3 sentences with present perfect continuous. Present Perfect Continuous - present continuous perfect tense in English

In this article we will talk about the Present Perfect Continuous tense and look at its use using examples from life.

The time is quite difficult in education, but a little practice and exercise - and you will remember its form. The Present Perfect Continuous form combines the characteristics of the times of the group Perfect(auxiliary verbs have/has + verb BE in the third form) and tense groups Сontinuous(semantic verb ending -ING).

Let's look at different types of statements:

Statement

	have	been	Ving:
	has

Negation

have not

(haven't)

been

Ving:

has not

(hasn't)

General and informational questions

(How long)

(What)

(When)

Have

been

Ving:

Has

Meanings of Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Present Perfect Continuous combines the meanings of group tenses Perfect(action completed; action not yet completed) and Continuous(action in progress).

The Present Perfect Continuous has three main meanings. You've probably read books and studied the rules, so I won't simply rewrite them once again, but will explain the use of the Present Perfect Continuous using examples of situations that we encounter in life.

Value 1.

An action that began in the past and continues until the present. Present Perfect Continuous is used to emphasize duration of the action.

Situation 1.

You are about to go for a walk, but suddenly it starts to rain. You decide to wait for it to end, but an hour, two, three passes, and the rain still does not stop. You are complaining:

The rain started three hours ago and still hasn't stopped, the action is in progress, which you can watch from the window.

Situation 2.

You agreed to meet a friend, but he is late. You've been waiting for half an hour, but he's still not there. You lose patience, call him and say:

You came half an hour ago and are still waiting for your unpunctual friend, the action is still not completed.

Situation 3.

The teenager was bought a new computer game and he decided to play it to celebrate. The game turned out to be so exciting that after a while his parents began to worry:

You've been playing since the morning! - You have been playing since morning!

Their son sat down at the computer in the morning, and his game is still not over, he continues to play.

But we cannot always observe the action right at the moment of speech. Sometimes the Present Perfect Continuous denotes an action that we associate more with a habit than with a process. In this case, the Present Perfect Continuous is often confused with. Let's look at the situations.

Situation 4.

Anna celebrates every birthday with her friends. She started celebrating it with friends when she was a student, and since then she invites friends every year. What time to use: it seems like a habit, but on the other hand it continues (repeats) for some time.

Ann always celebrates her birthday with her friends. - Anna always celebrates her birthday with friends.

Ann has been celebrating her birthday with her friends since she was student. - Anna has been celebrating her birthday with friends since she was a student.

Look, we used the Present Simple when we were simply talking about this habit (or rather tradition). But as soon as we need to indicate the period of time during which this habit exists, we use Present Perfect Continuous.

The Present Perfect Continuous can be mistakenly associated exclusively with an action, the continuation of which we can observe at the moment of speech. We use the Present Perfect Continuous to emphasize the duration of an action or habit.

Situation 5.

Your friend started learning English five years ago. He has been studying English for five years and has no plans to stop. He may say:

I learn English. I have been learning English for five years. - I learn English. I have been studying English for five years.

As you can see from the examples, the translation of the sentences is identical, except that the time period is indicated in the second sentence. Such a minor detail, but in English there are two completely different tenses!

Meaning 2.

The Present Perfect Continuous can denote an action that has been going on for some time, has just ended, and the obvious result of this action is visible. Let's consider the situations.

Situation 1.

You wake up in the morning and look out the window: the ground is wet, there are puddles everywhere, but the sun is already shining. Of course, you understand that it rained recently.

He walked for a while (the action lasted for a while). You didn't see the rain itself, you only saw its result. You can conclude:

It has been raining. - It rained.

Situation 2.

The student is late for class. The lesson is already starting, and then he bursts into the classroom: his hair is disheveled, he can’t catch his breath. It becomes clear to everyone that he fled:

It has not been running. - He was running.

I hope that after analyzing the situations it has become easier for you to understand and use Present Perfect Continuous Tense. Leave your comments, subscribe to our newsletter and join us on

When learning English, students can spend a long time learning about Perfect and Continuous tenses in order to learn to use them automatically. Therefore, you can imagine their feelings when they come to such a terrible topic as Perfect Continuous. This is two times at once, and not so simple at that! However, these fears are completely in vain, and now we will see this using the example of the Present Perfect Continuous tense (pronounced [present perfect continuus]).

The Present Perfect Continuous Tense (also known as the Present Perfect Progressive Tense) or the Present Perfect Continuous Tense is a tense in English used to express actions that began and either lasted up to a certain point in the past or continue to last.

This time is used relatively rarely, since it is often replaced by Present Perfect, but it is still necessary to know it, because in certain situations it will not be possible to do without it. Moreover, the correct use of sentences in the Present Perfect Continuous will only confirm your high level of knowledge of the language, and therefore attract praise from native speakers. Let's look at how this time is formed and used.

The formation of the Present Perfect Continuous is similar to the formation of the Present Perfect and. To form this tense, two verbs are needed: auxiliary and semantic. The auxiliary verb is to be in the Present Perfect form. It has 2 perfect forms depending on person and number:

I	have been
He	has been

Semantic verbs are formed using Participle I or the present participle. To form it, you must add the ending –ing to the verb.

Infinitive / Infinitive	V+-ing
(to)blink	blinking
(to) strike	striking
(to) pressure	pressing
(to) blossom	blossoming
(to) heal	healing
(to)give	giving
(to) mumble	mumbling
(to) walk	walking
(to) compensate	compensating

Actually, that's all. By adding both parts, you get a verb in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense:

Present Perfect Continuous: sentence forms

We've sorted out the formation of verbs, now let's see how to make sentences with them in various forms.

Affirmative sentences with Present Perfect Continuous

The affirmative form of the Present Perfect Continuous is, as always, standard: the subject is used first, followed by the predicate, expressed by auxiliary and semantic verbs. Any minor member can complete the sentence. Table for clarity:

This example is used in Active Voice or Active Voice. If you want to use Passive Voice, you may have difficulties.

Firstly, to form the Passive Voice in the Present Perfect Continuous you need to try harder, because you will need to use 4 verbs in a row.
Secondly, even if you can easily cope with the first task, you will agree that phrases in Passive Voice a la “have been being understood” sound at least unusual.
Thirdly, Passive Voice is not used by native speakers these days, so even they will not be able to appreciate your efforts.

Yes, theoretically it is possible to construct a Continuous Passive, but in practice no one needs such proposals. In general, do not make English difficult for yourself or others and do not use the Continuous Passive. If you need to show that the action was not performed by a person/object, but was directed at it, use not the Continuous Passive, but the Passive Voice in the Present Perfect tense.

Negative sentences with Present Perfect Continuous

The negative form in Present Perfect Continuous Tense is formed by adding the negative particle not between have (has) and been:

Abbreviations are possible in both affirmative and negative forms:

Full form

Short form

statement

I have been calculating.

She has been studying.

He hasn't been faking.

It has been blowing.

I've been calculating.

She's been studying.

He's been faking.

It's been blowing.

—

negation

We have not been skating.

You have not been judging.

They have not been watching.

She has not been cleaning.

We haven't been skating.

You haven't been judging.

They haven't been watching.

She hasn't been cleaning.

You may have noticed that has in an affirmative sentence is abbreviated in the same way as is. To understand what tense is used, keep the rules of education in mind. The present perfect continuous tense in English always requires the verb to be after has. If both of these verbs are in a sentence, then the speaker is using this particular tense.

Interrogative sentences with Present Perfect Continuous

The interrogative form is built based on the type of question:

For a general question, you need to move the auxiliary verbs have and has to the beginning of the sentence. Been remains in its original place:

In an alternative question, some second member of the sentence is added for choice, which is supported by the conjunction or (or):

Special questions are identical to general questions, only they use a question word before have (has):

In a dividing question, you need to use an affirmative or negative sentence, followed by a short question:

Present Perfect Continuous: usage

Present Perfect Continuous Tense or present perfect continuous tense is used in the following situations:

To express an action that began in the past and is still ongoing. In this case, the speaker knows when the action began and how long it has already lasted. He cannot say when the action will end.
Typically, such sentences contain indicator words: recently (the other day), lately (recently), quite a while (for a long time / a long time ago), these ... weeks (how many weeks), all my life (all my life), all day (long) / this month / this year (all day, month, year); as well as time markers for (during) and since (since), which are used as hints for the use of this time:

In the same case, time can be used to ask a special question. Such a question usually begins with the words: how long (how long) or since when (from when):

Present Perfect Continuous Tense is also used in cases where an action began in the past, lasted for a certain time and ended recently. This option emphasizes the duration of the action that led to some result in the present. Markers in such sentences may be omitted:

The Present Perfect Continuous is also used in cases where we mean that some action happened earlier. This conclusion is drawn from what is heard/seen. More often this option is used in a negative context:

The present perfect continuous tense is also used in a complex sentence that has a subordinate clause. Temporal markers for entering subordinate clauses here are limited to one word since (since). This subordinate clause is used in the Past Simple, and most importantly, it is built in the Present Perfect Continuous:

Do not forget that Continuous tenses are not used with state verbs or state verbs that express feelings, perception, mental activity, or possession of something. In this case, instead of the Continuous tense, the Present Perfect is used:

However, there are exceptions here. The use of Present Perfect Continuous is possible if it is necessary to highlight an action, to give it a more pronounced shade. So, for example, in the Present Perfect Continuous you can find the verbs wish (to desire), want (to want) and mean (to gather):

Also pay attention to those verbs that are used in both the Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous. Such verbs include words that themselves imply a continuous action. For example: live (live), sleep (sleep), study (learn), teach (teach), work (work), run (meaning “manage”):

If the situation continues to last for a certain period, but is temporary or will soon change, use the Present Perfect Continuous:

I’ve been studying here for 2 years but I’m going to transfer to another university soon.

I have been studying here for 2 years, but I am planning to transfer to another university soon.

It is worth noting that, despite the similarity of features not only with the Present Perfect tense, but also, in some way, with the Present Continuous, you cannot use sentences replacing the Present Continuous with the Present Perfect Continuous and vice versa. These times have different meanings and cannot be interchanged.

Present Perfect Continuous translation into Russian

It is worth paying special attention to the Russian translation of Present Perfect Continuous. As you already know, this tense either indicates an action that lasted and ended, or an action that began and is still ongoing. Accordingly, based on the choice of one of the two mentioned cases, the translation is constructed. So, if we want to show that the action has already ended, when translating into Russian we use imperfective verbs in the past tense:

If the action is still ongoing, then the translation is carried out with verbs used in the same form, but in the present tense:

You can understand what tense is implied based on the context.

The present completed continuous tense, as you can see, is not as difficult as it looks at first glance. Since this time is limited to certain situations, it accordingly does not have a wide variety of uses. It is also quite simple to build, especially if you are already familiar with other times. So don't avoid the Present Perfect Continuous, use it correctly, and if you need to review any rules associated with it, come back to this page and re-read the examples. You can also consolidate your knowledge by going to the page

The Present Perfect Progressive Tense The Present Perfect Continuous Tense

This tense expresses a continuous action that began in the past and is still being performed at the present time or has just completed. Translated into Russian in the present time. Here it is usually indicated how long this or that action takes, i.e. a period of time is indicated, definite or indefinite:

for an hour - hour, within an hour,
for 2 hours - 2 hours, for 2 hours,
for 10 years - for 10 years,
for many years - many years,
for a week/month - week/month, during the week/month,
for a long time - long time, long,
long - long,

since yesterday - since yesterday,
since 5 o’clock - from 5 o’clock,
How long...? - How long...?,
Since when...? - Since when…?

«+»: have/has + been + V-ing.

The auxiliary verb is present in both the negative and interrogative form, and in the affirmative form.

You have been waiting for this moment for a long time. - You have been waiting for this moment for a long time (you started waiting sometime in the past, waited for some time and finally, you just waited).

She has been living in this town for 10 years. - She has been living in this city for 10 years (she started living here 10 years ago, has lived here for 10 years and continues to live here).

«-»: have/hasn't + been + V-ing.

«?»: (What, Where) have/has + subject + been + V-ing...?

Have you been waiting for her answer long? - How long have you been waiting for her answer?
What have you been talking about for so long? -What are you talking about for so long?
Has not already been drinking this cup of tea for an hour. - He’s been drinking this cup of tea for an hour now (he still won’t drink it).
I have been looking for you all over for about 2 hours. - I’ve been looking for you everywhere for 2 hours now (and I just found you).
What have they been doing here since early morning? - What have they been doing here since early morning?
How long has he been living in Denmark? - How long has he lived in Denmark?
She has been teaching English since 1996. - She has been teaching English since 1996.

But: How long have you known her? - How long have you known her?

Instead of Present Perfect Progressive, Present Perfect is used because the verb to know is not used in Progressive.
We have been here for 20 minutes already. - We have been here for 20 minutes already (the verb to be is not used in Progressive).
It has been a long time since I saw him. - I haven't seen him for a long time.
If our semantic verb is one of those that is not used in the Progressive, but according to its meaning it should be used in the Present Perfect Progressive, then we use it Present Perfect.

(E. Gritsai - Cheat sheet on the English language)

Verbitskaya M.V. Forward. English for 7…
Verbitskaya M.V. Forward. English for 8…

In the huge family of present tenses, the Present Perfect Continuous occupies a special place. Let's look at everything about the formation, use and changeable soul of this grammatical phenomenon in the article.

If you have reached the point of studying Present Perfect Continuous (progressive), then you will easily understand the word-by-word translation of each element from the name: present perfect continuous tense. But don't be put off by the long and cluttered title. The biggest difficulty is remembering education, because there are quite a few components. But the use is even simpler than the Present Simple.

Education

Present Perfect Continuous grammar, which is based on correct sentence construction, includes auxiliary verbs have/has, been and Ving . With pronouns he, she, it has is used, and with I, we, you, they- have. This is, in principle, not new. Even at the initial stage, it is necessary to become familiar with the peculiarities of the conjugation to have. The semantic verb or predicate is used with an ending ing, the form of which corresponds to participle 1. More information about exceptions in writing with such an ending can be found in the article “Countinuous tenses”. When forming a negation, you just need to insert the particle “not”, and in questions, you need to swap have / has and the subject.

Narrative	Negative	Interrogative
I have been teaching	I have not been teaching	Have I been teaching?
She (he, it) has been teaching	She (he, it) has not been teaching	Has she (he, it) been teaching?
We have been teaching	We have not been teaching	Have we been teaching?
You have been teaching	You have not been teaching	Have you been teaching?
They have been teaching	They have not been teaching	Have they been teaching?

Short forms are also important to know to ensure your writing is accurate.

You have = you've

He (she, it) has = he’s (she’s, it’s)

We have = we've

They have = they've

Have not = haven’t, has not = hasn’t.

I have been waiting for my brother for a long time.
I’ve been waiting for my brother for a long time.

I have not been waiting for my brother for a long time.
I haven’t been waiting for my brother for a long time.

Use

The Present Perfect Progressive has several uses, which distinguishes it from other tenses.

If the action began in the past, lasted, is still continuing, or has just ended, then you can safely use the present perfect continuus.

My sisters have been watching TV for 3 hours. — My sisters watch TV for 3 hours.
He showed the picture he has been working on. — He showed the picture he was working on.

You can find out, determine this time, and accordingly put the correct form, if you ask question: How long? How much time?. Signal words that not only accompany the predicate, but also characterize it at this time can be called for - during(for a month, for a long time, for an hour). Or the conjunction is used since - since then, which serves as the starting point of the action from which it all began. Sometimes none of the clues are used, which means you need to look at the context.

The event began, lasted and ended before the moment of conversation, but affects it. In this case, the time indicator is not always used.

She has been looking for a rich man all her life and now she has found one. “She’s been looking for a rich man all her life, and now she’s found him.”
They have been living abroad, but now they are at home. — They lived abroad, but are now at home.

In order not to confuse this tense with other present tenses, for example, Present Simple and Present Continuous, carefully look at the following table and compare:

Action currently taking place
Present Perfect Continuous (must indicate how long the action takes)	Present Simple and Present Continuous (does not indicate how long the action takes)
I have been waiting for him for a long time. - I've been waiting for him for a very long time.	I am waiting for him. - I am waiting for him.
I have been cooking dinner since 2 o’clock. — I’ve been preparing lunch since 2 o’clock.	I am cooking dinner. - I cook dinner.
He has been living in Minsk for 5 years. — He has been living in Minsk for 5 years.	He lives in Minsk. — He lives in Minsk.
She has been teaching English since 1930. - She has been teaching English since 1930.	She teaches English. - She teaches English.

In order not to confuse the Present Perfect Continuous with the Present Perfect, it is important to take into account some details. Let's compare?

Perfect action
Present Perfect Continuous	Present Perfect
duration is important	result
I have been doing the work. - I did the work.	I have done the work. - I did the job.
undesirable result	desired result
Why are you so dirty? I have been working in the garden. - Why are you so dirty? I was working in the garden.	I have worked in the garden. Now, I am free. — I worked in the garden. Now I'm free.
beginning of action (starting point)	last time
I have been playing the piano since 10 o’clock. — I've been playing the piano since 10 o'clock.	I haven’t played the piano since childhood. — I haven’t played the piano since childhood.
answers to questions: How long? How long?	answers to questions: How many? How often? What?

However, the rules of the Present Perfect Continuous do not end there. A very important point here is translation. So, in the first case we translate in the present tense: works, lives, reads. And in the second - the past, and it sounds like this: worked, lived, read.

Just like in other Continuous tenses, verbs of feelings, perception, and possession are not used in this tense. All this can be found out in great detail from the article “Verbs not used in the Continuous”.

The main thing that needs to be taken into account when translating the Present Perfect Continuous is the moment of conversation and the end of the action; when forming, do not forget all the components, and when using, pay attention to whether the duration is emphasized or you are simply informed about the fact of the accomplishment. Well! You have become familiar with the rule, go for it! It's time to move on to exercises and tests!

Such a long name of the tense form as Present Perfect Continuous Tense (present perfect continuous tense) will undoubtedly frighten those who are just starting to study English grammar. It immediately seems that such a long name hides a very complex structure with many incomprehensible rules. In fact, the opposite is true. If you are already familiar with the tense forms Perfect and Continuous, then this time will seem like a mere trifle to you, because You won’t find anything particularly new either in the design or in the rules of use. As you understand, Present Perfect Continuous Tense consists of a combination of elements from the Perfect and Continuous groups. So, let's figure out what Present Perfect Continuous Tense is.

What is Present Perfect Continuous Tense?

Present Perfect Continuous Tense, translated as the present perfect continuous tense, expresses an action or event that began at some point in the past and continues up to the present moment of speech, while it can continue at the moment of speech or it could end directly before the moment of speech.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense is translated into Russian as either present or past tense, depending on whether the action has completed before the moment of speech or is still ongoing.

Like all Continuous tenses, the Present Perfect Continuous Tense is not used with statal verbs (verbs that denote states rather than actions). In such situations, it is replaced by Present Perfect Tense.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense is rarely used both in conversation and in writing.

Rules for the formation of Present Perfect Continuous

Affirmative sentences in Present Perfect Continuous Tense are formed using the auxiliary verb to be in Present Perfect Tense (have/ has been) and the present participle of the semantic verb (verb + ending -ing → Present Participe).

Mean + have/ has been + Present Participe …

Interrogative sentences are formed by placing the first auxiliary verb to have in first place before the subject, the rest of the tense form remains in its place after the subject.

Have/Has + Mean. + been + Present Participe ???

To form negative sentences, the particle not is used, which is placed after the first auxiliary verb to have.

Mean + have/ has + not + been + Present Participe …

In colloquial speech it is common to use abbreviated forms. For example:

I have → I've
he has → he's
has not → hasn’t [ˈhæzənt]
have not → haven’t [ˈhævənt]

Conjugation table for the verb to try in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Number	Face	Affirmative form	Interrogative form	Negative form
Unit h.	1 2 3	I have (I"ve) been trying He/ She/ It has (He"s/ She’s) been trying	Have I been trying? Have you been trying? Has he/ she/ it been trying?	I have not (haven't) been trying He/ She/ It has not (hasn"t) been trying
Mn. h.	1 2 3	We have (We've) been trying You have (You"ve) been trying They have (They"ve) been trying	Have we been trying? Have you been trying? Have they been trying?	We have not (haven"t) been trying You have not (haven"t) been trying They have not (haven"t) been trying

Present Perfect Continuous Tense is used:

1. If you want to express a continuous action that began in the past tense and is still ongoing in the present. As a rule, in this case, it is necessary to indicate the period of time during which the action is performed. This period can be indicated by verbose expressions, prepositional phrases, etc.:

for an hour (a month, a week) - within an hour (month, week)
for a long time - for a long time, for a long time
since 4 o’clock (yesterday, morning) - from 4 o’clock (since yesterday, in the morning)
since he returned − since he returned
lately - recently, recently
these two weeks − these two weeks
all this year (my life, day long) - all this year (all my life, all day)

Example using "for" and "since"

The Russian translation uses imperfective verbs in the present tense. Examples:

It has been raining since morning - It has been raining since the morning
They have been waiting for the train for half an hour - They have been waiting for the train for half an hour
I have been thinking of you since I first saw you - I’ve been thinking about you since I first saw you

2. In special questions (if we are talking about the period immediately preceding the moment of speech) that begin with the words:

how long - how long, how much time
since when - since when

How long have you been waiting for us? - How long have you been waiting for us?
Since when has she been learning Spanish? — Since when has she been studying Spanish?

3. If you want to express a continuous action that began in the past tense and ended immediately before the moment of speech. Moreover, you want to emphasize the duration of the action and the presence of its result at the moment. The period of time during which the action took place may not be indicated. The Russian translation uses imperfective verbs in the past tense. Examples:

Come in! I’ve been looking for you all day - Come in! I've been looking for you all day
Why are you all silent? Have you been talking about me again? - Why are you all silent? Were you talking about me again?
Her eyes are red. Has she been crying? — Her eyes are red. She cried?
− Why are your lips black? - I"ve been eating blackberries - Why do you have black lips? - I ate blackcurrants

Remember that there are verbs that are not used in the Continuous form. For the list, see the article “Present Continuous Time in English”. In such cases, Present Perfect Continuous Tense replaces Present Perfect Tense. For example:

He has known her since his childhood - He knows her since childhood

As you have seen, understanding and remembering the functions of Present Perfect Continuous Tense is not at all difficult. Improve your English and stay with us!