The Present Perfect Continuous Tense :
The present perfect continuous is used to refer to an unspecified time between 'before now' and 'now'. The speaker is thinking about something that started but perhaps did not finish in that period of time. He/she is interested in the process as well as the result, and this process may still be going on, or may have just finished.
ACTIONS THAT STARTED IN THE PAST AND CONTINUE IN THE PRESENT
She has been waiting for you all day (= and she's still waiting now).
I've been working on this report since eight o'clock this morning (= and I still haven't finished it).
They have been travelling since last October (= and they're not home yet).
ACTIONS THAT HAVE JUST FINISHED, BUT WE ARE INTERESTED IN THE RESULTS
She has been cooking since last night (= and the food on the table looks delicious).
It's been raining (= and the streets are still wet).
Someone's been eating my chips (= half of them have gone).
FORMING THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
The present perfect continuous is made up of two elements: the present perfect of the verb 'to be' (have/has been), and the present participle of the main verb (base+ing)
Subject.....has/have been.....base+ing
She.....has been.....swimming
This tense express an action that started in past and continued to present or recently stopped. It is used to state an ongoing action that has started at a point in the past. A time-reference is also used in the sentence to show that when the action started in past or for how long the action continued.
1. He has been living in New York since 1993.
2. She has been working in an organization since 2005.
3. He has been studying this book for three months.
4. She has been listening to music for two hours.
5. I have been watching the movie since 3 O” clock.
6. They have been waiting for me for 5 hours.
7. He has been teaching in this school for three years.
8. They have been using their car for five years.
9. He has been playing cricket for three hours.
10. She has been writing for a newspaper since 25th January 2001.
11. He has been sleeping for five hours.
The Present Perfect Continuous Tense :
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Elementary English Grammar Index
