This is similar to the present perfect tense except that the
action is continuous. It describes something that starts in
the past and continues into the present.
I have
been teaching English for almost 20 years.
I started teaching English 20 years ago.
I'm still teaching English now.
You have been studying English.
How long have you been
studying?
He's been playing the guitar for about an hour.
(He's = He has)
She's been talking on the phone with her mother for 40 minutes.
She started the conversation 40 minutes ago.
She's still talking now.
The cat has been
singing all night.
We've been working together.
(We've = We have)
You've been riding on the bus since
10 a.m. It's now 10:40 a.m. and you're still traveling to
your destination.
(You've = You have)
These apples have
been growing all summer and now they're
ripe and ready to be picked. They look delicious.
The present continuous tense is very easy to use and often
preferred over the present perfect tense when there is some
kind of action. You can go back to the
present perfect tense here to compare the two.
