I Swear English › Verb Tenses › Present Perfect Continuous
How to form 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:
When to use it
- An action that started in the past and is still going on. I've been waiting for an hour.
- A recent continuous action with a result you can see. You're out of breath — have you been running?
- Emphasis on how long something has been happening. She's been learning English since 2020.
Signal words & time expressions: for, since, all day, all morning, how long, lately, recently
Watch the video lesson
Video transcript
Common mistakes to avoid
| Not quite… | Better |
|---|---|
| I've known her for years. — stative verbs use the perfect simple, not the perfect continuous. | |
| How long | How long have you been waiting? — invert have and the subject in questions. |
Frequently asked questions
Perfect simple or perfect continuous?
Use the continuous to stress the activity and its duration (I've been painting all day); use the simple to stress the completed result or amount (I've painted three rooms).
Can I use it with ‘for’ and ‘since’?
Yes — both are very common: for two hours, since this morning.
Continue the course
This lesson is part of our free English Verb Tenses course — work through it in order or jump to what you need next.