Page 23 - Advanced English Grammar in Use

P r e s e n t p e r f e c t c o n t i n u o u s ( I h a v e b e e n d o i n g )

We use the present perfect continuous to talk about a situation or activity that started in the past
and has been in progress for a period until now. Sometimes we use the present perfect continuous
with expressions that indicate the time period (e.g. with since and for):
• I've been meaning to phone Jack since I heard he was back in the country.
• The competition has been running every year since 1980.
• She's been living in New Zealand for over a year now.
• People have been saying for ages that the building should be pulled down.

Without such an expression, the present perfect continuous refers to a recent situation or activity
and focuses on its present results:
• Look! It's been snowing.
• 'You're looking well.' 'I've been playing a lot of squash to lose weight.'
• 'Haven't seen anything of Rod for a while.' 'No, he's been working in Germany.'
The situation or activity may still be going on, or it may just have stopped. Compare:
• We've been discussing the proposals for a number of years. (= still going on) and
• Your eyes are red - have you been crying? (= recently stopped)

е
' В ^ °ft e n u s e t n e P r e s e n t perfect continuous when we ask questions with How long...? and when
we say how long something has been in progress:
• How long have you been waiting for me?
• How long have they been living next door to you?
• For more than two years I've been trying to get permission to extend my house.
• Unemployment has been rising steadily since the huge increase in oil prices.
We can use the present perfect continuous or a present tense (the present simple or the present
continuous) when we talk about a situation or activity that started in the past and is still
happening now or has just stopped. However, we use the present perfect continuous when we are
talking about how long the action or event has been going on. Compare:
• I see Tom most weekends, and
• I've been seeing a lot of Tom since he moved into the flat upstairs, (not I see...)
• It's raining, and
• It's been raining heavily all night, (not It's raining...)
For the difference between the present perfect and present perfect continuous in sentences like
this, see Unit 8.
When we talk about situations or actions that went on over a past period of time but finished at a
particular point in time before now, we don't use the present perfect continuous:
о • I was reading until midnight last night, (not I have been reading...)
• • She had been living in Spain before her family moved to Brazil, (not She has been living...)
• He put off the decision for as long as possible, but eventually he made up his mind and
bought the car. (not He has been putting off...)
We generally avoid the present perfect continuous with verbs that describe states (see Unjt 2A).

Present perfect continuous and present perfect =