Using the perfect continuous. Present perfect continuous rules and examples

>>The Present Perfect Progressive Tense

Using the Present Perfect Progressive

The Present Perfect Progressive is used to express an ongoing action that began in the past, is still ongoing at the present time, and in a certain way summarizes the duration of this action.

Jeff and Emily haven't been playing golf for three hours.

General Question (OB)

Has Jeff been tennis playing for two hours? - Yes, he has.

Alternative question (AV)

If you carefully study, you will notice that the main meaning of this time is to convey the connection of a certain process with the present moment. To put it simply, a couple present perfect & present perfect continuous very similar to present simple & present continuous. One tense in each pair serves to convey facts (results in the case of perfect simple), and the other indicates the process. But these “processes” are not alike.

present perfect continuous rules and examples

So let's consider present perfect continuous rules and examples. There are 3 main cases when you can (and even need) to use present perfect continuous .

Features of using the present perfect continuous. Questions and denials

U consumption present perfect continuous very similar to normal perfect tense. Just for present perfect continuous It is not the 3rd form of the semantic verb that is used, but the ing form. You probably noticed the ending –ing in each example. If you need to form a negative, use 'haven't been' And 'hasn't been'. Using the present perfect continuous in questions it is limited by the need to place the auxiliary verb before the subject. Please note the following examples.

(-) She hasn't been ask ing any questions for three days. – She doesn’t ask anything for 3 days.

(?) Has it been rain ing here? - Was it raining here?

How to train the difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous?

We hope this article is on the topic “ present perfect continuous rules and examples"helped you figure it out. We wish you success in conquering the peaks in English and we will be happy to help you study it!

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When learning English, students can spend a long time learning about Perfect and Continuous tenses in order to learn to use them automatically. Therefore, you can imagine their feelings when they come to such a terrible topic as Perfect Continuous. This is two times at once, and not so simple at that! However, these fears are completely in vain, and now we will see this using the example of the Present Perfect Continuous tense (pronounced [present perfect continuus]).

Present Perfect Continuous Tense(also known as the Present Perfect Progressive Tense) or present perfect continuous tense is a tense in English used to express actions that began and either lasted up to a certain point in the past or continue to last.

This time is used relatively rarely, since it is often replaced by Present Perfect, but it is still necessary to know it, because in certain situations it will not be possible to do without it. Moreover, the correct use of sentences in the Present Perfect Continuous will only confirm your high level of knowledge of the language, and therefore attract praise from native speakers. Let's look at how this time is formed and used.

The formation of the Present Perfect Continuous is similar to the formation of the Present Perfect and. To form this tense, two verbs are needed: auxiliary and semantic. The auxiliary verb is to be in the Present Perfect form. It has 2 perfect forms depending on person and number:

Semantic verbs are formed using Participle I or the present participle. To form it, you must add the ending –ing to the verb.

Actually, that's all. By adding both parts, you get a verb in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense:

Present Perfect Continuous: sentence forms

We've sorted out the formation of verbs, now let's see how to make sentences with them in various forms.

Affirmative sentences with Present Perfect Continuous

The affirmative form of the Present Perfect Continuous is, as always, standard: the subject is used first, followed by the predicate, expressed by auxiliary and semantic verbs. Anyone can complete the sentence minor member. Table for clarity:

This example is used in Active Voice or active voice. If you want to use Passive Voice(passive voice), you may have difficulties.

• Firstly, to form the Passive Voice in the Present Perfect Continuous you still need to try, because you will need to use 4 verbs in a row.
• Secondly, even if you can easily cope with the first task, you will agree that phrases in Passive Voice a la “have been being understood” sound at least unusual.
• Thirdly, Passive Voice is not used by native speakers these days, so even they will not be able to appreciate your efforts.

Yes, theoretically it is possible to construct a Continuous Passive, but in practice no one needs such proposals. In general, do not make English difficult for yourself or others and do not use the Continuous Passive. If you need to show that the action was not performed by a person/object, but was directed at it, use not the Continuous Passive, but the Passive Voice in the Present Perfect tense.

Negative sentences with Present Perfect Continuous

The negative form in Present Perfect Continuous Tense is formed by adding the negative particle not between have (has) and been:

Both in the affirmative and in negative forms possible abbreviations:

You may have noticed that has in an affirmative sentence is abbreviated in the same way as is. To understand what tense is used, keep the rules of education in mind. present perfect long time in English it always requires after has the verb been. If both of these verbs are in a sentence, then the speaker is using this particular tense.

Interrogative sentences with Present Perfect Continuous

The interrogative form is built based on the type of question:

• For a general question, you need to move the auxiliary verbs have and has at the beginning of the sentence. Been remains in its original place:

• IN alternative question some second member of the sentence is added for choice, which is supported by the conjunction or (or):

• Special questions are identical to general questions, only they use a question word before have (has):

• In a dividing question, you need to use an affirmative or negative sentence, followed by a short question:

Present Perfect Continuous: usage

Present Perfect Continuous Tense or present perfect continuous tense is used in the following situations:

1. To express an action that began in the past and is still ongoing. In this case, the speaker knows when the action began and how long it has already lasted. He cannot say when the action will end.
   Typically, such sentences contain indicator words: recently (the other day), lately (recently), quite a while ( for a long time/ a long time ago), these ... weeks (how many weeks), all my life (all my life), all day (long) / this month / this year (all day, month, year); as well as time markers for (during) and since (since), which are used as hints for the use of this time:

In the same case, time can be used to set special question. Such a question usually begins with the words: how long (how long) or since when (from when):

1. Present Perfect Continuous Tense is also used in cases where an action began in the past, lasted for a certain time and ended recently. This option emphasizes the duration of the action that led to some result in the present. Markers in such sentences may be omitted:

1. The Present Perfect Continuous is also used in cases where we mean that some action happened earlier. This conclusion is drawn from what is heard/seen. More often this option is used in a negative context:

1. The present perfect continuous tense is also used in complex sentence, which has a subordinate tense. Temporal markers for entering subordinate clauses here are limited to one word since (since). This subordinate clause used in Past Simple, and most importantly, it is built in the Present Perfect Continuous:

1. Don't forget that Continuous tenses are not used with state verbs or state verbs that express feelings, perception, mental activity, possession of something. In this case, instead of the Continuous tense, the Present Perfect is used:

However, there are exceptions here. The use of Present Perfect Continuous is possible if it is necessary to highlight an action, to give it a more pronounced shade. So, for example, in the Present Perfect Continuous you can find verbs wish(to desire), want (to want) and mean (to gather):

1. Also pay attention to those verbs that are used in both the Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous. Such verbs include words that themselves imply a continuous action. For example: live (live), sleep (sleep), study (learn), teach (teach), work (work), run (meaning “manage”):

If the situation continues to last for a certain period, but is temporary or will change soon, use the Present Perfect Continuous:

It is worth noting that, despite the similarity of features not only with the Present Perfect tense, but also, in some way, with the Present Continuous, you cannot use sentences replacing the Present Continuous with the Present Perfect Continuous and vice versa. These times have different meaning and cannot be interchanged.

Present Perfect Continuous translation into Russian

It is worth paying special attention to the Russian translation of Present Perfect Continuous. As you already know, this tense either indicates an action that lasted and ended, or an action that began and is still ongoing. Accordingly, based on the choice of one of the two mentioned cases, the translation is constructed. So, if we want to show that the action has already ended, when translating into Russian we use imperfective verbs in the past tense:

If the action is still ongoing, then the translation is carried out with verbs used in the same form, but in the present tense:

You can understand what tense is implied based on the context.

The present completed continuous tense, as you can see, is not as difficult as it looks at first glance. Since this time is limited to certain situations, it accordingly does not have a wide variety of uses. It is also quite simple to build, especially if you are already familiar with other times. So don't avoid the Present Perfect Continuous, use it correctly, and if you need to review any rules associated with it, come back to this page and re-read the examples. You can also consolidate your knowledge by going to the page

If you carefully study, you will notice that the main meaning of this time is to convey the connection of a certain process with the present moment. To put it simply, a couple present perfect & present perfect continuous very similar to present simple & present continuous. One tense in each pair serves to convey facts (results in the case of perfect simple), and the other indicates the process. But these “processes” are not alike.

present perfect continuous rules and examples

So let's consider present perfect continuous rules and examples. There are 3 main cases when you can (and even need) to use present perfect continuous .

Features of using the present perfect continuous. Questions and denials

U consumption present perfect continuous very similar to the ordinary perfect tense. Just for present perfect continuous It is not the 3rd form of the semantic verb that is used, but the ing form. You probably noticed the ending –ing in each example. If you need to form a negative, use 'haven't been' And 'hasn't been'. Using the present perfect continuous in questions it is limited by the need to place the auxiliary verb before the subject. Please note the following examples.

(-) She hasn't been ask ing any questions for three days. – She doesn’t ask anything for 3 days.

(?) Has it been rain ing here? - Was it raining here?

How to train the difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous?

We hope this article is on the topic “ present perfect continuous rules and examples"helped you figure it out. We wish you success in conquering the heights of the English language and will be happy to provide assistance in learning it!

• Back
• Forward

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