Hi everyone! Welcome to today’s mini English Grammar lesson on the Present Perfect Continuous. It’s a topic that I cover a lot with my students so I thought I’d put together this blog for you 🙂
We form the present perfect continuous tense using:
have/has been + verb ‘ing’
It’s important to remember:
I have
You have
He/She/It has
We have
They have
We use the present perfect continuous when:
1) an action started in the past 2) continues to the present 3) and might continue in the future
I have been reading a good book for the past week.
- I started reading my book in the past. (The specific time is not necessary.)
- I am STILL reading my book.
- I will CONTINUE to read my book until I finish it.
I’ve been studying for the IELTS exam.
- I started studying in the past. (The specific time is not necessary.)
- I am STILL studying for the exam.
- I will CONTINUE to study until I pass my exam.
I’m eight months pregnant and my back has really been hurting.
- My back started hurting in the past. (The specific time is not necessary.)
- My back STILL hurts.
- My back will probably CONTINUE to hurt until after my baby is born.
Karen and Riley have been fighting a lot lately. They might actually break up!
- Karen and Riley started fighting in the past. (The specific time is not necessary.)
- The two of them are STILL fighting.
- They will probably CONTINUE to fight until they break up.
Many times, we use the present perfect continuous when there is present evidence.
Sorry my house is such a mess. I’ve been reorganising my cupboards.
Present evidence: a messy house
Sam: Wow Timothy, you look really tired. Is everything okay?
Timothy: No mate, I haven’t been sleeping well for weeks.
Present evidence: dark circles under Timothy’s eyes and a tired face
Oh my goodness, have you been losing weight?
Present evidence: A slender figure
Has Janie been crying?
Present evidence: Janie has red eyes.
Is the present perfect continuous used correctly here?
A: Did you hear? Nancy got fired last night!
B: Yes, I’ve been knowing since early this morning. Terrible isn’t it?
This usage is incorrect.
Remember! We do not normally use the continuous form with stative verbs.
Stative verbs express emotions and feelings: know, believe, understand, want, belong to, owe etc.
Active verbs express a physical action: run, eat, play, talk, dance, sleep, jump, breathe, etc.
Use the present perfect simple if you are using a stative verb:
A: Did you hear? Nancy got fired last night!
☑ B: Yes, I’ve known since early this morning. Terrible isn’t it?
A: Did you hear? Nancy got fired last night!
B: Yes, I’ve been knowing since early this morning. Terrible isn’t it?
I want to learn more about STATIVE VERBS.
