Yellow Level
Lesson Thirteen:
The Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Subject + has / have + been + _______ing
| 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. |
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Next: Lesson 14