Lesson 61: Unit 116 - Present Perfect Continuous
Learn how to form and use the Present Perfect Continuous (have/has been + -ing form) for actions that started in the past and continue up to the present.
About this lesson
In this lesson you will learn how to use the Present Perfect Continuous to describe actions that started in the past and continue up to the present. You will master the formation of the structure have/has been + verb-ing and practise using it in everyday conversations. Through authentic texts – a letter about a job and a dialogue at the railway station – you will see how this tense is used in a real context. You will also understand the difference between the Present Perfect Continuous and the Present Perfect Simple in terms of the emphasis on duration versus completion.
40 minutes
What you'll learn
- Form the Present Perfect Continuous correctly: have/has been + -ing form
- Describe actions that started in the past and continue up to now
- Use the time expressions correctly: for, since, lately, recently, all day, for ages
- Distinguish when to use the Present Perfect Continuous as opposed to the Present Perfect Simple
- Recognise action verbs and state verbs
- Ask and answer questions with How long have you been...?
Lesson vocabulary
- have/has been + -ing I have been waiting here all morning.
- lately What have you been doing lately?
- recently I haven't been sleeping well recently.
- for ages I have been waiting for ages.
- ever since My family moved to England when I was twelve and I have been living here ever since.
- for the past six months For the past six months I have been working as a secretary in a travel agency.
- secretary I have been working as a secretary in a travel agency.
- travel agency I have been working as a secretary in a travel agency.
- reference The manager has said he is willing to give me a reference.
- fluently I speak English and German fluently.
- evening course I have been learning Spanish in an evening course for a couple of months.
- to give up It would be silly to give up now as we've already waited so long.
- station manager The station manager swore it would be here by five fifteen.
- temporary I've been staying in a hotel for the past month.
- action verb Work, wait, learn and drive are action verbs used in continuous tenses.
In other languages: Български