BASICS OF

PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
TENSE
Presented by,
ELIAZER T
 INTRODUCTION

1. This tense expresses an action that started in the past and

continued to present or recently stopped. It is used to state an
ongoing action that has started at a point in the past.
2. A time-reference is also used in the sentence to show that when
the action started in the past or for how long the action continued.
3. The specific words ‘since’ and ‘for” are used in sentence to
show the time of action. The word ‘Since’ is used if the exact
starting time (e.g. since Monday, since 3 P.M) of action is known
or intended to be reflected in the sentence.
4. The word ‘for’ is used to express the amount of time (e.g. for three
hours, for six months) for which the action was continued.
 Structure of Sentence.

Main verb: Present Participle (Base form + ing)

e.g. going, eating.
Auxiliary verb: Have been, Has been

Note:
* If the subject of sentence is “She, he, it, or a singular
noun”, the auxiliary verb “has been” is used.
*If the subject of sentence is “they, you, or a plural
noun”, the auxiliary verb “have been” is used.
 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE FORM
POSITIVE FORM
A)Subject + Auxiliary verb + Main verb +
Time-reference
B)Subject + Have been / Has been +Present
Participle (verb+ing) + Time-reference
EXAMPLES
>He has been living in New York since 1993.
>She has been working in an organization since
2005.
>He has been studying this book for three
months.
>She has been listening to music for two hours.
>I have been watching the movie since 3
O’clock.
NEGATIVE
FORM
A)Subject + Auxiliary verb + Main verb + Time-
reference
B)Subject + Have not been / Has not been +
Present Participle (verb+ing) + Time-
reference
EXAMPLES
>He has not been working in factor since 2007.
>She has not been studying her books for five
days.
>They have not been coming to office since
January 2012.
>I have not been sleeping for three days.
>He has not been watching television since
Saturday.
 INTERROGATIVE
Format: FORM
● Has/Have +Subject + Been + Present Participle (verb+ing) +
+ Time-reference
Examples:
● Have you been going to your college since 2012?
● Has he been working as a teacher for three years?
● Has she been writing the report since 7th August 2011?
● Have they been making a noise for one hour?
● Have they been watching the same movie for seven days?
● Has he been using his car for three years?
Present Perfect Continuous Uses

USE 1: Duration from the Past Until Now

>>We use the present perfect continuous to show that something started
in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for
two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used
with the present perfect continuous.
Examples:
>They have been talking for the last hour.
>She has been working at that company for three years.
>What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?
>James has been teaching at the university since June.
>We have been waiting here for over two hours!
>Why has Nancy not been taking her medicine for the last three days?
 Present Perfect Continuous Uses
USE 2 -Recently, Lately

We can also use the present perfect continuous WITHOUT a duration

such as "for two weeks." Without the duration, the tense has a more
general meaning of "lately." We often use the words "lately" or
"recently" to emphasize this meaning.

Examples:
● Recently, I have been feeling really tired.
● She has been watching too much television lately.
● Have you been exercising lately?
● Mary has been feeling a little depressed.
● Lisa has not been practicing her English.
● What have you been doing?
Thanks for watching!

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