Present Perfect

Continuous
Present Perfect Progressive
 When to use?
When you want to refer to an action, a state, or an event that originated in the
past but is still ongoing or incomplete, use the present perfect progressive.

• ONGOING STATE: I have been living on a ship for three months.

• INCOMPLETE ACTION: We have been organizing this trip since May.

How to form statements?
 Example:
I have been doing. We have been working.
You have been reading. You have been writing.
He/she/it has been sleeping. They have been living.
 Contracted Forms:
• Contractions can be formed by combining a pronoun and the auxiliary verb
have. You will often hear these contractions in conversation or see them in
informal writing, but you will rarely find them used in formal contexts.
 How to form negatives?
To make a present perfect progressive verb negative, place not after the
auxiliary verb have:
• I/You/They have not been going
• He/She/It has not been going
Or contracted form [in conversation and informal writing]:
• I/You/They haven’t been going
• He/She/It hasn’t been going
 Yes/No Questions
To form yes/no questions, begin the question with the auxiliary verb have/has
, place the subject, the perfect/passive form of the auxiliary verb be (been ),
and the -ing form of the main verb:
• Have /I/you/we been sleeping since midnight?
• Has /he/she/it been sleeping since midnight?
 How to form “Wh” questions?
Subject Question:
In wh-questions, when the question word is the subject of the sentence, the
form of the question is similar to the form of a statement: Subject + have
been/has been + -ing form.
• Statement: Brad Smith has been reporting the news.
• Wh-question: Who has been reporting the news?
 How to form “Wh” questions?
Any Other Part:
Question word + the auxiliary verb have/has + subject + be (been ), and
the -ing form of the main verb.
• Statement: Many people have been going to the carnival.
• Wh-question: Where have many people been going ?
• Statement: You have been looking at something.
• Wh-question: What have you been looking at?
Present Perfect or Present Perfect Progressive?

• Present Perfect Simple focuses on the result, while Present Perfect

Progressive focuses on the activity:
• They've been waiting for hours! (This emphasises the length of time).
• They've waited for hours and finally left. (This emphasises the final result/activity).
• The present perfect continuous can be used to emphasize that something is
temporary:
• She's been running a lot recently. (She doesn't usually do this).
Present Perfect or Present Perfect Progressive?

• The present perfect simple is often used when we're talking about how much or
how many. This isn't possible with the present perfect continuous:
• She's drunk three cups of coffee this morning.
• She's drunk at least a liter of coffee today.
• (NOT: she's been drinking three cups of coffee this morning).
• We use 'yet' and 'already' with the present perfect simple:
• Have you read the book yet?
• She's finished her work already.
Present Perfect or Present Perfect Progressive?
Present Perfect [Simple]
Focuses on the result
You have cleaned your room! It looks lovely!
Says “how many/how much”
She has read ten books this summer.
Describes a completed action
I have written you an email.
Present Perfect Continuous
Focuses on the activity
I have been gardening. It is so nice out there.
Says “how long”
She has been reading that book all day.
Describes an activity which may continue
I have been writing emails to you since morning.
Temporary Action
Usually I study at home, but I have been studying in the library for the last
week.
Any Questions?
Thank you for your attention!