September 26, 2020
Perfect Progressive Tense - English grammar
The perfect progressive tense describes actions that repeated over a period of time in the past, are continuing in the present, and/or will continue in the future.
Perfect Progressive Tense-Present perfect continuous
The present perfect progressive tense tells you about a continuous action that was initiated in the past and finished at some point in the past; however, the action has some relation to the present time. Use have/has + been + ing.
- It has been raining, and the street is still wet.
- I have been running, and I am still tired.
- She has been practicing the piano, and she is much better now.
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The past perfect progressive tense illustrates a continuous action in the past that was completed before another past action. Use had + been + ing.
- It had been raining, and the street was still wet.
- I had been running, and I was still tired.
- She had been practicing the piano, and she had gotten much better.
The future perfect progressive tense indicates a continuous action that will be completed in the future. Use will + have + been + ing.
- By tonight, it will have been raining several hours, and the street will be very wet.
- By next summer, I will have been running for almost a year, and I will be fit and healthy.
- By the time of the concert, she will have been practicing the piano for several months, and she will be much better.
Read Also: Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
Present perfect continuous - English grammar
Form
Affirmative: have/has been + present participle (verb + ing)
Negative: haven’t/hasn’t been + present participle (verb + ing)
Read Also: Count Nouns vs Non-Count Nouns
Meaning
Present perfect continuous is used to talk about an action/event that started in the past and is still happening now.
- I’ve been waiting for over an hour. (I’m still waiting now)
- It’s been snowing since 8am. (It’s still snowing now)
How long is often used in questions.
- How long have you been learning English? (You started learning in the past and are still learning now)
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Present perfect continuous is used to talk about an activity/event that has recently finished and has a result or consequence now.
- She’s tired because she’s been working hard.
- I have no money left because I’ve been shopping.
Present perfect continuous is used to focus on the action and not on the completion of the action.
- She’s been writing a book. (focus on the action)
- She’s written a book. (Present perfect simple – focus on the result)
- They’ve been negotiating the contract. (focus on the action, it’s not important if it’s finished or not)They’ve negotiated the contract. (focus on the result,the negotiation is finished)
When the action/event is more temporary we often use present perfect continuous. When it is more permanent we often use present perfect simple.
- They’ve lived in Italy for many years. (Present perfect simple)
- I’ve been living here for a month. (Present perfect continuous)
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