Present perfect continuous
affirmative, negative, yes/no, wh- questions b1
Reference Practice
Present perfect continuous I 've been studying all day. I hate this weather. It 's been raining all week! She hasn't been working here for very long. ‘ Why is your hair wet? Have you been swimming in the lake? ’ We form the present perfect continuous with: Subject + have + been + -ing form . Positive and negative Subject have been -ing form + I You have been studying . - haven't + He/She/It has - hasn't + We They have - haven't In spoken and informal written English we usually use short forms ( I've been studying, he's been studying , etc.) We form yes/no questions with: Have + subject + been + -ing form ? Yes/no questions Have subject been -ing form Have I you been studying ? waiting long? Has he/she/it Have we they We form short answers with have. ‘ Has he been studying ? ’ ‘ Yes, he has . ’ ‘ Have you been waiting long? ’ ‘ No, I haven't . ’ We form wh- questions with: Question word + have + subject + been + -ing form ? Wh- questions Question word have subject been -ing form What How long have I you been doing ? waiting ? has he/she/it have we they We use the present perfect continuous to talk about an action or activity that started in the past and continues now or has only just stopped. I hate this weather! It 's been raining all week ( = and it is still raining ) . I need a break. I 've been studying all day ( = and I have just stopped ) . We use the present perfect continuous to talk about a current situation that started in the past. We often use it to ask or answer the question How long …? We can use it with for + a period of time or since + a point in time. I 've been working here for eight years. ‘ How long has he been playing basketball? ’ ‘ Since he was twelve years old. ’ We use the present perfect continuous to give reasons for current situations. ‘ Why is your hair wet? ’ ‘ I 've been swimming in the lake. ’ ‘ Why is she tired? ’ ‘ She 's been working hard all day. ’ We don't usually use the present perfect continuous with state verbs like be , have and know. I 've known Jack for five years. I've been knowing Jack for five years.
Complete the sentences with the present perfect continuous form of the verbs from the box. Use short forms (I've), not full forms (I have) where possible.
cry do not / drive not / watch play rain try walk