Present Perfect Continuous

Uncover the intricacies of the Present Perfect Continuous tense in English grammar with our comprehensive guide! Explore how this tense is used to convey actions or states that began in the past and continue into the present. Master the nuances and elevate your language proficiency with practical examples and insights. Watch now and take your English skills to the next level!

Grammar

Practice how to use Present Perfect Continuous.

Title: Present Perfect Continuous Made Easy

Introduction:

Host: Hello and welcome to the English Magnet. Today’s video: The Present Perfect Continuous Made Easy! We’re dealing with a typical verb tense in the English language with some interesting eccentricities. Buckle up as we’ll clarify any ambiguity with the present perfect continuous. We’ll cover its structure, different applications, the related key time words, and common mistakes to keep in mind. Ok, let’s get to work!

Part 1: Structure of the Present Perfect Continuous

Ok, the present perfect continuous consists of three words; an auxiliary (have or has) ‘has’ is only used with ‘he/she/it’, another auxiliary; the past participle of the verb to be ‘been’ and a present participle (the -ing form of a verb). Your two auxiliaries don’t carry the action, the last word (the ing form) is the actual action! Anyhow, you just need to memorize the following: subject + have/has + been + -ing form. Example:

I have been talking.

You have been cooking.

He has been sleeping.

Go ahead and use a ‘subject/have/has’ contraction if you feel like it:

I’ve been talking.

You’ve been cooking.

He’s been sleeping.

Just remember that in this case apostrophe s isn’t the contraction of ‘is’. You can be sure it’s ‘has’ because it is followed by ‘been’.

When forming a negative just plug ‘not’ between the two auxiliaries:

I have not been talking.

You have not been cooking.

He has not been sleeping.

Here, the most common contraction is with have/has and ‘not’ giving you haven’t or hasn’t, but you can keep the contraction of the subject and have/has + not to emphasize the negative form:

I haven’t been talking. or I’ve not been talking.

You haven’t been cooking. or you’ve not been cooking.

He hasn’t been sleeping. or he’s not been sleeping.

When using the present perfect continuous in a question just flip the order of the subject and have/has.

Have I been talking?

Have you been cooking?

Has he been sleeping?

Question words can be added at the very beginning of the sentence to form open questions:

(Why) have I been talking?

(Where) have you been cooking?

(How long) has he been sleeping?

Lastly, you can also form negative questions by adding not in its usual spot or form a contraction:

(Why) have I not been talking? or (Why) haven’t I been talking?

(Where) have you not been cooking? or (Where) haven’t you been cooking?

(How long) has he not been sleeping? or (How long) hasn’t he been sleeping?

Only the ing form can cause some headache due to some spelling exceptions. Remember to drop the final ‘e’ before adding ‘ing’ to the main verb (score-scoring, capture-capturing) Another headache: if the verb ends in -ee, you keep both Es (disagree-disagreeing, see-seeing). (be-being, but you won’t encounter this form in the present perfect continuous, it’s too awkward).

Also double the final consonant of short verbs ending with a vowel and consonant (plan-planning, plug-plugging). (don’t double ‘w’ and ‘x’)

Finally, watch out for verbs ending in -ie and -c. Change their ending a bit; ie turns into y (die-dying) and c needs to be followed with a k (traffic-trafficking).

Part 2: Uses

Now, on to when we use the present perfect continuous. It can be tricky to use in the right circumstances especially when the present perfect, present continuous or present simple might seem appropriate as well.

Look, the present perfect continuous is a bit like an unfinished construction project: each brick laid, each beam installed, and each wall painted represents a continuous action that started in the past and is still ongoing in the present. Just as the construction work progresses steadily, the present perfect continuous emphasizes actions or activities that have been happening over a period of time and are still in progress at the present moment. Ok, enough with the analogy, let’s look at concrete examples:

1) It can be used to talk about a continuous action. That one is pretty obvious, I mean, it’s even in the name 😉 (continuous is highlighted) An action which started in the past and is ongoing in the present. (timeline shown)

Example: Sheila has been driving for six hours straight. Driving started six hours ago and Sheila is still driving at the moment. It highlights what she is doing at the moment and for how long she’s been doing it.

Example: We have been reading this book since we woke up. Reading started when people woke up and it is still happening now, must be a great read!

2) It can be used to talk about recurrent ongoing actions. Similarly to the first case, the action began in the past and is still happening in the present. The distinction is that the action is actually a series of the same action happening over a period of time and it is still expected to happen.

Example: They’ve been attending yoga classes twice a week since February. Attending the yoga classes started in the past and is expected to continue. It’s not continuous per se, how long can someone practice yoga? However the frequency of the action is continuous.

Example: My colleague has been renovating her house for the past few weeks. Renovating started in the past and continues to this day. Obviously, we don’t expect the colleague to be constantly renovating the house but rather we understand that the renovations are a work in progress up to now.

3) It can be used to express the cause of a current situation. That one is less obvious. That’s because the action is actually recently completed but its effect is felt in the present moment. Here the effect is ongoing but not the action itself.

Example: Anita is out of breath because she’s been running. The running is over but it explains why Anita is panting and breathless; its effect is still relevant to the present moment.

Example: The chef has been cooking the meal and it is ready to be served. The cooking is over, but man oh man can you smell that? Probably not, but you know what I mean… people can now eat and that’s a direct consequence of the chef’s hard work.

Part 3: Key time words

Time words are crucial in the present perfect continuous tense because they provide context and clarify the action’s duration or starting point. The following list includes the most common ones.

1) Asking questions about duration: how long

Use how long when asking about the time span of a current action. Just remember the inversion of have/has and the subject since you’re forming a question.

Example: How long have you been watching this video? The video is being watched right now and the action is continuing… hopefully ;). (without skipping, you’ve been watching about 10 minutes, thank you!)

How long has she been learning Arabic? The learning process is ongoing, she started learning in the past and still learns to this day.

2) Talking about a period of time: for

Use for to refer to a period of time. Add a length of time, not a precise moment such as 2 weeks, the entire morning or a few minutes.

Example: We haven’t been eating anything for 24 hours. Not eating is currently happening and it has lasted 24 hours and counting.

She has been jogging for twenty minutes. Jogging is happening now and has lasted 20 minutes so far.

3) Talking about a starting point: since

Use since to refer to the starting point of an ongoing action. Add a specific date, time or event such as yesterday, 5 o’clock or the start of the meeting.

Example: The baby has been sleeping since 9 o’clock. The sleeping is ongoing and it started at 9 o’clock… now that’s one action most people hope will go on for as long as possible.

The baker has been volunteering at the shelter since she moved to the city. Volunteering started at a specific moment (when moving in the city) and is still happening now.

4) Talking about a general time period: all day/week/month/year

Use All +day/week/month/year (long) to express a general time period. You can use ‘long’ at the end for emphasis.

Example: They have been chatting all night long. Chatting is ongoing (or has recently ended) and started in the past (in the evening or nighttime) and lasted all night up to now.

He has been painting the walls all day, and they look amazing now. Painting is over now, but the action ended not long ago and we know the period of the action took place during the whole day. It’s the effect that is still relevant to the present!

Part 4: Common Mistakes

1) Non-continuous verbs:

The present perfect continuous is typically used to express continuous or ongoing actions and using it with non-continuous verbs usually doesn’t work. These are non-action verbs that instead express opinions, feelings or states of mind such as know, believe, have, understand, seem, like just to name a few. In most cases, the present perfect makes more sense by connecting the past to the present.

Example: He has been owning that car for years. This sounds awkward, you’re better off with: He has owned that car for years.

The state of owning that car started in the past and continues up to now. The present perfect here is better suited since it connects past and present with no regards to continuity.

That being said, some non-action verbs can still be used in the present perfect continuous when expressing a temporary state that is subject to change.

Example: I have been having problems with my car all week. Have is not an action verb, but here it works just fine as it emphasizes the ongoing nature of the car problems I am experiencing this week. These problems won’t be permanent. Although some car problems never go away, am I right?

2) Short, completed actions:

The present perfect continuous is typically used for actions that started in the past and are still ongoing or have just been completed. Using it for short, completed actions may not convey the intended meaning, you need to maintain a sense of continuity.

Example: I have been eating lunch. This suggests ongoing eating, if the action is over and not connected to the present, then it’s wrong (the tense becomes red). It’s all a matter of context! ‘I ate lunch.’ implies the action is completed and not connected to the present (I am back in the office doing work after lunch). ‘I have (already) eaten lunch.’ implies that the action is over but is relevant to the present (I’m answering a colleague asking me if I want to grab a bite with him). And yes, ‘I have been eating lunch.’ can be correct. If you are expressing the cause of a current situation it all adds up. Perhaps, you were asked ‘why are you burping so much?’ Sorry, I have been eating lunch. (I ingested air as I was eating, which is now causing the burping). In the end, context is the key!

Wrap up

Host: There you have it, the present perfect continuous a versatile tool for expressing ongoing actions and their durations. Start using it confidently in your English conversations today! If you’re in the mood, be sure to watch more of our videos! Hopefully, this has been helpful! A link to some free material to practice by yourselves can be found in the description below. Keep practicing, and you’ll get the hang of it. Thank you for watching. Until next time!