English tenses › Present Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Continuous is for an activity that started in the past and is still going on, or has just stopped and you can see the effect.
Form
When to use it
Still going on
With for, since and How long…?
I’ve been learning English for two years.
Just stopped, visible effect
The activity explains what you see now.
You look tired. Have you been running?
Repeated recently
Something done again and again lately.
She’s been calling me all week.
Time words
for, since, all day, all week, lately, recently, How long…?
Examples
- It’s been raining since morning.
- How long have you been waiting?
- He’s been working on that app for months.
- I haven’t been sleeping well.
- We’ve been talking about you.
- They’ve been living in Lisbon since March.
Common mistake
I am waiting here for an hour.
I’ve been waiting here for an hour.
With for or since about time up to now, use a Perfect form, not Present Continuous.
Present Perfect Continuous or Present Perfect?
Present Perfect Continuous stresses the activity, Present Perfect the result: I’ve been writing emails all morning. I’ve written ten. More about Present Perfect.
Hear it in videos
See it in real speech. Paste any YouTube link into Tense Lens and every tense in the video is highlighted as it is spoken, with a map of where each one appears.