English grammar - Present perfect continuous

Resource centre - English grammar - Present perfect continuous

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Form

Affirmative: have/has been + present participle (verb + ing)
Negative: haven't/hasn't been + present participle (verb + ing)

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Meaning

1. We use 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 present perfect continuous to talk about an activity or event that has recently finished and has a result or consequence now.
   • She's tired because she's been working hard.
   • I have no money left because I've been shopping.
4. We use 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.
     (Focus on the result, the negotiation is finished)
5. When the action or event is more temporary we often use present perfect continuous, and when it is more permanent we often use present perfect simple.
   • They've lived in Italy for many years - Present perfect simple
   • I've been living here for a month - Present perfect continuous

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Additional points

1. We do not normally use some verbs with present perfect continuous because these verbs are not normally action verbs. These verbs include:
   believe, belong, depend, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, prefer, realise, suppose, want, understand.
   • I've known him for ten years - Correct
     I've been knowing him for ten years - Incorrect
   • I've belonged to the tennis club for 25 years - Correct
     I've been belonging to the tennis club for 25 years - Incorrect

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Pronunciation

(See the phonemic chart for IPA symbols used below)

1. Been is usuallly reduced to its weak form.
   • We've been standing for a long time: /bɪn/

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Teaching ideas for present perfect continuous

How do you teach present perfect continuous? Add your idea »

Salvador

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.

Andrew

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.

Hande

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 :)

Sarah

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.

Ofelya

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

Roxana

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.

G Indira

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.

Salman

After entering the classroom, I tell my students to check the time. After that, I start walking around the class. Students look surprised and they start commenting but I don't say anything. I do this for a few minutes and then, while walking I ask "How long have i been walking?"...

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