present

You can use the present perfect continuous for actions that are repeated over a period of time:..  Debbie is a very good tennis player?[r]

Have/has been -ing



Have/has been –ing

is the

present perfect continuous

:

I/we/they/you

have

(= I

’ve

, etc.)

been

doing, waiting,

playing

, etc.

he/she/it has (= he

’s

,

Present perfect continuous



The

present continuous

describes what a person

is doing.



The

present perfect continuous

tells how long a

person has been doing that action.

Ex.

Katie is delivering mail.

She

has been delivering

mail for two hours.

Present perfect continuous



The

present perfect continuous

talks

He

has been washing

windows since 8:00.

Present perfect continuous

I

You

We

They

have

been working

since 8:00.

for two hours.

He

She

It

Since & For

You can use the present perfect continuous for

actions that are repeated over a period of time:



Debbie is a very good tennis player She’s been

playing since she was eight.



Every morning they meet in the same café

For

and

since



For

shows an amount of time.

for

three hours

for

ten days



Since

tells when an action started

since

2:00

For

and

since

For

Since

For shows an amount of time: Since tells when an action started:

for a few minutes since 2:00

for three weeks since 1998

for two years since Sunday

I am doing

vs

I have been doing



Compare I am doing and I have been doing:

∣

I am doing

present continuous

↓

now

∣

I have been doing

present perfect continuous

↓

now

 Don’t bother me now I’m working  I’ve been working hard, so now

I’m going to take a break

How long

has

she

been looking

for a job?

How long

have

they

been living

in the city?



We use the present perfect (especially with

how long, for,

and

since

) to talk about something that began in the past and still

continues now Compare the

present

and the

present perfect

:

 We know each other very well

but We’ve known each other since we were in high school (not We know)

 Do you have a pain in your stomach?

but How long have you had the pain? (not How long you have)

 I’m learning English

but I’ve been learning English for six months (not I am learning)

How long

have you (been)…?



I have known/had/lived

, etc., is the

present perfect simple

.



I have been learning/been waiting/been

doing

, etc., is the

present perfect

In most situations with how long, since, and f

or, the continuous is more usual:



I

’ve been studying

English for six months

(more usual than I

’ve studied

)



It

’s been raining

since lunchtime.



Richard

has been doing

the same job for

20 years.



“How long

have

you

been driving

?” “Sinc

But some verbs (for example, know/like/believe) are not normally used in the continuous:

 How long have you known Jane?

(not have you been knowing)

You can use either the present perfect continuous or present perfect simple with live and work:

 John has been living / has lived in Denver for a long time  How long have you been working / have you worked here?

But we use the simple (I’ve done / I’ve lived, etc.) with always:

 John has always lived in Denver (not has always been living)

We use the present perfect simple in negative sentences like these:

 I haven’t seen Tom since Monday