Present perfect continuous tense: formula and examples

How long an activity has lasted, up to now: "She has been teaching for twenty years." Typical words are for, since, how long, all day and all morning.

A recent activity with a visible result: "I'm tired because I've been working in the garden." The activity may have just stopped.

Repeated actions over a period: "I've been calling you all afternoon."

Temporary situations: "I've been staying with friends while my flat is painted."

The simple form focuses on the result or the amount done. The continuous form focuses on the activity and its length.

With work, live, study and teach, both forms are often possible with little difference: "I have lived here for five years" and "I have been living here for five years" are both correct.

• Wrong: I am waiting here since 10 o'clock.

  Right: I have been waiting here since 10 o'clock.

  Since with a period up to now needs a perfect form, not the present continuous.

• Wrong: I have been knowing him since school.

  Right: I have known him since school.

  Know is a stative verb, so use the present perfect simple.

• Wrong: She has been written four emails this morning.

  Right: She has written four emails this morning.

  A number of completed things takes the present perfect, and been + -ing would need writing.

• Wrong: How long you have been studying?

  Right: How long have you been studying?

  In a question, have comes before the subject.

In IELTS Speaking Part 1, questions such as "How long have you lived there?" and "How long have you been studying English?" invite this tense, and answering with it sounds natural. In IELTS Writing Task 2 and PTE Write Essay it can describe a continuing debate ("Governments have been trying to reduce traffic for decades"). It is rarely needed in Task 1, where most data describes finished periods.

Try each one, then open it to check your answer.

1. 1. Complete this: "They ___ (play) football since 3 p.m."

   have been playing

   Since 3 p.m. shows an activity continuing up to now.

2. 2. Choose: "I have (read / been reading) three chapters today."

   read

   A number of completed chapters takes the present perfect simple.

3. 3. Form a question: how long / she / work / here?

   How long has she been working here?

   Has comes before the subject, followed by been + -ing.

4. 4. Correct this: "We have been owning this house for ten years."

   We have owned this house for ten years.

   Own is a stative verb.

5. 5. Complete this: "You look hot. ___ you ___ (run)?"

   Have you been running?

   A visible result now comes from a recent activity.

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• Present continuous tense
• Past perfect continuous tense
• Future perfect continuous tense
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