Zero-to-Hero: Mastering the Present Perfect Continuous

1. Form of the Present Perfect Continuous

The Present Perfect Continuous (also called Progressive) is formed using:

Subject + have/has + been + verb-ing

• Affirmative: I have been studying.

• Negative: I have not been studying.
• Question: Have you been studying?

2. Usage and Examples

Usage A: Duration of an activity from the past to the present

Used with time words like: for, since, all morning, all day, all week.

1. I have been sitting at my desk since seven o'clock.

2. We have been waiting for the bus for two hours.
3. You have been studying for five straight hours.
4. It has been raining all day. It is still raining right now.
5. They have been working on this project all week.

Usage B: General activity in progress recently/lately

Used when there is no specific time mentioned, often implying the result is visible
now.

6. I have been thinking about changing my school.

7. All of the students have been studying hard lately. Final exams are near.
8. My back hurts, so I have been sleeping on the floor recently.
9. She has been practicing the piano a lot lately.
10. Have you been exercising recently?
Usage C: Verbs with little to no difference (live, work, teach)
With certain verbs, both Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous mean the
same thing when used with 'since' or 'for'.

11. I have been living here since 2015. / I have lived here since 2015.
12. He has been working at the same store for ten years. / He has worked there
for ten years.
13. She has been teaching English since 2020. / She has taught English since
2020.
14. They have been living in Cairo for five months. / They have lived in Cairo for
five months.
15. We have been working together for a year. / We have worked together for a
year.

Usage D: REMINDER - Stative Verbs

Stative verbs (know, like, belong, understand) are NOT used in the continuous
form. Use the Present Perfect simple instead to describe the duration of a state.

16. I have known Alex since he was a child. (NOT: have been knowing)
17. She has loved reading since she was young. (NOT: has been loving)
18. We have understood the lesson for a while now. (NOT: have been
understanding)
19. They have owned that car for five years. (NOT: have been owning)
20. He has believed in ghosts since he was a kid. (NOT: has been believing)

3. Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the gaps

Fill in the correct form of the Present Perfect Continuous.

1. I __________ (read) this book for two hours.

2. She __________ (not / sleep) well lately.

3. __________ you __________ (wait) here for a long time?

4. They __________ (play) football all morning.

5. It __________ (snow) since yesterday.

6. We __________ (study) English for three years.

7. He __________ (work) on his car all afternoon.

8. The children __________ (watch) TV since 8 AM.

9. I __________ (think) about our conversation recently.

10. __________ she __________ (practice) her guitar lately?

Exercise 2: Correct the verb in brackets

Careful! Watch out for stative verbs.

1. I (know) my best friend for ten years.

2. She (run) every morning recently.

3. We (be) at this school since 2021.

4. You look tired. What (you / do)?

5. He (not / listen) to the teacher all day.

6. They (have) this house for a long time.

7. I (try) to call you for an hour.

8. She (believe) in magic since she was a little girl.

9. It (rain) hard, so the streets are wet.

10. We (live) in Egypt since we were born.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the sentence using the word provided

1. I started reading this book at 3 PM. It is now 5 PM. (been)

2. She began cooking two hours ago and she is still cooking. (for)

3. They moved to Paris in 2020 and still live there. (living)

4. He is tired because he worked all day. (has)

5. I met John in 2015. We are still friends. (known)

6. It started raining on Monday. It is still raining. (since)

7. We started studying three hours ago. (been)

8. My eyes hurt. I watched TV a lot lately. (watching)

9. You started teaching here ten years ago. (taught)

10. He started waiting for the train 30 minutes ago. (waiting)

Exercise 4: Multiple Choice

1. I __________ here for two hours. [am sitting / have been sitting / was sitting /
sat]

2. She __________ French since she was in grade 6. [has been studying / is
studying / studies / studied]

3. How long __________ you __________ on this project? [do - work / have -
been working / are - working / did - work]

4. I __________ him since we were kids. [have been knowing / have known / know
/ knew]
5. You look exhausted! __________ you __________ out? [Are - working / Have
- been working / Do - work / Did - work]

6. They __________ in the same house for 20 years. [has lived / have been living /
are living / lives]

7. The ground is wet. __________ it __________? [Has - been raining / Is -

raining / Does - rain / Did - rain]

8. He __________ a lot of time at the library lately. [has been spending / spend /
is spending / spent]

9. I __________ this bike for three years. [have been owning / have owned / am
owning / own]

10. We __________ for the manager all morning. [has been waiting / have been
waiting / are waiting / waited]

Final Exam (20 Marks)

Part A: Choose the correct answer (1 mark each)

1. My hands are dirty because I __________ in the garden. [have been working /
worked / am working]

2. She __________ that book for a week, and she still isn't finished. [has been
reading / reads / is reading]

3. I __________ this song since yesterday. [have loved / have been loving / love]

4. How long __________ they __________ for us? [have - been waiting / are -
waiting / do - wait]

5. It __________ all week! [is raining / has been raining / rains]

6. He __________ in London since 2018. [lives / has been living / lived]

7. We __________ each other for five years. [have been knowing / have known /
know]

8. I __________ about moving to a new city lately. [am thinking / have been
thinking / think]

9. __________ you __________ enough water recently? [Have - been drinking /

Are - drinking / Do - drink]

10. She __________ to drive since January. [has been learning / learns / is
learning]

Part B: Fill in the correct form of the verb (1 mark each)

11. I (study) __________ English for three hours.

12. He (not / feel) __________ well lately.

13. They (be) __________ married since 2010.

14. We (play) __________ tennis all morning.

15. How long (you / stand) __________ there?

16. The chef (cook) __________ since 5 AM.

17. She (want) __________ to visit Japan for years.

18. I (try) __________ to fix my computer all day.

19. You (watch) __________ too much television recently!

20. They (work) __________ at this company since they graduated.

Answer Key
---

Exercise 1
1. have been reading 2. has not been sleeping 3. Have / been waiting 4. have
been playing 5. has been snowing 6. have been studying 7. has been working 8.
have been watching 9. have been thinking 10. Has / been practicing

Exercise 2
1. have known 2. has been running 3. have been 4. have you been doing 5. has
not been listening 6. have had 7. have been trying 8. has believed 9. has been
raining 10. have been living (or have lived)

Exercise 3
1. I have been reading this book for two hours. / I have been reading this book
since 3 PM.
2. She has been cooking for two hours.
3. They have been living in Paris since 2020.
4. He is tired because he has been working all day.
5. I have known John since 2015.
6. It has been raining since Monday.
7. We have been studying for three hours.
8. My eyes hurt because I have been watching TV a lot lately.
9. You have taught here for ten years.
10. He has been waiting for the train for 30 minutes.

Exercise 4
1. have been sitting 2. has been studying 3. have - been working 4. have known
5. Have - been working 6. have been living 7. Has - been raining 8. has been
spending 9. have owned 10. have been waiting
Final Exam
Part A: 1. have been working 2. has been reading 3. have loved 4. have - been
waiting 5. has been raining 6. has been living 7. have known 8. have been
thinking 9. Have - been drinking 10. has been learning

Part B: 11. have been studying 12. has not been feeling 13. have been 14. have
been playing 15. have you been standing 16. has been cooking 17. has wanted
18. have been trying 19. have been watching 20. have been working