Present Perfect Continuous•How long has Karen been reading the book?•She has been reading the book for three hours.

Present Perfect Continuous•She is tired. Has she been playing? No, she hasn’t. She has been studying for two hours.

Form

have/has + been + Ving

•affirmative: I have been studying. We have been studying. He has been studying. She has been studying.•interrogative: Have you been studying?•negative: She hasn’t been studying.

Make sentences using the prompts below as in the example.

1. Sam/work/for this company/two years

Sam has been working for this company for two years.

2. Mary/teach/French/1990

3. The robbers/hide in a farmhouse/a week

4. Peter/make/model planes/1992

5. Julie/play the guitar/four years

6. The children/watch TV/for two hours

Use • He has been painting the house for three days.

• When did he start painting the house?

• Has he finished painting it?

• Is he still painting it?

Use 1

• We use the Present Perfect Continuous for an action which started in the past and continues up to the present.

Use • They’re tired. They have been painting the garage door all morning.

• Are they painting the garage door now?

• Have they finished painting?

• Is it evident that they have just finished painting the door?

Use 2

• We use the present perfect continuous for an action which has recently finished and its result is evident now.

He has known Mary for six months.I have liked Jim ever since I met him.•We use the present perfect simple instead of the present perfect continuous with non-continuous verbs.

She has been living in New York for three years.She has lived in New York for three years.She has been feeling sick all week.She has felt sick all week.They have been working here since 1990.They have worked here since 1990.

•With the verbs live, feel, work we can use the present perfect continuous or the present perfect simple with no difference in meaning.

Time Expressions

• for• since

• how long

• all morning/afternoon/day