All sections
Foundations
The verb system
Describing and connecting
- 09 Adjectives and adverbs
- 10 Prepositions
- 11 Conjunctions
- 12 Building longer sentences
- 13 Punctuation and capital letters
Words and sounds
Practice and progress
05.04Core
Present Perfect Continuous
An action that started earlier and is still going on, and the length of time matters.
The structure
Positive
Subject + have / has + been + V-ing
Negative
Subject + have / has + not + been + V-ing
Question
Have / Has + subject + been + V-ing ?
When you use it
- An action that began in the past and continues now, with the duration in focus.
- An action that just stopped but whose result you can still see: My eyes are red because I have been reading all night.
- Repeated activity over a period: He has been calling me all week.
Words that signal this tense
for two hourssince morningall daylatelyrecentlyhow long
Examples
- I have been studying since seven o'clock.میں سات بجے سے پڑھ رہا ہوں۔
- She has been waiting for two hours.وہ دو گھنٹے سے انتظار کر رہی ہے۔
- They have not been attending class regularly.وہ باقاعدگی سے کلاس نہیں لے رہے۔
- How long have you been learning English?تم کب سے انگریزی سیکھ رہے ہو؟
- It has been raining since morning.صبح سے بارش ہو رہی ہے۔
The mistake almost everyone makes
I am studying English since 2022.
I have been studying English since 2022.
Since and for with an action that is still going need a perfect form, not the present continuous.