English Grammar - Present Perfect Continuous

Form

Affirmative
I have been playing
You have been playing
He/she/it has been playing
We have been playing
You have been playing
They have been playing

Negative
I have not been playing
You have not been playing
He/she/it has not been playing
We have not been playing
You have not been playing
They have not been playing

Question
Have I been playing?
Have you been playing?
Has he/she/it been playing?
Have we been playing?
Have you been playing?
Have they been playing?

Functions and examples

1. We use the present perfect continuous to talk about an action or event that started in the past and is still happening now.
I've been waiting for over an hour. -- I'm still waiting now
It's been snowing since 8am. -- It's still snowing now
You've been playing a lot of tennis recently.

2. We often use "How long" in questions.
How long have you been learning English? -- You started learning in the past and are still learning now

3. We use the present perfect continuous to talk about an activity or event that has recently finished and has a result now.
She's tired because she's been working hard.
I have no money left because I've been shopping.

4. We use the present perfect continuous to focus on the action and not on the completion of the action.
She's been writing a book. -- focus on the action
She's written a book. -- present perfect simple - focus on the result
They've been negotiating the contract. -- focus on the action, it's not important if it's finished or not
They've negotiated the contract. -- present perfect simple - focus on the result, the negotiation is finished

Important points

1. When the action or event is more temporary, we often use the present perfect continuous, and when it is more permanent, we often use the present perfect simple.
They've lived in Italy for may years. -- Present perfect simple
I've been living here for a month. -- Present perfect continuous

2. Some verbs are not normally used in the present perfect continuous tense. These verbs include: believe, belong, depend, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, prefer, realise, suppose, want, understand.
I've known him for ten years. P
I've been knowing him for ten years. x
I've belonged to the tennis club for 25 years. P
I've been belonging to the tennis club for 25 years. x

Teaching Present perfect continuous

quote I usually draw a time line on the board about something I started doing in the past and on the other end I write now, then I present the sentence. for example:
I started working here in 2004, I am working here now.
I have been working here for 2 years.
Then I have the students try to form sentences using the structure."
Salvador

quote Any effective exercise which emphasises the time elapsed between the action starting and continuing in the present. I use a clock which can be easily adjusted. On the board I write:
It's 4pm now - cooking
I set the time on the clock to 2pm and say:
I started cooking at this time, how long have I been cooking?
I use as many examples of verb and time settings as I think necessary. This can also incorporate the functions of 'since' (point in time in the past) and 'for' (length of time from beginning to continuation."
Andrew

quote I tried an enjoyable activity which I can recommend. Put the students in a group and tell them to form a circle. They will make guesses about the student on their left:
"I think you have been wearing that bracelet for 1 week."
and the student answers:
"No, I have been wearing it for 2 days." and so on.
You can also encourage them to use "how long..." questions. Try it and let me know your ideas :)"
Hande

quote Show pictures of people to students and get them to think of ideas of what that person has been doing. The students need to form sentences using the present perfect continuous."
Sarah

quote You can also try the song In the shadows - by the Rasmus."
Ofelya

quote I introduce the present perfect continuous with a conversation, between two characters students like: famous people, cartoon characters, etc. Then I ask some questions about the conversation (e.g. How long has Harry Potter been playing quidditch? Ss infer the rules by themselves... then we can open their books and look at the rule in detail."
Roxana

quote I show two pictures. Pic 1 shows John walking to school and pic 2 shows Matthew walking to school but he started at 7.30am and at 8.30 he has not yet reached school. Then I say... "Matthew has been walking to school for an hour". That means he started walking in the past and has not reached school in the present. Whereas in pic 1 John is going to school and the time is not mentioned. Right now he is walking. So we use only present continuous. I think this way of comparing and contrasting helps the students.
G Indira