108: How to form and When to use the Present Perfect Continuous.
How To Form The Present Perfect Continuous:
For positive statements take a subject (I, my friend...) after this put the auxiliary verb have in the corresponding form of the present simple (I have..., my friend has...) then we use the past participle of the verb to be (been) and finally we put the gerund, or present participle, which is formed by taking the compliment and adding ...ing (working). If we put this all together we have: I have been working, my friend has been working. To form negatives place not after the auxiliary verb have. I have not been working. My friend has not been working. To form questions change the position of the auxiliary verb have with the subject. Have I been working? Has my friend been working?
The table below sets out the form of the present perfect continuous:
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
|---|---|---|
| I have been working | I have not been working | Have I been working? |
| You have been working | You have not been working | Have you been working? |
| He has been working | He has not been working | Has he been working? |
| She has been working | She has not been working | Has she been working? |
| It has been working | It has not been working | Has it been working? |
| We have been working | We have not been working | Have we been working? |
| You have been working | You have not been working | Have you been working? |
| They have been working | They have not been working | Have they been working? |
The following video explains how to form the Present Perfect Continuous:
How to form the present perfect continuous. Take a subject I and then the auxiliary verb to have in the present simple. I have. And then we need the past participle of the verb to be. I have been. And then we need the gerund of our verb, which is made from the compliment, the infinitive without to and adding ...ing, so working. Altogether that gives us: I have been working. The second person: You have been working. He has been working. She's been working. It has been working. We have been working. You have been working. They've been working. To make negatives put the not after the auxiliary have. I have not been working. You have not been working. He has not been working. She has not been working. It hasn't been working. We haven't been working. You haven't been working. They have not been working.To make questions swap the position of the auxiliary have and the subject. Have I been working? Have I been working? Have you been working? Has he been working? Has she been working? Has it been working? Have we been working? Have you been working? Have they been working? So that's how to form the present perfect continuous. Subject, auxiliary verb have in the present simple, past participle of the verb to be, and the gerund. I have been working. In the next video I'll explain when to use the present perfect continuous. See you there.
How To Use The Present Perfect Continuous:
Before we start remember we must use the present perfect simple and not the continuous for verbs of state (like, own, possess, think, smell)
Unfinished Time Up To Now
We can use the present perfect simple to mean an action that started in the past and continued up to now. I have been learning English for 3 years.
Present Effects of Past Events
We can use the present perfect continuous for actions in the past with present effects. I have been working all day. Present effect, I am tired now.
Recent Actions
When we use the present perfect continuous without a time phrase we are usually referring to recent events, what someone has been doing recently. Who have you been talking to? This implies you have been talking to someone in the recent past and you can see evidence of it. Be careful. Have you been feeling well? This implies that I have seen evidence recently that you are not well. Have you been drinking? This implies I can see that you are drunk, or I have other evidence that you have been drinking and it is implying a criticism. As the present perfect simple talks about recent events we often use it to give the idea that a situation up to now is temporary, not long term or permanent. For example: I have lived here for a long time. I have been living here for a few weeks.
Hi there. Present perfect continuous, how to use it. OK, we can use the present perfect continuous in the same ways as the present perfect simple. For example: Time up to now. You remember that concept from the present perfect simple. We can do the same with the present perfect continuous. So, I have been living in this house for seven years. Action started in the past, continues up to now, may continue in the future. OK. We can use the present perfect continuous as well for present effects, like the present perfect simple. For example: I have been working all day. Present effect, I am tired and bad tempered. Yes? So, let's look at some others. If we use the present perfect continuous without a time-frame, it normally means recently. So when we use it without a time, for example: I have been feeling ill, the implication is recently. What have you been doing? I am asking what have you been doing in the last couple of days for example (or even the last 5 minutes), so recently. Very often with these types of phrases we add recently, or something similar to them. So. How have you been doing recently? I have been enjoying these films. I have been watching a load of films recently and the have been good, but in a recent time-frame. So notice from this as it's recent, then if we talk about something in the present perfect (*simple) *continuous it's... it gives it a temporary idea, a temporary feel. Let me give you an example of that: That tree has been standing there for 400 years. Or, that tree has stood there for 400 years. Think about that for a second. That man has stood there for 5 minutes. That man has been standing there for 5 minutes. So notice the tree has stood there for the long time and the man has been standing for a short time. Notice, as well, you can ask somebody, do you feel well? Do you feel well now? Are you OK? Have you been feeling well? This says recently and it implies that you have been looking ill for some days and I am worried about you. So this type of question in the present perfect simple says that you can see some effects of something. So let me give you another example: Have you been drinking? I can smell alcohol on your breath, you look drunk. Have you been drinking? So, you might want to be careful when you use those. So let's see, let me sum up: Present perfect (*Simple) *Continuous for actions, notice I didn't say this before but never for states, verbs of state, to possess for example. For time up to now. I've been living here for five years. Present effects, I have been working all day. Recently. What have you been doing? Recently is the implication, you can put it if you want. And also something temporary, or less... not something permanent. So we'll see each other again in the next video. Thanks for watching.