How to form the present perfect continuous
To form the present perfect continuous tense (also called the present perfect progressive) we use "have been" as the auxiliary verb and the main verb with -ing ending.
have been/has been + infinitive + -ing
How to make the present perfect continuous positive
| pronoun | have been/has been | infinitive + ing |
|---|---|---|
| I you we they |
have been ('ve been) |
doing |
| he she it |
has been ('s been) |
Present perfect continuous negative
| pronoun | have/has not been | infinitive + ing |
|---|---|---|
| I you we they |
have not been (haven't been) |
doing |
| he she it |
has not been (hasn't been) |
Present perfect continuous questions
| have/has | pronoun | been | infinitive + ing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Have | I you we they |
been |
doing |
| Has | he she it |
Examples
I have been working all day long.
You've been talking over the phone for thirty minutes.
Mike has been taking pills since he got ill.
We've been having a nice time here, in Switzerland.
I haven't been walking — I've been running.
Alice hasn't been working since last year.
Why have you been looking for me?
Why have we been hurrying? There's plenty of time.
Mind the spelling of verb + -ing!
- In one-syllable verbs, that end with a vowel + a consonant, we double the last consonant: run → running, swim → swimming
- We double the last consonant if there are two or more syllables and the last one is stressed. We also double it when the word ends with -l, no matter which syllable is stressed: prefer → preferring, begin → beginning, travel → travelling, cancel → cancelling
- If the infinitive ends with -e, we leave out -e after adding -ing: come → coming, smile → smiling
- If the infinitive ends with -ie, we replace -ie with -ying: lie → lying, die → dying
Short answers
We can give short answers to "yes/no" questions in the present perfect continuous. The short answer is the same as in the present perfect.
Examples
— Have you been running? — Yes, I have.
— Has it been raining recently? — Yes, it has.
— Have they been working on this since morning? — No, they haven't. They have just started.