The Present Perfect Continuous
Note: Before you read this, you should know about the Present Perfect Simple!
Part 1: Making the Present Perfect Continuous
The Present Perfect Continuous is made with a form of 'have' + 'been' + the ing form of the verb.
How have you been doing?
Susy's been running around all day.
We've been thinking about you.
We can call the ing form the Present Participle of the verb.
Part 2: Other Names
"The Present Perfect" and "the Present Perfect Simple" both mean the same thing. We often say "the Present Perfect Simple" when we're also talking about the Present Perfect Continuous. Some people call it "the Present Perfect Progressive", but we'll only call it "the Present Perfect Continuous" here.
Part 3: When Do We Use the Present Perfect Continuous?
In general we use it for these reasons.
Change in Situation
I'm so tired. I've been chasing cows.
(This is really about the result, not the action. Now I'm tired, because I was running and running, chasing those crazy cows. We'll see below how "I've been chasing cows." sounds different from "I've chased cows.".)
Up to Now
I've been waiting for you all day!
(This is about an action from a past time up to now. As we'll see below, using the Present Perfect Continuous makes it sound 'busier', or that there was a kind of progress being made--they were waiting until their friend arrived. In this case, the person who has been waiting is probably tired of waiting. Maybe their feet are tired from standing and waiting all day.)
These are also two of the three reasons for using the Present Perfect Simple. However, there is a difference between the Present Perfect Continuous and the Present Perfect Simple. In general, the activity sounds more active, or has more momentum. We usually don't use the Present Perfect Continuous when talking about a single, completed action that didn't take much time.
Here are some reasons for using the Present Perfect Continuous instead of the Present Perfect Simple.
Incomplete
The action hasn't been completed yet.
I've been doing my homework.
I haven't finished yet.
Who's been eating my pizza?
77% of my pizza is gone! Someone has been eating it, but they haven't finished it!
Recent Activity
The action is a recent activity that we're talking about in a general way, not as something completed This is often used to explain a state that is an effect of an action.
I've been swimming.
My hair is wet.
Have you been crying?
Your eyes are red.
Temporary
The action is temporary, or is happening "lately", "recently", or "these days".
I've been living on the sidewalk.
Maybe I'll find a new place to live soon. It's temporary. I hope so.
My brother's car exploded, so he's been using my bicycle.
He'll use it until he gets a new car.
Note that there may also be an expression time, such as "lately", "recently", or "these days", used with the Present Perfect Continuous. I've been living on the sidewalk lately. These days, I've been living on the sidewalk. My brother's сar exploded, so he's been using my bicycle recently.
Repetitive
The action is repetitive. Maybe it has happened many times in the last hour, in the last month, or even in the last century.
Your sister's been calling me a lot!!
She called me three times last week, and she's called me four times this week!
This week I've been dreaming about goats.
Sunday night, Monday night, Wednesday night... Maybe the dreams mean something.
Busy
The action sounds busybusybusybusy!! The ing form of the verb makes it sound more active, more energetic.
He's been riding his bike all day.
In this sentence, his busy motion is more important than the simple fact that he rode his bike from here to there.
Our grandfather has been cleaning his shoes all day!
We want to emphasize how busy he's been, which sounds better with "all day".
Progressing
The action has been progressing (getting better, getting closer to a finish, or some other kind of progress)
Someone's been painting the sidewalk green, starting at our neighbor's house.
It sounds like they're painting more of it every day. Maybe they'll paint it all, after enough time.
I've been fixing my toilet.
I'm not finished, and there is a feeling of progress. If I haven't been successful yet, I can say "I've been trying to fix my toilet." That sounds like I've spent the whole day working and working.
With many of these uses, we have a choice. If we want to describe the action like it is temporary, active, or repetitive, we can use the Present Perfect Continuous to do that.
(In the next section, Part 4, we'll compare the Present Perfect Continuous with the Present Perfect Simple to see the difference between them.)
The PrPfC often sounds like the action has more
I've driven my car today.
I've driven it at least once today.
I've been driving my car today.
I've spent some time driving my car, maybe more than one time, and maybe I will continue.
If I plan to drive my car more today, it's better to use the second example, the Present Perfect Continuous, because it sounds like there is more momentum and I am more likely to drive my car again today. This is not a strong rule, but it's useful to remember.
So, we use the Present Perfect Continuous for a Change in Situation or Up to Now description when we have one or more of these reasons:
Incomplete
Recent Activity
Temporary
Repetitive
Busy
Progressing
Part 4: Let's Compare the Present Perfect Continuous with the Present Perfect Simple
| Present Perfect Continuous | Present Perfect Simple |
|   |
| I've been doing my homework. | I've done my homework. It's finished. |
| Who's been eating my pizza? | Who's eaten my pizza? My pizza is all gone! |
| I've been swimming. | I've swum. We prefer the Present Perfect Simple when the result of the completed action is more important the result of the process. Why did it take you so long to get here? I've swum! Have you done any exercises today? Yes, I've run and I've swum. |
| Have you been crying? | Have you cried? As above, we care more about the result of the completed action. We only want to know whether it happened at least once, not whether the person spent some time crying. I'm very unhappy today, because I've learned that my girlfriend is a man. Really? Have you cried? No, not yet, but I probably will later. |
| I've been living on the sidewalk. | I've lived on the sidewalk. This sounds like a Life Experience. My life has been difficult. I've eaten shoes, and I've lived on the sidewalk. |
| My brother's car exploded, so he's been using my bicycle. | My brother's car exploded, so he's used my bicycle. This sounds like he has used it a few times, but it doesn't sound like a continuing arrangement. He's used it to go to the store two two or three times. I don't know whether he'll use it again. |
| Your sister's been calling me a lot!! | Your sister's called me a lot!! This sounds like a Life Experience or Up to Now. Why did you think that I've never talked to your sister? Your sister's called me a lot!! I've talked to her several times! She's called me a lot this week--twenty times already!! |
| This week I've been dreaming about goats. | This week I've dreamt about goats. We can say this if it's happened once this week or if it's happened more than once. But we are not emphasizing that it has repeated--maybe we don't care whether it has repeated. This week I've dreamt about goats, and I've also dreamt about ponies a few times. |
| He's been riding his bike all day. | He's ridden his bike all day. Remember that the Present Perfect Simple and the Present Perfect Continuous can describe the same thing, and we can choose which to use for a reason. Here, we don't care as much about the activity while he was on his bike. It sounds like a simple, completed action, and not as much like a busy activity. He's ridden his bike all day. He should have done his homework instead. |
| Our grandfather has been cleaning his shoes all day! | Our grandfather has cleaned his shoes all day! This example is very much like the one above! Our grandfather has cleaned his shoes all day. Now they're very clean. Not much difference, except that he sounds busier in the first sentence. |
| Someone's been painting the sidewalk green. | Someone's painted the sidewalk green. There is some green paint on the sidewalk, and we don't know whether anyone will paint it more. Notice that in this case, it's possible to say "Someone's painted the sidewalk green." if they have or haven't painted all of it. That means that we're interested in the fact that there is green paint on the sidewalk--a result of some action. However, if we think that they will paint it more, it's more natural to say "Someone's been painting the sidewalk.", which sounds like the action is in progress. |
| I've been fixing my toilet. | I've fixed my toilet. Good, because I need to use it. |
Part 5: State Verbs and the Present Perfect Continuous
Note: There is more information about state verbs on the Present Continuous page. You might want to read that first, if you haven't yet.
Some verbs, called state verbs, are usually not used in a continuous form. But sometimes we *do* use a continuous form for one of the reasons above.
Some examples, with extra sentences to show the idea more clearly:
I've loved her all my life.
I loved her when I was young and I still love her.
I've been loving her all my life. I think of nothing but her!
Here, we want to emphasize how strongly I've been loving her.
I've been loving her all my life. I can't stop now!
Here, the activity has been progressing to the present moment.
Doctor, I've felt very tired lately.
Remember that feel is a state verb. This example is very natural. However, we can use the Present Perfect Continuous here for good reasons. Look at these next two examples.
Doctor, I've been feeling very tired lately. That's not normal for me.
I usually don't feel so tired, but lately (temporarily) I have been feeling tired.
Doctor, I've been feeling very tired lately. Last Tuesday I felt tired, then on Thursday and Friday I felt tired a few times, too. And today I've felt tired two more times!
It has been repeating.
More Tense Discussions:
The Present Simple - The Present Continuous - The Present Perfect - The Past Perfect