An action that started in the past and is STILL GOING ON, or which has JUST STOPPED and has PRESENT results
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| credit Marco Verch Professional Photographer |
with:have/has BEEN + -ing form
- They haven't been playing long. Only a couple of minutes.
- What have you been doing the whole morning?
- That man has been standing on the corner all day.
- I've been playing a lot of tennis recently.
1. We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about the actions that started in the past and continue into the present:
- The Earth has been getting warmer.
2. We use the Present Perfect Continuous when the emphasis is on the ACTION being done.
- Why is the kitchen in the mess? - Because Al's been making a cake.
- Emma is tired. She has been tidying her room all morning. (The job is not necessarily finished)
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| CC-BY-SA Nina Paley |
3. We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about an action we started in the past and are still doing now:
- I've been working all day and I still haven't finished.
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| CC-BY-SA Nina Paley |
4. We also use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about an action we started in the past that finished a short time ago.
- I've been waiting for you to call.
5. We can use the Present Perfect Continuous for a series of repeated actions, for example when we try to do something again and again:
- We've been trying to contact you all day to tell you that you've won the prize.
6. We often use the Present Perfect Continuous when a recent action explains why we look or feel a certain way:
- She's tired because she's been painting her room. (The action of painting explains why she's tired)
PROGRESSIVE / CONTINUATION
SIMPLE / COMPLETION
Both Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous can be used to talk about RECENT ACTIONS. However, we use them to say different things:
compare:
- I've been reading this book since 8 this morning. (FOCUS ON ACTION)
- I've only read three pages since 8 this morning. (FOCUS ON COMPLETION, NUMBER)
- Sorry about this mess. I've been painting the house all morning.(FOCUS ON ACTION)
- I've painted three rooms so far. (FOCUS ON COMPLETION, NUMBER)
- He has been standing here for 2 hours, waiting for her. (FOCUS ON ACTION, TEMPORARY)
- For 900 years the castle has stood on the hill above the village. (LONG-LASTING, PERMANENT)
We can use the present perfect simple to talk about how long when we view something as permanent.
But the present perfect continuous is often used to show that something is temporary.
BE CAREFUL!
Not all verbs can be used in progressive:- I've known her for ten years.(not:
I've been knowing) - I've had this car for year.(not:
I've been havingthis car...)
BUT:
- I've been seeing him for ten years.
- I've been having a few problems with grammar lately.
