PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

(
FORM

I/You have (’ve) been reading.

He/She/It has (’s) been reading.
Have you been reading? Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t.
Has he/she/it been reading?
You have not (haven’t) been reading.
He/She/It has not (hasn’t) been reading.
A We use the present perfect continuous for a continuous or repeated activity that began in the past and
continuous into the present. It emphasizes the activity itself and its duration.
I have been studying for two hours. I’ll take a break in an hour. (He started studying two hours ago
and he is still studying now.)
She has been teaching in high school since last year. (She started teaching in high school last year
and she is still teaching there now.)
More examples:
They’ve been travelling in Europe for a month. They are having a great time.
Jack’s been waiting since three o’clock.
How long have you and Peter been writing to each other? It has been more than five years, hasn’t it?

B We use the present perfect continuous for an action which started in the past, lasted for some time
and has finished recently. The result of the action is visible or has effect in the present.

He is dirty. He has been playing football. (He is no longer playing football, but the fact that his
clothes are dirty is visible now.)
She’s been smoking again. I can smell the cigarettes on her breath. (She is not smoking now but I
can smell the cigarettes on her breath because the action has recently finished.)

More examples:
You look hot. Have you been running?
It has been raining. All the clothes I hung out are wet.
Her eyes are red. She’s been crying.

C The present perfect continuous is also used to express anger, annoyance or irritation.
Who has been reading my business papers? (The speaker is irritated.)
Has the dog been chewing on my slippers? (The speaker is angry.)
Somebody has been giving away our plans. (The speaker is irritated.)

Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect Continuous.

1. How long ………………… (she / drive)? Has it been a year already?

2. Our dog ………………… (bark) a lot for the past few days, hasn’t he? I think something is wrong
with him.
3. You ………………… (watch) television for hours. Come and help me in the kitchen.
4. I ………………… (go) to the same dentist since I was a child.
5. He ………………… (not / talk) to his brother lately.

Use the Present Perfect Continuous and complete the sentences with the correct consequence
from the box.

She (work) all night. They (run) for a bus. She (not take) her medicine.
He (not eat) very much. He (not do) his homework. He (write) to his girlfriend.
1. Jo looks tired. She’s been working all night.
2. Peter looks happy. ……………………………………………………………………………………..
3. Laura looks ill again. …………………………………………………………………………………
4. George and Roger look out of breath. …………………………………………………………………
5. Bill looks a bit thin. ……………………………………………………………………………………
6. Tim’s doing badly at school. …………………………………………………………………………..