Present Perfect Continuous Tense

The Present Perfect Continuous tense is used to talk about actions that started in the past and are still continuing now, or actions that were happening recently and have an effect on the present.

1. Form

Subject + have/has + been + verb(-ing)

I/You/We/They → have been + -ing
He/She/It → has been + -ing

Examples:

I have been studying all morning.
She has been working here for five years.
They have been playing football since 2 p.m.

2. When Do We Use It?

a) Actions started in the past and still continuing now

I have been living in Izmir for two years. (I still live there now.)
She has been working at this company since 2020.

b) Actions that happened recently and have a present result

I’m tired because I have been running.
His hands are dirty. He has been fixing the car.

c) To emphasize duration (how long something has been happening)

We have been waiting for an hour.
They have been studying since morning.

3. Signal Words

Common words that go with the Present Perfect Continuous:

for, since, how long, lately, recently

Examples:

She has been learning English for two years.
I have been working here since 2021.
How long have you been waiting?

4. Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong	✅ Correct
I am learning English since two years.	I have been learning English for two years.
She has worked here since 2019.	She has been working here since 2019.
I have been knowing him for a long time.	I have known him for a long time.

Ongoing Actions

The first is not always wrong, but the continuous form is more natural for ongoing actions.

Stative Verbs

We don’t use continuous with stative verbs like know, like, love, believe.

5. Comparison with Present Perfect Simple

Present Perfect Continuous: Focus on the activity itself or duration.
- I have been studying English for three hours. (Emphasis on the action and time.)
Present Perfect Simple: Focus on the result of the activity.
- I have studied three chapters today. (Emphasis on how much I finished.)

Quick Review

Form: have/has + been + verb(-ing).
Uses:
1. Actions started in the past and still continuing.
2. Actions that happened recently with a present effect.
3. Emphasis on duration.
Signal Words: for, since, how long, lately, recently.
Don’t use with stative verbs (know, like, believe, etc.).
Compare with Present Perfect Simple (continuous = activity/duration, simple = result).

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

On this page