A: How long have you been studying in this class?
B: I started in January, so I've been here for two months.
Present Perfect Continuous
have or has + been + verb ~ing
Positive & Negative Sentences
| I You We They |
have have not haven't |
been |
writing for many years waiting for a long time. studying since Monday. |
| He She It |
has has not hasn't |
Questions
| Have | I you we they |
been |
writing for many years? waiting for a long time? studying since Monday? |
| Has | he she it |
Use
How Long?
Another way to use the Present Perfect is to describe actions or situations that started in the past but are not finished. When we do this, we are often describing an action's duration: how long it has been happening. English speakers usually do this in the Present Perfect Continuous tense:
- Mary has been working here since she was 22.
- They have been studying English for two months.
- I have been learning to play the piano for a while.
Simple or Continuous?
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