Present perfect continuous tense

The present perfect continuous tense is made up of the present perfect tense of the verb to be: have been or has been and the present participle of the main verb (verb + ing)

The Present Perfect Continuous is: 

used for an action that began in the past and is still continuing.

Examples:

• Cecilia and I have been talking about getting married.
• They have been trying to contact her.
• Your dogs have been barking since early this morning.

used for an action that began and just finished in the past.

Examples:

• Thank goodness you have arrived. We have been waiting for you.  
• My hands are very dirty as I have been repairing the car.
• Why did you not answer your phone? I have been calling you. 

used without mention of time

Examples:

• They have been having a lot of difficulties with their new computer system. (describes a difficult situation that is not over.)
• This is the second jigsaw we have been playing.
• A party of rescuers and volunteers has been looking for the missing  

used with all (all day, all evening, all week) to indicate duration of an activity, and adverbs such as lately, etc., 

Examples:

• He has been suffering from toothache all day.
• She has been spending all day looking for her cat.
• The party has been going on all night.
• I have been feeling ill lately. 

Present perfect continuous tense in questions

Examples:

• How long have you been growing your beard?
• How much money have you been borrowing from your grandmother?
• Have you been riding my bicycle without my permission? 

Statement:	subject	+	have/has	+	been	+	(verb + -ing)
	They		have		been		playing.
	He		has		been		running.
Question form:	have/has	+	subject	+	been	+	(verb + -ing)
	Have		they		been		playing?
	Has		he		been		running?

Present perfect continuous and present perfect tenses

The present perfect continuous and the present perfect tenses do not differ much in meaning.

Examples:

• He has been selling pencils for two years.
• He has sold pencils for two years.

• We have been telling the children about their table manners.
• We have told the children about their table manners.

The present perfect continuous and the present perfect tenses are used in the same way with for, since, ever since, etc.

Examples:

• Grandpa has been playing hide-and-seek with the grandchildren forhours.
• Grandpa has played hide-and-seek with the grandchildren for hours.

• I have been looking for the missing piece of the jigsaw since ten o'clock.
• I have looked for the missing piece of the jigsaw since ten o'clock.

• He has been working there ever since he fell in love with a woman.
• He has worked there ever since he fell in love with a woman.

Verbs not used with present perfect continuous

There are verbs that cannot be used with the present perfect continuous tense: believe, decide, hate, know, recognize, want, etc. Use the present perfect tense instead. 

Examples:

• No: Julia has been deciding to buy a big teddy bear.
• Yes: Julia has decided to buy a big teddy bear.

• No: She has been hating cockroaches and spiders since she was a small girl.
• Yes: She has hated cockroaches and spiders since she was a small girl.

• No: His parents and mine have been wanting to practise yoga together.
• Yes: His parents and mine have wanted to practise yoga together.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE Present perfect continuous tense is used to talk about an action that began in the past and stopped recently. There is usually a result now. We also use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that began in the past and is continuing now. This is often used with for or since. • Structure for Present Perfect Continuous • subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb subject has/have been base+ing They have been going. • Structure for Negative sentence • subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb subject has/have not + been base+ing They have not been going. • Structure for interrogative sentence • auxiliary verb subject auxiliary verb main verb Has/Have subject been base+ing Have they been going? The duration for which the action has been going on is usually mentioned in the present perfect continuous tense. We use the present perfect continuous tense for: An action that has just stopped or recently stopped. An action continuing up to now. USES OF PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE The Present Perfect Continuous is used for an action which began at some time in the past and is still continuing: Examples He has been sleeping for five hours (and is still sleeping). They have been building the bridge for several months. They have been playing since four o’clock. This tense is sometimes used for an action already finished. In such cases the continuity of the activity is emphasized as an explanation of something: Examples Why are your clothes so wet’?, - I have been watering the garden. I am tired because I have been playing. We can also use 'for' and 'since' with the present perfect tense. We use 'for' to talk about a period of time - 15 minutes, 3 weeks, 5 years. Examples I have been studying for 2 hours. Jenifer hasn't been feeling well for 3 weeks. He has been playing cricket for a long time. We use 'since' to talk about a point in past time-7 o'clock, 1st June, Wednesday. Examples I have been watching TV since 8pm. Alex hasn't been visiting us since August. He has been living in London since he left school. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE TABLE AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE I have been going. I have not been going. Have I been going? You have been going. You have not been going. Have you been going? We have been going. We have not been going. Have we been going? He/She has been going. He/She has not been going. Has he/she been going? They have been going. They have not been going. Have they been going? Tense What is Tense? Type of tense Table of English Tenses Tense at a glance Structure of All Tense Present Tense What Is the Present Tense? Simple Present Tense Present Continuous Tense Present Perfect Tense Present perfect continuous tense Present Conditional Tense Past Tense What Is the Past Tense? Simple Past Tense Past Continuous Tense Past Perfect Tense Past Perfect Continuous Tense Future Tense Future Tense Simple Future Tense Future Continuous Tense Future Perfect Tense Future Perfect Continuous Tense Conditional Sentences