The document discusses the present perfect continuous tense. It defines the tense as showing an action that started in the past and is continuing in the present. It provides the affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms using have/has been and the present participle. Examples are given for each person. The tense is used to indicate duration from the past until now, often using phrases like "for five minutes" or "since Tuesday." It can also indicate recent or ongoing actions, conveying meanings like "lately" or "recently."
2. PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS TENSES
• DEFINITION
The present perfect continuous tense (also
known as the present perfect progressive
tense) shows that something started in the
past and is continuing at the present time.
3. FORM
• Affirmative(+):
S + have/has + been + verb-ing/present
participle
• Negative(-):
S + have/has + not + been + verb-
ing/present participle
• Interrogative(?):
Have/has + subject + been + verb-ing +…?
4. EXAMPLE
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I have been living I haven't been living Have I been living?
You have been living You haven't been living Have you been living?
He, she, it has been living He hasn't been living Has she been living?
We have been living We haven't been living Have we been living?
They have been living They haven’t been living Have they been living?
5. THE USED
• USE 1 Duration from the Past Until Now
We use the present perfect continuous to show that something started
in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two
weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with
the present perfect continuous. Example: She has been working here
for five years.
Tip! We often use since and for to say how long the action has lasted.
• USE 2 Recently, Lately
We also use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about actions that
have been going on very recently . They have usually just stopped, but
you can see some evidence of what has been happening or it has the
meaning of “lately”, “recently”. Example: She has been watching too
much television lately.
