doing)

Have/has been -ing

Have/has been ing is the present perfect

continuous:

I/we/they/you have (= Ive, etc.)

he/she/it has (= hes,
etc.)

been

doing, waiting,
playing, etc.

Present perfect continuous

The present continuous describes what a person

is doing.
The present perfect continuous tells how long a
person has been doing that action.

Ex.

Katie is delivering mail.

She has been delivering mail for two hours.
she has been working for the post office since 1997.

Present perfect continuous

The present perfect continuous talks

about an action that started in the past
and continues in the present. The action is
not yet complete. It tells how long the
action has been in progress.

He has been washing windows since 8:00.

They have been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.

Present perfect continuous

I
You
have
We
since 8:00.
They
been working
for two hours.
He
She
It

has

Since & For

You can use the present perfect continuous for
actions that are repeated over a period of time:

Debbie is a very good tennis player. Shes been

playing since she was eight.
Every morning they meet in the same caf.
Theyve been going there for years.

For and since

For shows an amount of time.

for three hours
for ten days

Since tells when an action started

since 2:00
since he came to the United States

For and since

For
For shows an amount of time:

Since
Since tells when an action started:

for a few minutes

since 2:00

for three weeks

since 1998

for two years

since Sunday
since she began her new job

How long questions

How long has she been looking for a job?
How long have they been living in the city?

How long have you (been)?

I have known/had/lived/work etc., is the
present perfect simple.
I have been learning/been waiting/been
doing, etc., is the present perfect
continuous.

In most situations with how long, since, and

for, the continuous is more usual:
Ive been studying English for six months.
(more usual than Ive studied)
Its been raining since lunchtime.
Richard has been doing the same job for
20 years.
How long have you been driving?
Since I was 17.

Present Perfect

Present Perfect Continuous

Express repeated actions in the past

Express the duration of an activity that

is in progress

Ann has talked to John on the phone

many times.

Ann has been talking to John on the

phone for twenty minutes.

But some verbs (for example, know/like/believe) are not normally

used in the continuous:
How long have you known Jane?
(not have you been knowing)
You can use either the present perfect continuous or present perfect
simple with live and work:
John has been living / has lived in Denver for a long time.
How long have you been working / have you worked here?
But we use the simple (Ive done / Ive lived, etc.) with always:
John has always lived in Denver. (not has always been living)
We use the present perfect simple in negative sentences like these:
I havent seen Tom since Monday.
(= Monday was the last time I saw him)
Jane hasnt called me for two weeks.
(= the last time she called was two weeks ago)

Use the information below to make sentences using the present perfect
continuous. (use since or for)
Tim started writing his book about shipwrecks in 1998. Its 2003 now.
Tims been writing his book for five years.
2. Ally is waiting for Ethan. They agreed to meet at seven. Its now seven forty-five.
__________________________________
3. She began working at that office in March of last year.
___________________________________
4. The helicopter started the search for survivors yesterday morning.
___________________________________
1.

George/ very tired/ work for two days without sleep.

George is very tired because hes been working for two days without sleep.
5. Gary / asleep/ watch Baywatch videos for three hours.
________________________________________

Practice:
use the present perfect or the present perfect continuous
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The zoo isnt far from here. I (walk)______there many times.

Im tired. We (walk) _________for over an hour. Lets stop and rest
for a while.
Mr. Curtis (work) ______at this company for fifteen years. He likes
his job.
I (read) ________this chapter in my chemistry text three times, and
I still dont understand it!
My eyes are getting tired. I (read) _______for two hours. I think Ill
take a break.