Present Perfect Continuous

The Present Perfect Continuous uses two auxiliary verbs together with a main verb.

In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the Present Perfect Continuous tense, as well as the use of for and since, followed by a quiz to check your understanding.

Note that continuous tenses are also called progressive tenses. So the Present Perfect Continuous tense is sometimes called the Present Perfect Progressive tense.

How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous tense?

The structure of the Present Perfect Continuous tense is:

subject
+
auxiliary have
+
auxiliary be
+
main verb

conjugated in Present Simple

past participle

 

have, has
been
present participle

The first auxiliary (have) is conjugated in the Present Simple: have, has

The second auxiliary (be) is invariable in past participle form: been

The main verb is invariable in present participle form: -ing

For negative sentences we insert not after the first auxiliary verb.

For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb.

Look at these example sentences with the Present Perfect Continuous tense:

 
subject
auxiliary verb
 
auxiliary verb
main verb
 

+
I
have
 
been
waiting
for one hour.

+
You
have
 
been
talking
too much.

–
It
has
not
been
raining.
 

–
We
have
not
been
playing
football.

?
Have
you
 
been
seeing
her?

?
Have
they
 
been
doing
their homework?

Contraction with Present Perfect Continuous

When we use the Present Perfect Continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and the first auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.

I have been
I’ve been

You have been
You’ve been

He has been
She has been
It has been
John has been
The car has been
He’s been
She’s been
It’s been
John’s been
The car’s been

We have been
We’ve been

They have been
They’ve been

• I’ve been reading.
• Jenny’s been helping us recently.

In negative sentences, we may contract the first auxiliary verb and “not”:

• I haven’t been playing tennis.
• It hasn’t been snowing.

How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous tense?

This tense is called the Present Perfect Continuous tense. There is usually a connection with the present or now.

We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about:

• past action recently-stopped
• past action still-continuing

Present Perfect Continuous for past action just stopped

We use the Present Perfect Continuous tense to talk about action that started in the past and stopped recently. There is usually a result now.

I’m tired because I‘ve been running.

past
present
future

!!!
 

Recent action
Result now
 

• I’m tired [now] because I‘ve been running.
• Why is the grass wet [now]? Has it been raining?
• You don’t understand [now] because you haven’t been listening.

Present Perfect Continuous for past action continuing now

We use the Present Perfect Continuous tense to talk about action that started in the past and is continuing now. This is often used with for or since.

I have been reading for 2 hours.

past
present
future

 

Action started in past.
Action is continuing now.
 

• I have been reading for 2 hours. (I am still reading now.)
• We‘ve been studying since 9 o’clock. (We’re still studying now.)
• How long have you been learning English? (You are still learning now.)
• We have not been smoking. (And we are not smoking now.)

For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous tense

We often use for and since with perfect tenses:

• We use for to talk about a period of time: three hours, two months, one decade
• We use since to talk about a point in past time: 9 o’clock, 1st January, Monday

for
since

a period of time
a point in past time
– – – – – – – – – – – –
– • – – – – – – – – – –

30 minutes
10.00am

four days
Friday

3 months
March

2 years
2010

3 centuries
1700

ages
I left school

ever
the beginning of time

etc
etc

Look at these example sentences using for and since with the Present Perfect Continuous tense:

• I have been studying for three hours.
• I have been watching TV since 7pm.
• Tara hasn’t been feeling well for two weeks.
• Tara hasn’t been visiting us since March.
• He has been playing football for a long time.
• He has been living in Bangkok since he left school.

For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.

Back to 12 English Tenses

Verb

Do they have a new car?

You can have it until I get back.

She has a red bike, and I have a blue one.

She got another part-time job and now she has two jobs.

I’m looking for the newspaper. Do you have it?

He had the newspaper right in his hand.

I used to have a necklace like that, but I lost it.

She used to share a room with her sister, but now she has her own room.

Have they got a new car?

We’ve got things to do.

Noun

a society that discriminates between the haves and the have-nots

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The dataset contains all incident reports once they’ve been approved by a sergeant or lieutenant, with some exceptions, including reports that have been removed to comply with court orders or to keep records private during internal investigations.

—

Susie Neilson, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Oct. 2021

Booster shots have been authorized for elderly Americans who’ve had the Pfizer-BioNTech shot at least six months ago.

—

Annie Linskey, Anchorage Daily News, 19 Oct. 2021

We’ve been married 31 years and have been retired for the past six.

—

Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 17 Oct. 2021

Nearly all of the police department’s civilian police employees – 98% – also have verified they’ve been fully vaccinated, the figures showed.

—

From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 8 Oct. 2021

Those who’ve gone public with their offers have cited much lower figures.

—

Tom Maloney, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2021

The list points to 13 accounts that have made more than $108,000 a year and at least 80 who’ve collected more than $1 million since 2019.

—

Time, 7 Oct. 2021

Employers in many states have fired employees who’ve defied their employer’s vaccination mandates.

—

Lynne Curry, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Oct. 2021

We’ve seen where environmental factors can actually have effects on genetics.

—

Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 5 Oct. 2021

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

This could make a notable impact for the many retirement have-nots, by encouraging broader participation.

—

Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic, 25 Oct. 2021

The gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening.

—

Dana Feldman, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2021

New Netflix series Outer Banks follows two sets of rivaling teenaged groups, the Kooks and the Pogues, acting as stand-ins for the all-American parable between the haves and the have-nots.

—

Chelsey Sanchez, Harper’s BAZAAR, 29 July 2021

Anyone can find a great little college quarterback, which is why the have-nots typically try to win with offense.

—

Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 16 July 2021

At the same time, the disaster has exposed the gap between the haves and the have-nots, with vaccination drives barely getting started in Africa and other desperately poor corners of the world because of extreme shortages of shots.

—

Fox News, 8 July 2021

At the same time, the disaster has exposed the gap between the haves and the have-nots, with vaccination drives barely getting started in Africa and other desperately poor corners of the world because of extreme shortages of shots.

—

CBS News, 8 July 2021

In Barrington, for example, a dispute over which Barrington residents get to access the shore is a battle between the haves and the have-mores.

—

BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2021

Just as climate change is expected to exacerbate inequalities, the new phase of the pandemic is divided between the haves and the have-nots.

—

Washington Post, 22 July 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘have.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.