Present Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Continuous (Present Perfect Progressive) – the present perfect continuous tense in English. Usually used to describe an action that started in the past and has recently finished or is still in progress. The Present Perfect Continuous is formed using the auxiliary verb to be in the Present Perfect (have been, has been ) and a verb ending in -ing.
| Present Perfect Continuous | ||
| Signal words | Use | Form |
| already
before for 3 days since |
Actions that started in the past and continue in the present
Action began in the past and has just stopped Actions that have just finished, but we are interested in the results How long the action has been happening |
have/has + been + infinitive + ing |
The general scheme of using the Present Perfect Continuous on the example of the verb – to work
| Positive | Negative | Question |
| I/You/We/They have been working | I/You/We/They haven’t been working | Have I/You/We/They been working? |
| He/She/It has been working | He/She/It hasn’t been working | Has He/She/It been working? |
For convenience, you can use the abbreviated form:
- have not been – haven’t been
- has not been – hasn’t been
- I have been – I’ve been
Examples:
- Has she been running?
- I’ve been looking for you a whole hour
- We’ve understood everything