English Grammar: Present Perfect Continuous Tense – Rules, Examples, and Exercises

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✅ Answers

1️⃣ They have been studying for the exam for six hours.
2️⃣ I’m exhausted; I have been working in the garden all day.
3️⃣ We have been waiting for the bus for 30 minutes.
4️⃣ She has been cleaning the house for two hours.
5️⃣ Have the kids been playing outside for the entire afternoon?
6️⃣ He has been cooking dinner since 5 PM.
7️⃣ I have been living in this city for 10 years.
8️⃣ The team has been practicing every day this week.
9️⃣ Have you been reading that book for a very long time?
10️⃣ They have been trying to fix the car for hours.

🧠 Lesson: The Present Perfect Continuous Tense

🔹 1. Definition

The Present Perfect Continuous Tense is used to talk about an action that started in the past and is still continuing now or has recently stopped, but we can still see the result.

Example:

• I have been studying English for two years.
  (= I started two years ago and I am still studying now.)

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🔹 2. Structure (Form)

Subject	have/has	been	verb + ing
I / You / We / They	have	been	working / studying / playing
He / She / It	has	been	working / studying / playing

Examples:

• She has been reading for two hours.
• They have been waiting since morning.

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🔹 3. Usage (When to Use)

🕓 a. To show an action that started in the past and continues now

I have been learning English for three years.
(I am still learning.)

🕓 b. To show an action that has recently stopped but has a result now

He is tired because he has been running.
(He stopped running, but we can see he is tired.)

🕓 c. To emphasize the duration of an action

We have been working all day.

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🔹 4. Time Expressions

Common words used with the Present Perfect Continuous:

• for → for two hours, for a long time, for five years
• since → since morning, since 2020, since I was a child
• lately / recently → I have been feeling tired lately.

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🔹 5. Differences Between Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous

Present Perfect	Present Perfect Continuous
Focuses on the result	Focuses on the activity or duration
I have written three emails.	I have been writing emails all morning.
(The result: three emails)	(The action: writing)

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🔹 6. Negative Form

Subject	have/has not	been	verb + ing
I / You / We / They	have not (haven’t)	been	working
He / She / It	has not (hasn’t)	been	working

Examples:

• I have not been watching TV.
• He has not been studying much lately.

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🔹 7. Questions

Have / Has	Subject	been	verb + ing	?
Have	you	been	working?
Has	she	been	studying?

Examples:

• Have you been waiting long?
• Has it been raining?

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🔹 8. Exercises

A. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets:

1. She __________ (study) for three hours.
2. They __________ (work) since 8 o’clock.
3. It __________ (rain) all day.
4. I __________ (read) this book for a week.
5. He __________ (not / sleep) well lately.

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B. Choose the correct answer:

1. I ___ been watching TV for two hours.
   a) have  b) has  c) am
2. She ___ been cooking all morning.
   a) have  b) has  c) is
3. They ___ been working hard lately.
   a) has  b) have  c) were

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C. True or False:

1. The Present Perfect Continuous is used for finished actions. (____)
2. “She has been running” means the action started in the past and may still continue. (____)
3. We use “since” with exact points in time. (____)

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🔹 9. Answers

A.

1. has been studying  2. have been working  3. has been raining  4. have been reading  5. has not been sleeping

B.

1. a) have  2. b) has  3. b) have

C.

1. False  2. True  3. True

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🔹 10. Conclusion

The Present Perfect Continuous helps you describe actions that connect the past with the present.
Remember to use have/has + been + verb-ing and to add time expressions like for and since.

Practice speaking and writing with this tense every day to make your English more natural!

📘 Download the full lesson: [Present Perfect Continuous PDF]