The Present Perfect Continuous is the same as the  Present Perfect Progressive Tense. 

Definition: It is used to say that something had been happening before something else happened. The action started and is still continuing.

1. You use it to describe an activity that has stopped or just stopped.

Examples

Why are you sweating? Have you been to the Gym?

Susan looks sick. She has been sleeping all morning.

Why are you still hungry? What have you been eating these days?

We’ve been talking with the agent and he agrees we must give him half the deposit.

Where did Peter go to? His Mum has been looking for him since morning.

2. You use the present perfect progressive for repeated actions

Examples

Paul Smith is an experienced poet. He has been writing poetry since middle school.

Every year we go to the annual festival. We have been celebrating it for 50 years now.

Every month we meet at the beach in Summer. We have been going there since 1999.

3. We use this tense, especially with how long, for… and since…

The activity either just stopped or is still happening.

Examples

How long have you been practicing here?

Spina is watching a new series. She has been watching TV since 3 pm.

Where did you go to? I have been calling you for 2 minutes.

My grandma hasn’t been feeling well recently.

When do we use for, since, and how long?

You use for when you want to mention a period of time.

Example: We have been decorating our new house for 4 hours.

Time frame: Two years, 39 minutes, 1 decade, weeks, ages, five days, seven months, etc.

You use since when you want to mention the start of a period.

Example: I have been waiting for the train since 8 o’clock.

Period: Monday, Easter, 2022, noontime, I got up, 29 February, dinnertime, breaktime, etc.

Comparison between Present Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous

PC: Please call me later, I am cooking now.

PPC: Please call me later, I have been cooking since 2 pm.

How to make a negative present perfect progressive sentence

You need to add the auxiliary ‘not’ when making negative sentences.

Example

We haven’t been going to work since the COVID pandemic began.

They haven’t been sleeping these days because the baby cries all night.

I haven’t been calling him since our divorce.

She hasn’t been cooking for him for two weeks.

How to ask a question in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense.

You can use have/has and been when you ask a question.

1. Have you been studying Law since your first year at the university?

2. Have you been working there for more than 3 months?

3. How long have you been waiting for me?

4. What have you been doing in Thailand?

5. Where have you been teaching?

6. Who has been mentoring you?

Exception

For the verb Know, you cannot conjugate with this tense

Wrong: I have been knowing her for 2 years.

Correct: I have known her for two years.

Recently and lately are words that we often find with verbs in the present perfect continuous tense.

Exercises

1. It ……………..(rain) since 4 am. Did you hear the thunderbolt?

2. Emilia ……………… (watch) TV since she woke up. She just stopped a while ago.

3. They ………………..(play) beach volleyball at the sea shores since the Summer break.

4. Peter…………………… (slide) on the snow for 2 hours.

5. Pepsin………………………(smell) flowers since we entered the garden.

6. Granpa ………………….(snore)all night. I think he is sick again.

7. The government…………………..(solve) unemployment problems for a decade now.

8. Farmers in my village …………………(sow) seeds because of the rainy season.

9. I………….. (speak) with him on the phone for 30 minutes.

10. The Policeman ………………………(stand) in the middle of the road since the traffic accident occurred.

11. Pauline is now in prison. She …………………..(steal) government funds since she began working.

12. I …………………..(stir) my tea for 3 seconds because I want the sugar to dissolve.

13. My husband ………………..(suggest) that we take vacations every month end.

14. The butter company ………………. (supply) butter to my shop for 10 years now.

15. The cleaner………………………..(sweep) the rooms at the house for 34 minutes. Please hold on outside for now.

Use the verbs and make more sentences

For more English Langauge materials on tenses, click here.