Present Perfect Continuous - rules and examples. Present Perfect Continuous (present perfect long time in English): education, use, example sentences

Learning English can take a long time for learners to understand at times Perfect and Continuous in order to learn how to use them automatically. Therefore, you can imagine their feelings when they come to such a terrible topic as Perfect Continuous. These are two times at once, and even such not simple ones! However, these fears are completely in vain, and now we will be convinced of this by the example of Present Perfect Continuous time (pronounced as [present perfect continuus]).

Present perfect Continuous Tense(also known as Present Perfect Progressive Tense) or present perfect continuous tense - time in English language, used to express actions that began and either lasted until a certain point in the past, or continue to continue to this day.

This time is used relatively rarely, since it is often replaced by Present Perfect time, but it is still necessary to know it, because in certain situations it will not be possible to do without it. Moreover, the correct use of sentences in Present Perfect Continuous will only confirm your high level of knowledge of the language, and therefore will attract praise from native speakers. Let's take a look at how this time is formed and used.

Present Perfect Continuous education is similar to Present Perfect and. To form this tense, two verbs are needed: auxiliary and semantic. The auxiliary verb is to be in the Present Perfect form. It has 2 forms of perfect, depending on the person and number:

I	have been
He	has been

Semantic verbs are formed using Participle I or the present participle. To form it, add the ending –ing to the verb.

Infinitive	V + -ing
(to) blink	blinking
(to) strike	striking
(to) pressure	pressuring
(to) blossom	blossoming
(to) heal	healing
(to) give	giving
(to) mumble	mumbling
(to) walk	walking
(to) compensate	compensating

Actually, that's all. By attaching both parts, you get a verb in Present Perfect Continuous Tense:

Present Perfect Continuous: sentence forms

We figured out the formation of verbs, now let's see how to make sentences with them in various forms.

Affirmative Sentences with Present Perfect Continuous

The affirmative form Present Perfect Continuous, as always, is standard: first, the subject is used, after the predicate, expressed by auxiliary and semantic verbs. Any minor member can complete the sentence. Table for clarity:

This example is used in Active Voice or active voice. If you want to use Passive Voice (passive voice), you may have difficulties.

Firstly, in order to form Passive Voice in Present Perfect Continuous, you still need to try, because you will need to use 4 verbs in a row.
Secondly, even if you can easily cope with the first task, you will agree that the phrases in Passive Voice a la "have been being understood" sound at least unusual.
Thirdly, the carriers do not use Passive Voice with this time, so even they will not be able to appreciate your efforts.

Yes, it is theoretically possible to build a Continuous Passive, but in practice no one needs such proposals. In general, do not complicate the English language for yourself or others, and do not use Continuous Passive. If you need to show that the action was not performed by a person / object, but was directed at him, use not Continuous Passive, but Passive Voice in Present Perfect time.

Negative Sentences with Present Perfect Continuous

The negative form in Present Perfect Continuous Tense is formed by adding the negative particle not between have (has) and been:

Abbreviations are possible in both positive and negative forms:

Full form

Abbreviated form

statement

I have been calculating.

She has been studying.

He has been faking.

It has been blowing.

I've been calculating.

She’s been studying.

He's been faking.

It's been blowing.

—

negation

We have not been skating.

You have not been judging.

They have not been watching.

She has not been cleaning.

We haven’t been skating.

You haven’t been judging.

They haven't been watching.

She hasn't been cleaning.

You may have noticed that the has in the affirmative clause is abbreviated as is is. To understand what time is used, remember the rules of education. The present perfect long tense in English always requires the verb after has. If both of these verbs are in the sentence, then the speaker is using this particular tense.

Interrogative sentences with Present Perfect Continuous

The interrogative form is built based on the type of question:

For a general question, you need to move the auxiliary verbs have and has at the beginning of the sentence. Been remains in its original location:

The alternate question adds a second member of the clause for the choice, which is supported by the conjunction or (or):

Special questions are identical to general ones, only they use a question word before have (has):

In the separation question, you need to use an affirmative or negative sentence, after which a short question is asked:

Present Perfect Continuous: use

Present Perfect Continuous Tense or present perfect for a long time is used in the following situations:

To express an action that began in the past and is still ongoing. In this case, the speaker knows when the action began and how long it will last. He cannot say when the action is over.
Typically, such sentences contain indicator words: recently (the other day), lately (recently), quite a while ( long time/ a long time ago), these ... weeks (some weeks), all my life (all my life), all day (long) / this month / this year (all day, month, year); as well as time markers for (during) and since (since), which are used as hints for using this time:

In this case, the time can be used to ask a special question. Such a question usually starts with the words: how long (how long) or since when (from what moment):

Present Perfect Continuous Tense is also used in cases where the action began in the past, lasted for a certain time and ended recently. This option emphasizes the duration of the action that led to some kind of result in the present. Markers in such sentences can be omitted:

Present Perfect Continuous time is also used in cases where we mean that some action happened earlier. This conclusion is drawn from what he heard / seen. More often this option is used in a negative context:

The present perfectly long tense is also used in a complex sentence that has a subordinate tense. Temporary markers for entering subordinate clauses here are limited to one word since (since). it subordinate clause used in Past Simple, and most importantly it is built in Present Perfect Continuous:

Do not forget that Continuous times are not used with state verbs or state verbs that express feelings, perception, mental activity, possession of something. In this case, instead of Continuous time, Present Perfect is used:

However, there are some exceptions. The use of Present Perfect Continuous time is possible, if it is necessary to highlight the action, to give it a more pronounced shade. So, for example, in Present Perfect Continuous you can find the verbs wish (to wish), want (to want) and mean (to collect):

Also pay attention to those verbs that are used in both Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous. These verbs include words that in themselves imply a continuous action. For example: live, sleep, study, teach, work, run:

If the situation continues to last for a certain period, but is temporary or will soon change, use Present Perfect Continuous:

I’ve been studying here for 2 years but I’m going to transfer to another university soon.

I have been studying here for 2 years, but I am going to transfer to another university soon.

It is worth noting that, despite the similarity of signs not only with Present Perfect time, but also, in some way, with Present Continuous, sentences cannot be used, replacing Present Continuous with Present Perfect Continuous and vice versa. These times have different meanings and cannot be interchangeable.

Present Perfect Continuous translation into Russian

It is worth paying special attention to the Russian translation of Present Perfect Continuous. As you already know, this time either indicates an action that lasted and ended, or an action that began and is still ongoing. Accordingly, based on the choice of one of the two mentioned cases, the translation is constructed. So, if we want to show that the action has already ended, when translating into Russian we use the verbs imperfect in the past time:

If the action is still ongoing, then the translation is carried out with verbs used in the same form, but in the present tense:

You can understand what time is meant based on the context.

The present completed long time, as you can see, is not as difficult as it looks at first glance. Since this time is limited to certain situations, accordingly, it does not have a great variety of uses. It is also quite simple to build, especially if you are already familiar with other times. Therefore, do not avoid Present Perfect Continuous, use it correctly, and if you need to repeat some of the rules that are associated with it, return to this page and re-read the examples. And you can also consolidate your knowledge by going to the page

The present perfect continuous tense is, at first glance, a little paradoxical phenomenon in English: how can an action be simultaneously accomplished and ongoing? Let's figure it out with a specific example:

In the example above, we considered an action that lasted for some time, starting from a certain moment in the past, and just ending. From the times Continuous groups given form received the obligatory duration of the action, and from the time of the Perfect group - the presence of some result from the accomplished action (in our case, these are raw leaves, grass and soil).

However, situations are possible when an action that has lasted up to the present moment does not end, but continues further. In such situations, Present Perfect Continuous is also used, but usually the time duration of the action is indicated up to the present moment, for example:

In this case, the indicated duration of action represents a certain significant result for the present.

Affirmative sentence

The structure of the sentence in Present Perfect Continuous is based on a combination of elements of those temporary groups that are included in the title: Present indicates that the first (and main) auxiliary will stand in the present tense, Perfect- that this auxiliary verb will be, and then the third form of a certain verb will follow, and Continuous - that the verb to be will be in the third form, followed by a semantic verb with the ending –ing. As a result, the following construction scheme is obtained:

have / has been Ving

Here are some examples of affirmative sentences with verb in present perfect continuous tense:

Negation

When constructing a negative sentence in this temporary form, it should be remembered that the particle not added to the first auxiliary verb ( haven’T / hasn’t). Let's trace this phenomenon with specific examples:

Due to the specifics of this temporal form, its use in negative sentences is somewhat limited to a narrow context.

Questions

General issues with a predicate in a given tense form are constructed by transferring an auxiliary verb to the first place:

When building special issue a question word is added to the same scheme, which will take the first place in the sentence:

Question to the subject also starts with a question word - Who (who) orWhat (what)- but in this case it replaces the subject, plays its role, therefore there can be no other subject in the sentence, and the words are arranged in the following scheme:

Alternative question provides for a choice between two or more options, expressed by means of a union o r / or and is constructed in the same way as the general question:

Question-"tag" necessary to express doubts about the content of a sentence, also called dividing question, is constructed using the auxiliary verb haven’t / hasn’t for an affirmative and have / has for a negative sentence, followed by the corresponding personal pronoun subject:

... affirmative ...,haven’T / hasn’t +SP?	It has been snowing, isn’t it?	It's snowed, isn't it?
	Maria has been learning English for two years, hasn’t she?	Maria has been studying English for two years now, hasn't she?
	Tom has been smoking too much recently, hasn’t he?	Tom smokes too much lately, doesn't he?
... negative ...,have/ has +SP?	You haven’t been looking for us, have you?	You weren't looking for us, were you?
	Ann hasn’t been working for two hours, has she?	Anne hasn't worked for two hours, has she?
	The girls haven’t been swimming, have they?	Girls didn't swim, did they?

Use

As mentioned above, the predicate in Present Perfect Continuous expresses an action that began in the past, continued for some time, and either just ended or continues, but in such a situation its duration is indicated:

The need to use the temporary form Present Perfect Continuous in a sentence is often indicated by marker words - prepositions since(c; since) and for(over, over).

Often confusion is caused by controversial situations of choosing the use of the Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous tenses. In order to avoid misunderstandings, let us consider the difference in the use of these two similar temporal forms with specific examples:

Present perfect	Present perfect continuous
the action is completed and it creates a certain result in the present	the action lasted until the present moment, and it is this duration that is important
The walls in the room were white. Now they are orange. Tom has painted them.	Tom’S clothes are covered in paint. He has been painting his room.
The walls in the room were white. They are now orange. Tom painted them.	Tom's clothes are covered in paint. He painted his room.
the result is important - painted walls, no matter how much time was spent on the painting process	it doesn't matter if the room is painted to the end, that is, the result is not important, but the duration is important, which led to stained clothes

The temporal form of Present Perfect Continuous, although it is a limited narrow context, occurs quite often in live English speech, proving the fact that situations in which it is the duration of the action that is important are quite widespread.

If you study it carefully, you will notice that the main meaning of this time is to transfer the connection of a certain process with the present moment. If it's simpler, then a couple present perfect & present perfect continuous very similar to present simple & present continuous. One time in each pair serves for the transmission of facts (results in the case of perfect simple) and the other indicates a process. But these "processes" are not alike.

present perfect continuous rules and examples

So let's consider present perfect continuous rules and examples... There are 3 main cases when it is possible (and even necessary) to use present perfect continuous .

the rule	example	translation
To express a process that has been going on for a period of time but has just ended. It is connected with the present, a certain result is visible.	I have been tidy ing up the house for three hours so I look tired.	I cleaned the house for three hours, so I look tired.
To express an action that began some time ago and still lasts at the moment of speech.	Look! She has been read ing that book since yesterday.	Look! She has been reading that book since yesterday.
To convey an action that has occurred regularly over a long period of time and is still happening.	Every morning he drinks the same coffee. He has been do ing this for five years.	He drinks the same coffee every morning. He has been doing this for five years.

Peculiarities of using present perfect continuous. Questions and denials

Have consumption present perfect continuous very similar to normal perfect time. Just for present perfect continuous not the 3rd form of the semantic verb is used, but the ingo one. You must have noticed the ending –Ing in each example. If you need to form a negation, use ‘Haven’t been’ and ‘Hasn’t been’. Use present perfect continuous in questions, it is limited to the need to make an auxiliary verb in front of the subject. Take a look at the following examples.

(-) She hasn’t been ask ing any questions for three days. - She doesn't ask anything for 3 days.

(?) Has it been rain ing here? - Was it raining here?

How to train the difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous?

We hope this article on the topic “ present perfect continuous rules and examples”Helped you figure it out. We wish you success in conquering the heights of the English language and will be happy to help you in learning it!

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Why are examples given in the rules? Maybe a detailed explanation is enough? But no! Visual perception English sentence, text, comparison with the Russian version are important, if not the main elements of the entire learning process. This is what will help to comprehend the soul of each phenomenon, for example, Present Perfect Continuous.

Let's start with the fact that this time is not just present, but completed and continued. This can mean only one thing: it lasts at the time of the conversation, or literally just ended. Despite its long name, Present Perfect Continuous is easy to use: just two situations or functions.

Present Perfect Continuous Examples

If the action lasts at the time of the conversation, but it started in the past, happened in that time period, and now it is still relevant, then we use Present Perfect Continuous. In such sentences, you can find hints already, for, since, recently, a question with How long. It can be two parallel actions, and those that were performed repeatedly (several times).

Is it still raining? - It’s been raining since yesterday morning.- Is it still raining? It's been raining since yesterday morning.

Tom has been playing tennis recently. — Recent times Tom played tennis.

I have been watching the game since I have been sitting there.- I've been watching the game since I sit here.

I have been repairing my car for several days.- I have been repairing my car for several days.

He has been smoking for 10 years.- He has been smoking for 10 years.

The action that began in the past lasted and ended by the conversation... Most often, signal words are not found in such sentences, the whole situation, and therefore the time, follows from the context.

Sorry.I'm late. I have been preparing for my examination. Have you been waiting?- Sorry I'm late. I was preparing for exams. Have you been waiting?

You are out of breath! Have you been training?“You're out of breath. Have you trained?

Why are you so dirty? What have you been doing?- You're so dirty. What did you do?

I’ve been talking about your problem to my mother.- I talked about your problem with your mom.

In a separate line, you can display emotionally colored sentences, which also use Present Perfect Continuous

She has been telling lies again. “She’s lying again!

Very often it is difficult to use cases of Present Perfect Continuous or Present Perfect Simple, because each of them is based on a combination of the past and the present. Let's see the proposals in Present Perfect Continuous and compare.

1. If it is important to us process, not result , then we use it for a long time.

Ann is covered in paint. She has been painting her country house.- Anna is covered in paint. She painted a country house.
The country house was yellow. Now it is blue. Ann has painted it. — Vacation home was yellow. It is now blue. Anna painted it.

Tom should smoke less, because he has been smoking too much recently.- Tom should smoke less. He smokes too much lately.
The guests have smoked all my cigarettes.- The guests have smoked all my cigarettes.

2. Continuous emphasizes the process itself, how long the action lasted, and therefore answers the question How long? (how long) ... Present Perfect Simple answers the question How much? (how) and comments on how much work has been completed in a given time.

My friends have been writing poems all day.“My friends have been writing poems all day.
My friends have written 2 poems today.- Today my friends wrote 2 poems.

How long have you been writing your last novel?- How long did you write your last novel?
How many pages of your novel have you written?- How many pages of your novel did you write?

3. Continued present refers to temporary actions, and completed to permanent .

That man has been standing outside for hours.“That man stood in the street for several hours.
That man has always worked hard.“That man always works hard.

I have known him for some time.- I've known him for a while.
She has been in Minsk for the past last week.- She was in Minsk for the last week.

But Present Perfect Continuous Passive does not exist. You can rejoice, with Passive Voice it will already be easier.

Summarize. Perfect Continuous isn't as hard to remember as it sounds. If you clearly see the pointers, look at the lexical side of the sentence, learn the rules, look at examples, then you will not confuse this time with another.

In any time belonging to the Perfect Continuous category, situations are used with those continuous actions that not only show the process at a certain moment of the action, but also how long this action lasts to a particular moment in the present, past and even future tense.

General information

Present Perfect Continuous time both in writing and live spoken language occurs quite often. It is not used entirely to show a completed action, as it is for. Its essence is to display a situation that at a particular moment has now lasted for a certain period and, very likely, will continue further, despite the fact that this is not always mentioned in the context.

For the situation with Present Perfect Continuous, examples of sentences are the following:

· I have been thinking of Mary's proposal since we parted. (I've been thinking about Mary's proposal since we parted company)
We have been seeking for you for hours. (We've been looking for you for many hours)
Ann has been trying to make you believe her for all her life. (Ann has spent her whole life trying to make you believe her)

Examples with such a translation show that this or that action has been going on for some, and sometimes a very long, period of time. It is in such cases that the use of Present Perfect Continuous is relevant, a time that combines features of both perfection and continuity.

Formation of Present Perfect Continuous Time

The formation of Present Perfect Continuous looks quite logical, given that this time has features of both completed and long-term action. Auxiliary words here are verbs typical for perfection, and these are have and has (the second is typical for personal pronouns related to a third person - “she”, “he”, “it”, that is, according to the same principle as at the Present Perfect time). Another feature that unites perfect and a long time is the presence of the verb to be used in the form, that is, in other words, in the form been. Well, since it comes about the process with duration, then you can't do without, or just the form –ing, as it is often called.

Present Perfect Continuous Scheme

Considering the above rules of education, the Present Perfect Continuous formula can have the following conditional form:

Have
Has + been + V (–ing)

Questions in Present Perfect Continuous

The present perfect long time, if it can be called so Present Perfect Continuous, of course, takes place not only in sentences with an affirmation, but can also be used in situations where the speaker is interested in something. Interrogative sentences are easy to form: to construct this type of phrase, it is enough to just slightly change the order of words and make it inverted, that is, the opposite, when have (has) takes the position in front of the subject. Interrogative sentences in Present Perfect Continuous, in particular, questions general type, have the following form:

· Has she been learning her speech since yesterday’s evening? (Has she been teaching her speech since last night?)
Have you been spending your whole weekend in this way? (Is this how you spend your whole day off?)

Denial in Present Perfect Continuous

It would seem that negative sentences with such a temporary form of complexity in their education should not be carried. Here it would be logical to use only one negative particle not, which would be after the auxiliary words have or has. Such constructs are often shortened so that the whole structure looks like this: haven't (= have not) or hasn't (= has not). But in reality, everything is somewhat more complicated.

The principle of the formation of a sentence with negation

The fact is that in English, certain norms prohibit the use of Present Perfect Continuous with negation, and therefore, with this time, a negative sentence is not formed. Probably, this can be explained by the fact that there is actually no action, the duration of which must be shown to a certain point, and the situation becomes illogical. In such a situation, it is customary to use Present Perfect time.

Below are examples of sentences with negation:

· I haven’t slept for 30 hours. (I have not slept for 30 hours)
· He hasn’t worked in this sphere for 2 years already. (He has not worked in this field for 2 years)

Present Perfect Continuous Application Cases

The use of Present Perfect Continuous is typical for several cases, but first it should be noted that there is a division of this time into two types: Present Perfect Continuous Inclusive and Present Perfect Continuous Exclusive. Therefore, you should dwell on each type separately and give examples of where the present perfect continuius of a particular variety is used:

Present Perfect Continuous Inclusive

This time reflects the classic use of Present Perfect Continuous, where an action, the starting point of which is in the past, lasts until a specific moment related to the present and, which is not excluded, will continue in the future. Popular markers in this form are prepositions such as since (indicates the starting point, the action that started the process) and for (introduces a period, duration). For this type of Present Perfect Continuous examples the following can be cited:

· Jack and Lucy have been searching for the key for the last 40 minutes. (Jack and Lucy have been looking for their key for the last forty minutes)
Steve has been dreaming about her since he first met you. (Steve has been dreaming of her since he met her)

But these markers are not the only ones: there are other indicators indicating that the situation has been running for some time, for example, the constructions these three / four / five days (these three / four / five days), the whole morning / day / week (all morning / day / week), etc .:

· Fred has been training very hard these three days. (Fred trains very hard these three days)
We have already been waiting for Joan the whole morning, it's high time she came. (We've been waiting for Joan the whole morning, it's time for her to come)

Use of Present Perfect Inclusive

For this type of Present Perfect Continuous, the rules and examples of use should be made with the clarification that not all cases allow the use of such a temporary form. As mentioned earlier, a completed long tense in English cannot be used in negations; instead, Present Perfect is correct, to which it is customary to add the term Inclusive. In addition, the situations used with Present Perfect Inclusive may be different:

1.With verbs, the use of which in Continuous is unacceptable

(emotions and feelings, desire and intention, sensory perception and some others):

I have known you for the last 5 years - I have known you for the last 5 years
She has been her since last Wednesday - She has been here since last Wednesday

Note: regardless of the fact that verbs illustrating desire and intention (wish, want, intend, etc.) are not usually used for a long time, in spoken live English there is a tendency to put such forms in Present Perfect Progressive:

· I have been wishing to speak to Sam ever since you returned - I want to talk to Sam ever since he returned
I've been wanting to see my sister for many months - I've been wanting to see my sister for many months

2.With non-limit verbs

With verbs that are called non-limit in English, that is, those that do not have a time limit and can last an indefinite amount of time - work, travel, study, live, etc.

Note: In such cases, it is also possible to use the usual the Present Perfect Continuous Tense, but only if attention is focused on the duration, and not on the result:

We have worked at this issue for several weeks - We have been working on this issue for several weeks (the fact of work is emphasized)
We have been working and working at this issue for weeks and I don't believe we are likely to deal with it - We all have been working and working on the case for weeks, but it seems to me that we are unlikely to cope with it (attention is focused on duration)

Present Perfect Continuous Exclusive

Proposals with Present Perfect Continuous Exclusive are aimed at those cases where there is a need to show that the action was in progress, but does not last until now; now there is only the result of being prolonged a little earlier. Examples of Present Perfect Continuous of this type can be as follows:

Susie has been weeping and now her eyes are red - Susie was weeping and now her eyes are red
You have a bruise on your face. Have you been fighting again? - You have a bruise on your face. Did you fight again?

Note: the use of both types of Present Perfect Continuous is possible only in the form of Active, the passive form of this time does not exist.

It is important to take into account all these factors of using such a time, and then even a similar and seemingly complex structure will not cause inconvenience and will be able to convey the speaker's ability to display the desired situation in speech and writing.