20 Examples of Present Perfect Continuous in English

He present perfect continuous It is a tense in English that is used to express actions that began in the past and continue in the present. For example: I have have been studying Spanish since 2018./ Has been studying English since 2018.

He present perfect continuousit focuses on the duration of the action and not on its result. In Spanish it translates as “I have been doing”, “I have been running since…”, “I have been… working”. For example: Yo have been waiting for an hour./ I've been waiting for an hour.

Careful: You should not use the present continuousinstead of present perfect continuousto refer to actions that started in the past and are still ongoing. For example: Yo have been studying since morning.(And not: I am studying since morning).

• See also: Prayers in "present perfect«

structure of present perfect continuous

He present perfect continuous is a compound continuous tense that is formed with the auxiliaries have either has + been + -ing.

affirmative structure of present perfect continuous

Subject	have / has + been	verb in ing
Yo you We They	have ('go) been	working
I have She Item	have you (’s) been

For example: Yo have been working all day./ I've been working all day.

Attention: The abbreviated form of the auxiliary haveis: 'go. The abbreviated form of the auxiliary have you is: ’s. Do not confuse the contraction of the verb to be ('s) with that of have you ('s), since the second is always followed by been + verb in ing. For example:dad’s been running all morning.

negative structure of present perfect continuous

Subject	have / has + been	verb in ing
Yo you We They	have not (haven't) been	working
I have She Item	have you not (hasn't) been

For example: Yo haven't been working all day./ I haven't been working all day.

interrogative structure of present perfect continuous

have	Subject	been + verb in ing
Have	Yo you we they	been working?
have you	I have she Item

For example: Have you been working all day?/ Have you been working all day?

Attention: To answer briefly, it is done with forks either No and the corresponding pronoun followed by haveeitherhaven't / haseitherhasn't, as appropriate. Affirmative short answers do not collapse. For example: Have you been working all day? Yes, I have. (And not: yes, I've).

Uses of present perfect continuous

He present perfect continuous in English it is used to connect the past with the present and to emphasize the duration of an action. It expresses “long” activities and actions, which have taken a certain time to be carried out, and not specific short actions or states. Emphasize the length of time that elapsed between the beginning of the action and the present.

He present perfect continuousserves to express:

• Actions that started in the past and continue in the present. The focus is on the duration of the action, not its result. For example: We have been walking for five hours./ We have been walking for five hours.
• Actions that have just ended with evidence in the present. The focus is on the duration of the action, not its result. For example: Yo have been gardening; look how dirty my hands are./ I have been gardening; he looks how dirty my hands are.
• recently repeated actions. It is used for actions or activities that have been repeated from a past period of time to the present, usually in conjunction with lately either recently. For example: I have she has been sleeping badly lately./ She has been sleeping badly lately.
• Questions with how long. It is used when you want to ask about the duration of an action that started in the past and continues in the present. For example: How long have you been learning English?/ How long have you been studying English?

The actions expressed in present perfect continuousThey may have recently ended or may continue into the present, depending on the context. For example:

• She you have been working for the same company since 2020./ She has been working for the same company since 2020. (action that continues in the present)
• I'm all wet because I have been swimming. / I'm all wet because I was swimming. (recently completed action)

He present perfect continuousused together with dynamic verbs (dynamic verbs) which by definition imply a certain duration, such as: rain, wait, work, live, play.

Attention: He present perfect continuous cannot be used together with verbs that by definition imply a short duration (leave, greet) nor with the so-called stative verbs (“Static verbs” in English), which express states and not actions, such as:know, like, believe, understand. For example: I have known Peter for three years. (present perfect simple). And not:I have been knowing Peter…

• It can help you: «Stative" and "dynamic verbs" in English

Prayers in present perfect continuous

1. Item has been raining all day.
   He has been raining all day.
2. Yo have been working as a waiter since June.
   I have been working as a waiter since June.
3. Have you been waiting long?
   Have you been waiting long?
4. The children have been studying all morning.
   The children have been studying all morning.
5. We have been talking for hours.
   We've been talking for hours.
6. She hasn't been feeling well recently.
   She hasn't been feeling well recently.
7. YoI've been thinking about you lately.
   I've been thinking about you lately.
8. How long have you been studying French?
   How long have you been studying French?
9. The children have been watching TV all afternoon.
   The children have been watching TV all afternoon.
10. YoI've been looking for you all day.
    I've been looking for you all day.
11. dad you have been working at the company for 20 years.
    Dad has been working at the company for 20 years.
12. que have you she has been doing recently?
    What have you been up to she lately?
13. Penny have been looking for a job since January.
    Penny has been looking for a job since January.
14. We have been going out for two months now.
    We have been dating for two months.
15. I have have been losing everything lately.
    He's been losing everything lately.
16. you have been working too much.
    He's been working too hard.
17. Yo have been reading a lot of Shakespeare.
    I have been reading a lot of Shakespeare.
18. TheyI've been having problems.
    They have been having problems.
19. How long have you Item snowing?
    How long has he been snowing?
20. Yo have been rushing all day.
    I've been running all day.

Follow with:

• Prayers in "past perfect»
• «past continuous" in English
• «past perfect" in English
• «past simple" in English

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