Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Ministry of Popular Power for Secondary Education

U.E.P. Arch. Mary Help of Christians

Information area: English

Teacher: Bernardo Medina

Present Perfect Continuous

and Past Perfect Continuous

Made by:

Andrés Eduardo Cardozo Moreno

4 th Year section “A”

Maracaibo, November 14TH, 2024

 Introduction:

In English there are many sentences, concepts, verbs, text or objectives which we

learn over time, whether because you learn English in a course, at school, or on your

own. It is normal for people who are learning English to know all its concepts and terms

to master this language, like today since to be more experienced with this language I

have decided to investigate everything related to two very well-known terms in English

called “ present perfect continuous” and “past perfect continuous” these two are verbal

conjugations that are used to express a past action, in the case of the present perfect

continuous this consists of a sentence or verbal expression in which a person talks

about actions or abilities that this has been committed in the past but still continues

committing in the present, for example: "I've been working here for three months now",

In the case of the past perfect continuous this is a verbal expression that a person uses

to talk about an action that he committed in the past but that was interrupted by another

person. For example: "She had been reading for seven hours when she fell asleep", as

is notable, although both concepts are similar, they are not the same, since each one is

used for a different circumstance. Obviously, to know what these circumstances are, it

is necessary to thoroughly investigate the topic, to know how these sentences are

structured, how to conjugate their verbs, how to use these terms and how they are

composed, so in this work I will not only answer all the doubts about this topic, but I will

also delve into it to investigate and analyze everything related to the present perfect

continuous and the past perfect continuous so yes, in this work I not only seek to

investigate a topic and that's it, but I also seek to learn about this topic to be able to

improve my English and to be able to experiment but with this language and not only
that, it is also because I am curious to know this topic, so, after having made this small

introduction I can say that we are ready to explore this topic in depth, so let's not waste

any more time and Let's start at once, since if something is essential when learning

English, it is time since learning this language obviously takes a long, long time, so

without further ado, let's get started.

 Scheme:

1.-Present perfect continuous:

1.1.-Concept.

1.2.-Verbs.

1.3.-Sentences.

1.4.-Structure.

1.5.-Use.

2.-Past perfect continuous:

2.1.-Concept.

2.2-Verbs.

2.3-Sentences.

2.4.-Structure.

2.5-Use.
 1.-Present perfect continuous:

1.1.-Concept:

The Present Perfect Continuous in English is a verbal tense that unites the present

and the idea of continuity. It is used to describe actions or situations that began in the

past, continue to occur in the present, and may continue in the future. This tense

emphasizes the duration of the action or its ongoing process.It is essential to describe

actions in progress that have a direct connection to the present. In addition, it is an

excellent tool to convey a feeling of continuity and dynamism in our descriptions,

present perfect continuous or present perfect continuous is a tense that we use

particularly to talk about an action that began in the past but continues in the present. It

is formed with the verb have or has, depending on the subject of the sentence, been

(the past participle of the verb to be) and the main verb of the sentence in gerund

(ending with -ing). When I ask my students this question (“How long have you been

studying English?”), some roll their eyes and respond “Too long,” while others happily

reply: “Nearly all my life.” (“Almost all my life”). This question focuses on the duration of

an activity (“How long”), and to do so it uses the present perfect continuous. The

present perfect continuous is a compound tense that connects two different moments: in

this case, the past and the present. If you want to know more about the perfect tenses,

you can read our posts about the perfect tenses in English and when and how the

present perfect simple is used in English.The present perfect continuous serves to refer

to:Unfinished actions, that is, those that began in the past and continue at the present

moment:I’ve been working here for three months now.Josh has been watching Netflix

for three hours (Josh has been watching Netflix for three hours [he turned on the TV

three hours ago and is still in front of the screen]). Actions that have ended very recently
(and of which we can probably still see some trace):Jenny is sweating because she’s

been running.It’s been raining - take a raincoat (because it could rain again). Aysha has

been painting the living room (Aysha has been painting the living room [and that's why

she has paint stains on her shirt]). The present perfect continuous is a verb tense in

English used to describe actions that began in the past and continue in the present. It

can also be used for actions that have recently ended, but for which results can still be

observed. To form a question in the present perfect continuous, a question word is

used at the beginning of the sentence. For example: "What have I been doing all this

time?". There are verbs that do not accept the Present Perfect Continuous. They are

'Stative verbs', verbs that imply staticness and do not express any action. They are

verbs like believe, believe, or love, to love. Therefore, these verbs must be formed with

the Present Perfect Simple, and not with the Present Perfect Continuous. The Present

Perfect Continuous is often confused with the Present Perfect Simple. Its structure is

nothing alike, but its uses are similar. How to differentiate them then? It all depends on

where the emphasis is.The Present Perfect Simple is used when the action took place

in the recent past or has consequences in the present. That is, what is relevant is the

result of the action. Example:William has written a letter – William has written a letter.

What matters is the result of the action, that is, the letter.The Present Perfect

Continuous is used for an action that has continued in time up to the present (inclusive).

In this case, what is relevant is the duration or continuity of said action. Example:

Richard has been working all day – Richard has been working all day. The important

thing is that he has been working many hours, all day.When you learn English, verb

conjugation may seem like a tough challenge, but remember, it's just about practice.
 1.2.-Verbs:

Most verbs can be easily converted to fit the present perfect continuous simply by

adding an "-ing" to the end of the word (for example play, play = playing). But there are

several exceptions to this spelling formula that you should be aware of as described

below:

When a verb ends with AN “E” at the end, remove it and add “ing”:

Give = giving.

Live = living.

Save = saving.

When a verb ends with a consonant + a vowel + a consonant, repeat the final

consonant and add "ing" (except if it ends in X, Y or Z:

Stop = stopping (t = consonant, o = vowel, p = consonant)

Chat = chatting (h = consonant, a = vowel, t = consonant)

Swim = swimming (w = consonant, i = vowel, m = consonant)

When a verb ends with "IE", change it to "Y" and add "ing":

Lie = lying.

Die = dying.

Tie = tying.

When a verb ends with “IC”, add a “K” and then add “ing”:

Panic = panicking.

Frolic = frolicking.

Traffic = trafficking.

For British English only: When a verb ends with a consonant + a vowel + an "L", add

another "L" and then add "ing":

 Travel = traveling.

Cancel = canceling.

Control = controlling.

Some verbs cannot be used with the present perfect continuous because they

describe conditions that last for an extended period of time. These are called stative

verbs. For example, the verb “Know” typically refers to being permanently aware of

specific information. Therefore, it makes no sense to say “I have been knowing that

Paris is the capital of France.” This is because it is not an ongoing process or action, but

rather a permanent state. Here are some other examples of verbs that are not usually

used with the present perfect continuous tense:

Belong:

Incorrect = He has been belonging to the country club since 2005.

Correct = He has belonged to the country club since 2005.

Own:

Incorrect = I have been owning this house for years.

Correct = I have owned this house for years.

Exist:

Incorrect = It’s been existing for a century.

Correct = It’s existed for a century.

Be:

Incorrect = They've been being mean lately.

Correct = They've been mean lately.

There are certain stative verb that can function in both continuous and non-

continuous tenses. So one trick to figuring out if a verb can be used in the present.
1.3.-Sentences:

 It has been raining all day.

 I have been working as a waiter since June.

 Have you been waiting long?.

 The children have been studying all morning.

 We have been talking for hours.

 She hasn't been feeling well recently.

 I've been thinking about you lately.

 How long have you been studying French?.

 The children have been watching TV all afternoon.

 I've been looking for you all day.

 Dad has been working at the company for 20 years.

 What have you been doing recently?.

 Penny has been looking for a job since January.

 We have been going out for two months now.

 He has been losing everything lately.

 You have been working too much.

 I have been reading a lot of Shakespeare.

 Shakespeare.

 They've been having problems.

 How long has it been snowing?.

 I have been rushing all day.

 "Their teachers haven't been correcting them as often".

 "It has been raining a lot lately" .

 "My eyes have been hurting these days" .

 1.4.-Structure:

The structure of the Present Perfect Continuous may seem complex, but it is not that

complex. It's just a matter of practice.

The construction of the Present Perfect Continuous is as follows: Subject + auxiliary

verb 'to have' + been + verb + ing. Some examples, to see it more clearly:

New call-to-action.

Seth and Oscar have been sleeping for three hours. Maybe they are still sleeping or

maybe not anymore but in this case the emphasis is placed on the duration of the

action.

My sister has been playing the whole afternoon.

We have been drinking beer since six o'clock.

To construct the negative and interrogative forms of the Present Perfect Continuous,

the following structure must be followed:

Affirmative: Subject + auxiliary verb 'to have' + been + verb + ing.

He has been cooking that cake for two hours now! .

He's been baking that cake for two hours!.

Negative: Subject + to have + not + 'been' + verb + ing

 She hasn't been reading much about it lately.

Interrogative: To have + subject + been + verb + ing

Have I been writing the book this morning? –Has he been writing the book this

morning?.

Since the present perfect continuous in English indicates an action over a period of

time, it is very common for its construction to include the prepositions for, since, and

since, since. This will allow you to recognize it more easily.

The structure of the present perfect continuous in English is:

Subject + have/has been + verb(ing) + complement .

The present perfect continuous is used to:

Show that an action began in the past and continues to the present.

Emphasize the duration of an action or its uninterrupted nature.

Describe actions that have recently completed and have a visible result in the present

To form negative and interrogative sentences, the following structure can be used:

Negative: Subject + have/has not (haven't/hasn't) been + verb(ing) + complement.

Interrogative: Have/has (haven't/hasn't) + subject + been + verb(ing) + complement .

For example, "We have been living" is an affirmative sentence, "We haven't been living"

is a negative sentence, and "Have we been living?" It is an interrogative sentence.

 1.5.-Use:

The present perfect continuous is used to talk about actions that began in the past

and are still being performed in the present, or to emphasize the duration of an action.

To construct the present perfect continuous, the verb "have" or "has" is used as an

auxiliary, followed by "been" and the gerund of the main verb.

Some examples of use of the present perfect continuous are:

"My mother has been calling me all afternoon."

"It's been raining all morning."

"I'm tired because I've been working all day."

To ask questions in the present perfect continuous, place the auxiliary verb "have" or

"has" at the beginning of the sentence, before the subject.

For example, "Have you been watching this trick all this time?"

The present continuous is used on these occasions:

To describe something that is happening at the exact moment of stating it:

 The boy is crying.

To describe an action that takes place now but not at the exact moment of stating it:

He is working in Dubai.

To describe an event planned for the future:

I'm resitting my French exam on Tuesday.

With always, but meaning often (used to emphasize the frequency of a situation in a

humorous or hyperbolic way):

My mother is always making me go to school!

She is always playing with that doll!

To describe an action that is being performed now and is subject to interruption:

She is not answering the phone because she is sleeping.

To form the present continuous, the appropriate conjugation of the verb to be in its

present form (am, is, are) is used, and then the gerund of the chosen verb.
 2.-Past perfect continuous:

2.1.-Concept:

Unlike the past perfect simple, the past perfect continuous or in English past perfect

continuous, indicates an action that was being carried out at a moment in the past,

before another action also occurred. It is formed by conjugating the auxiliary verb to

have in the past, which is had, and the gerund that indicates the continuous tense, that

is, the -ing, let's see: Every time you want to indicate the cause and effect or

consequence of a situation or event that occurred, particularly using the term because,

which expresses reason or cause. For example: We didn't waste our time because we

had been practicing guitar. We didn't waste our time because we had been practicing

guitar. To express activities that were carried out for a limited time until interrupted by

an action or event: As we have seen with the other verb tenses, with the past perfect

continuous sentences are made in three ways, let's see what they are and what

characteristics they have with respect to this specific tense of the past.The auxiliary

form had been does not vary depending on the subject with which it is conjugated. In

the case of sentences expressed negatively in this tense, the auxiliary verb varies a

little, since the negative auxiliary not must be located in the middle of the conjugation of

the auxiliary verb: had been.If you wish, you can contract the auxiliaries of the sentence,

as presented in the sentence below : Now, if what you want is to ask a question, you

must open the sentence with the auxiliary verb had to indicate that it is an interrogative

sentence and place the corresponding closing sign to indicate that said question has

already ended.In this case, the subject must be located in the middle of had and been,

for example: The past perfect continuous is a verb tense in English that is used to

narrate actions that took place in the past and were interrupted by another event.
To form sentences in the past perfect continuous, the structure is used: Subject + had

been + verb –ing + complement. For example, "She had been reading for seven hours

when she fell asleep." Contractions are mainly used in speech or informal writing. For

example, "had been" is contracted as "'d been." The past perfect continuous has two

uses:Express an action that began in the past and continued for some time until another

action interrupted it.Indicate an action from the past that caused another, also in the

past. We use the past perfect continuous to narrate actions that originated in the past

and occurred for a while, but that were interrupted by some situation.Examples: She

had been waiting for two hours when they finally called. (She had been waiting for two

hours when they finally called) Erick had been competing for six years before he won

the championship. (Erick had been competing for six years before winning the

championship). The past perfect continuous differs from the past perfect simple in that

the main action referred to in the sentence occurred, in the first case, during a certain

time in the speaker's past, while in the past perfect we simply refer to actions that took

place in the past at a time before another action in the past. The past perfect

continuous, in Spanish, past perfect continuous is a tense used to talk about the past in

the past. It is very common to find this structure in something called reported speech in

the past, that is, when something that someone said is reported. in the past. In turn, the

past perfect continuous expresses actions in the past that had a longer duration, before

another action occurred in the past. Don't worry! It's not as difficult as it seems. In this

article you will find the tools to use this grammatical tense in English correctly.

Remember that in the structure of any question in English the order of the components

of the sentence changes a little to how sentences are constructed in Spanish in thiway,

although “had been” is the past perfect of the verb to be, we are going to separate.
2.2-Verbs:
 El "past continuous" de cualquier verbo está compuesto de dos partes: el pasado del

verbo "to be" (was/were) y la raíz del verbo principal +ing:

2.3-Sentences:

 Martha had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg.

 The new website had been working well since 1980.

 Lucy had been playing the trumpet for 2 years when she started her band.

 They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.

 I had not been studying English very long.

 I had been watching a horror movie.

 She had been working at that company for a year when she met James.

 My grandfather had been feeling great until yesterday.

 They hadn’t been speaking to each other for years.

 They had not been taking good care of their health.

 Thankfully, I had not been smoking for a year before I got pregnant.
 I hadn’t been drinking alcohol for a long time either.

 My dog hadn’t been sleeping well before he died.

 Had you been dating him for very long?

 Had that dog been barking a lot in the past few weeks?

 Had they been sleeping late during the summer?

 Had Marie been trying to lose weight when she got sick?

 Had you been working at your job for a long time before you quit?

 Had the children been acting strange?

 Had you been waiting long before the taxi arrived?"

 "We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key"

 "It had been raining hard for several hours and the streets were very wet"

 "Her friends had been thinking of calling the police when she walked in"
2.4.-Structure:

To form sentences using the past perfect continuous we use the past tense of the

auxiliary verb to have and the participle of the verb to be (had been), followed by the

main verb in the gerund, which is what indicates the continuity of the action.

In the construction of affirmative sentences in the past perfect continuous, we first

indicate the subject, followed by the auxiliary construction had been and the action verb

in the gerund, and finally the complement of the sentence.

The form of the structure is then:

Subject + had been + gerund verb + complement

Examples:

Lina had been trying to get pregnant naturally for a long time before she tried

artificial methods.

My grandfather had been having health problems, so we went to see the doctor for a

check-up.

To form negative sentences in the past perfect continuous, the negation falls on the

past tense of the auxiliary verb to have (had not or hadn't).

 Thus, the structure is as follows:

Subject + had not (hadn't) been + gerund verb + complement

Examples:

I hadn't been waiting for long when she arrived.

The students hadn't been paying attention, so the teacher decided to do a test.

When we want to ask a question using past perfect continuous, we start the

sentence had, then the subject on which the action falls, followed by been and the

complement of the sentence. If the question is negative, the negation falls on the

auxiliary to have. Let's see:

Had/Hadn’t + subject + been + gerund verb + complement + ?

Examples:

Had Mary been visiting her mother when the accident happened?.

Hadn't they been told we were coming today? ).

Hadn't they been told we were coming toning? ).

 2.5-Use:

The past perfect continuous, also known as past perfect progressive, is used to talk
about actions that occurred in the past and were interrupted by another action. With this
tense you can establish a temporal relationship between two events.

Some uses of the past perfect continuous are:

Emphasize the duration of an action that began and ended before a specific time. For
example, "She had been running for two hours before she saw a village."

Explain the cause of an action in the past. For example, "He was tired because he
had been running."

Describe two actions in progress in the past. For example, "While I had been cooking,
my brother had been setting the table."

To construct the past perfect continuous, the auxiliary had is used for all subjects, the
past participle of to be, been, and the main verb in a gerund, ending in -ing.

To ask questions with the past perfect continuous, the structure is used: Had +
subject + been + verb -ing + complements?. For example, "Have you been sleeping at
his house?" translates as "Had you been sleeping in their house?".

We use the past perfect continuous to narrate actions that originated in the past and
occurred for a while, but that were interrupted by some situation.

There are two uses for the past perfect continuous. Below you will be able to get to
know them with the help of some examples to take into account their possibilities.
 Express an action that began in the past and continued for some time until another
action interrupted it.

For example:

She had been reading for seven hours when she fell asleep.

How long had they been running when they took a break?.

Indicate an action from the past that caused another, also in the past.

For example:

I was tired because I had been working all day.

We were sleepy because we had been dancing all night.

Now that you know the most important thing about the past perfect continuous, it is

essential that you practice it every opportunity you have, whether orally or in writing. In

case you have any questions or want to perfect your mastery of this and other verb

tenses, in the British Council Mexico English courses we are waiting for you with open

arms.

The past perfect continuous, often called Past Perfect Progressive, is primarily used

to talk about an action that was in progress in the past and that precedes another action

also in the past.

 Annexes :

1.-Present perfect continuous:

 2.-

Past perfect continuous:

 Conclusion:

In conclusion, after everything seen previously in this work we can make a

conclusion about everything we have seen: The present and past perfect continuous

are very important in the English language since they help us to express ourselves

better verbally about a topic. past, that is, if we want to talk about a past option that we

still continue doing in our present, we can use the present perfect continuous to express

ourselves better verbally and thus make what we want to express more understandable,

on the other hand, if what we want is to talk about an action or activity we are doing in

the past but was interrupted by an apt of the present we can use the past perfect

continuous to be able to say what we want to understand correctly without

misunderstandings, as I mentioned in the introduction of this work, do not just

investigate all this simply because it was a school activity, but also because I really

wanted to learn about this topic, I found it very interesting and striking and also that I

really want to learn English since this will be fundamental in my future, both academic

and work, but in order to learn English takes time, a lot of time, so I took advantage of

all the time in the world to be able to finish this work and give it to the teacher so that he

could correct it, since this way I will be able to show that I was able to take advantage of

my time and learn the topic that interested me so much. so the conclusion of this work It

is very simple, the present perfect continuous and the past perfect continuous teach us

that although we cannot fix our past we cannot We must torment ourselves with

remembering it, but we must focus on the present since although we cannot fix our past

we can at least change the future or at least that was how I interpreted this topic, so

without further ado, this has been my conclusion, I know that perhaps I have not been
very clear but I tried as hard as I could and the intention is what counts, so with this I

conclude this work and thank you very much for ready.
 Bibliography:

1.-Present perfect continuous:

1.1.-Concept.https://www.britishcouncil.es/blog/presente-perfecto-continuo

1.2.-Verbs.https://preply.com/es/blog/presente-perfecto-continuo-ingles/

1.3.-Sentences.https://www.ejemplos.co/present-perfect-continuous-en-ingles/

1.4.-Structure.https://www.abaenglish.com/es/gramatica-ingles/tiempos-verbales-

ingles/present-perfect-continuous/

1.5.-Use.https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presente-continuo

2.-Past perfect continuous:

2.1.-Concept.https://idiomas.gcfglobal.org/es/curso/ingles/b1/que-es-el-pasado-

perfecto-continuo/

2.2-Verbs.https://www.britishcouncil.org.mx/blog/past-perfect-continuous

2.3-Sentences.https://englishpost.org/oraciones-con-el-pasado-perfecto-continuo-en-

ingles/
 2.4.-Structure.https://englishpost.org/oraciones-con-el-pasado-perfecto-continuo-en-

ingles/

2.5-Use.https://whatsup.es/blog/pasado-perfecto-continuo