Present Perfect vs. Present Perfect Continuous

John: Have you been fighting again? You’ve lost your front teeth.

Don’t worry, Mum. I haven’t lost them. They’re in my pocket.

Look at these highlighted forms. Do you recognize them? What tense forms they are?

Have been fighting is The Present Perfect Continuous Tense.

Have lost is The Present Perfect Tense.

Today in the lesson we’ll compare these two tenses: their formation, their usage, time expressions that help us to define the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous. We will practice the usage of these tenses in different situations.

First let’s revise the formation of the Present Perfect Tense.

We form the Present Perfect Tense with the help of auxiliary verb have for I/you/we/they and has when we use he/she/it in the sentence and regular forms of the main verb (by putting the ending –ed to the main verb. E.g. save-saved) or irregular forms of the main verb (using the list of irregular verbs or learning them by heart. E.g. lose - lost).

I have lost/saved my first teeth.

He has lost/saved his first teeth.

We form questions by putting have/has before the subject.

Have you lost/saved your first tooth?

Has he lost/saved his first tooth?

We form negations by putting not between have/has and the main form of the verb.

I have not (haven’t) lost/saved my first tooth.

He has not (hasn’t) lost/saved his first tooth.

Now let’s consider the formation of the Present Perfect Continuous Tense.

We form the Present Perfect Continuous Tense with the help of auxiliary verb have for I/you/we/they and has when we use he/she/it in the sentence, the 3rd form of the verb to be (been) and the main verb with the – ing suffix.

enjoy - enjoying

take – taking

cut – cutting

I/we/you/they have been fighting again.

He/she/it has been fighting again.

We form questions by putting have/has before the subject.

Have you been fighting again?

Has he been fighting again?

We form negations by putting not between have/has and been.

I/we/you/they have not (haven’t) been fighting again.

He/she/it has not (hasn’t) been fighting again.

Let’s compare the usage of these two tenses the Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous.

The Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous connect the past and the present.

1. The Present Perfect is used to describe an action which started in the past and continues up to the present, especially with the state verbs. In this case we often use for and since.

They have been colleagues for ten years. (They met each other ten years ago and they still work together.)

1. The Present Perfect Continuous shows the duration of an action which started in the past and continues up to the present, especially with time expressions such as for, since, all morning/day/week, etc.

Paul has been talking on the phone for an hour. (He began talking on the phone an hour ago and he is still talking.)

2. The Present Perfect describes an action which has recently finished and whose result is visible in the present.

Mr. Simpson has put on some weight. (We see that he became bigger now.)

She has just finished the preparations for the party. (The room is tidy, the table is laid, so the action is complete.)

2. The Present Perfect Continuous is used for an action which started and finished

in the past and lasted for some time. The result or effect of the action is visible in the present.

Her feet hurt. She has been walking all morning. (She is no longer walking but the result of the action is visible – her feet hurt.)

3. The Present Perfect shows an action which happened at an unstated time in the past. The exact time is not mentioned because it is either unknown or unimportant.

Taylor has bought a new car. (The exact time is not mentioned. What is important is the fact that he now owns a car).

Sam has been to New York three times. (The exact time is unknown. What is important is the fact that he has visited New York three times.)

3. We use the Present Perfect Continuous to express anger, irritation or annoyance.

Have you been reading my emails again? (The speaker is angry.)

I’ve been waiting for you in the rain for two hours. Where have you been? (The speaker is irritated.)

4. The Present Perfect is also used for an action, which has happened within a time period, which is not over at the moment of speaking, such as today, this morning/afternoon/month/year, etc.

She has taken a lot of photos today. (The time period – today is not over yet. She may take more photos.)

But! She took a lot of photos yesterday. (The time period – yesterday - is over.)

4. With the verbs feel/like/ teach and work we can use either the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous with no difference in meaning.

He has lived/has been living here for twenty years.

Both the present perfect and the present perfect continuous are used with the following time expressions:

how long

How long have you been studying English?

How long have you known Tomas?

for (duration)

I have known him for twenty years.

She has been doing homework for half an hour.

since (starting point)

She has been cooking since lunchtime.

They have been married since 2010.

lately/recently

Have you read any interesting books lately/recently?

They have been going out a lot lately/recently.

The present perfect is usually used with the following time expressions:

already

England has already scored a goal.

yet (in negations and questions)

Has James finished his report yet? He hasn’t finished yet.

just

I have just spoken to Lora.

ever/never

Have you ever tasted real caviar?

I have never eaten spinach.

so far

What have you done so far?

still (in negations)

Our bus still hasn’t arrived.

Now it’s time to practice the usage of these tenses.

Complete the sentences using the Present perfect or the Present perfect Continuous of the verbs in brackets.

1 He’s confused. He has been trying to solve the problem all morning.

2 Everything is white. It has been snowing all night.

3 Mr Taylor has been an accountant for ten years.

4 Someone has been using my laptop.

5 She has read three novels this week.

6 He has just won the horse racing.

So now we can claim that now we know for sure: how to form the tenses correctly;

in what situations to use the present perfect and present perfect continuous tenses.

Don’t forget about the time markers that help us to define the tense correctly.

Practice your grammar skills because practice makes perfect!