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