Present Perfect Continuous — Test Questions
Six questions on the present perfect continuous: duration with for, how long questions, and using the continuous to explain a visible present result. Part of the Present Perfect Test.
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We ___ for about an hour.
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've been waiting
Present perfect continuous with 'for + period' — 'we've been waiting for an hour'.
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How long ___ in this neighbourhood?
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have you been living
Present perfect continuous for an ongoing situation up to now.
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'Your clothes are all wet!' 'I know — I ___ the car.'
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've been washing
Present perfect continuous explains the present result (wet clothes).
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He was very tired because he ___ all day.
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'd been driving
Past perfect continuous explains the cause of his tiredness.
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I ___ 'War and Peace' but I'm only halfway through it.
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've been reading
Present perfect continuous for an action that isn't complete — 'only halfway through'.
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Elizabeth ___ this week — she's been off ill.
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hasn't been working
Present perfect continuous (negative) for an ongoing absence.
Present Perfect Continuous: Duration and Present Results
The present perfect continuous (have/has been + -ing) puts the emphasis on the activity itself — how long it has been going on, or the visible effect it has left behind — rather than on the fact that it is finished. This block also includes a past perfect continuous example to show how the same '-ing after auxiliary' pattern shifts one step further into the past when the whole sentence is already about a past moment.
Duration with 'For' and 'How Long'
'How long' questions about an ongoing situation, and 'for + period' answers, are the clearest signal for the present perfect continuous.
How long have you been living in this neighbourhood?
Explaining a Present Result
When a visible present state needs an explanation, the present perfect continuous points to the recent activity that caused it — without necessarily saying the activity is complete.
I've been reading 'War and Peace', but I'm only halfway through it. (not complete)
Elizabeth hasn't been working this week — she's been off ill. (negative, ongoing absence)
One Step Further Back: Past Perfect Continuous
When the whole sentence is set in the past, the same continuous pattern shifts to the past perfect continuous to explain an earlier cause: 'He was very tired because he'd been driving all day.'
Common Mistakes
✗ How long do you live in this neighbourhood? → ✓ How long have you been living in this neighbourhood?
✗ "I washed the car." (as an explanation for wet clothes right now) → ✓ "I've been washing the car."
Last updated: · Satori Editorial