Present Perfect vs Present Perfect Continuous: Differences and Grammar Rules

Today we're going to talk about the difference  

between the Present Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous 

You’ll quickly get the difference between  these verb tenses which are quite similar 

If you don’t know how and when  to use these confusing tenses 

this video is definitely  for you. Let’s get started

Hello everyone! welcome back to my channel 

I’m Kate and today we have a grammar lesson. Let’s take a look at these two sentences: 

I have lived in the US for ten years and 

I have been living in the US for ten years 

Do they mean the same thing or  do they have different meanings? 

Let’s find out. The Present Perfect and  

the Present Perfect Continuous can be used to talk about past actions which are still  

connected to the present. We can use both tenses to  

describe finished and unfinished actions. Before we start talking about the differences  

between The Present Perfect and  the Present Perfect Continuous, 

let’s remember how we form them. So the Present Perfect is formed with 

have or has + the past participle 

I have lived. The negative form 

have or has + not + the past  participle: I have not lived. 

And the question: have or has +  the subject + the past participle: 

Have I lived? We use Present Perfect to  

talk about past actions and we don’t know when  they’ve finished and it doesn’t even matter. 

The result of the action is more  important than the action itself. 

For example, I’ve spilled my juice. We are not interested what time exactly  

it happened, but we talk about the result: I have spilled my juice. Please, give me a  

towel to wipe it up. or 

I use the Present Perfect in question and ask YOU: Have you subscribed to my Youtube channel? 

I’m really more interested  in the result of the action. 

So if you haven’t done it  yet, please do it right away!

Now let’s remember how we form  the Present Perfect Continuous. 

the Positive is have or has + been + verb – ing: 

I have been living The negative is 

have or has + not + been + verb – ing: I have not been living 

And the question: have or has + subject + been + verb – ing 

Have I been living ? So we use the Present Perfect  

Continuous to talk about actions that started in  the past and has continued to the present moment  

and maybe they will continue into the future. So I can say for example, 

I’ve been standing in front of the camera. It’s an unfinished action, 

it started in the past, and it has continued until right now, 

and it’s going to continue into the future, and I hope you keep watching my lesson. 

When we use The Present Perfect Continuous Tense we are more interested in action than the result. 

Now I wanna focus on some exceptions. There are some stative verbs that  

we cannot use in the continuous tense hate, like, love, want, wish, feel, know,  

need, hear, see, believe. You can say: I’ve heard the news 

But You cannot say I’ve been hearing the news. 

You can say: We’ve known each other for years. 

You cannot say: We’ve been knowing each other for years. 

That’s incorrect. Ok let me tell you  

about the differences between the Present  Perfect and The Present Perfect Continuous. 

Difference #1. The Present Perfect Continuous  describes an action that may continue  

whereas The Present Perfect describes  an activity that has been completed. 

For example: I’ve read a book (I finished reading a book) 

I’ve been reading a book. (This means I’m still  

reading or I may go on reading the activity is NOT finished)  

Difference #2. We use the Present Perfect  Continuous to emphasize the amount of time that  

has passed whereas the Present Perfect is used to  talk about how many times something has happened. 

I've been working on this project for a month.  (We're talking about the amount of time) 

We've seen that movie three times. (We're talking  about how many times we've seen that movie) 

I’ve been passing the grammar test for two  hours! (We're talking about the amount of time) 

I’ve passed the grammar test six times (We're  talking about how many times I've passed the test) 

Difference #3. We use the Present Perfect  to talk about unfinished constant activities 

and we use the Present Perfect Continuous  to talk about activities that are temporary.  

Actions that are not usual. I’ve worked in the office for 10 years. 

I’m using the Present Perfect because the  action is unfinished and I still work there,  

I go to my office every day to work. I’ve been working from home (I usually  

work in the office but recently I’ve been working  from home for the reason of pandemic situation) 

In this case I mean the action  that started in the past,  

it’s unfinished because I’m still working  at home but it’s a temporary situation. 

Let’s have a look at the next example from the first part of our lesson. 

I hope that it will be easier to  understand the differences in meaning.

I have lived in the US for ten years 

and I have been living in the US for ten years

If I use the Present Perfect it’s a more constant situation, 

that means I’m not going to  change the place where I live, 

and if I say it using the  Present Perfect Continuous 

the focus is on the action; I’m still living here  

but it makes you think that  it’s a temporary situation, 

and it may change in the future and maybe I’d move somewhere else.

The next difference. We use the Present  Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous  

to express different kinds of results. I’ve painted my room. It looks so lovely! 

We use the Present Perfect when the result  comes from the activity being finished. 

The room looks lovely because I’ve painted it.  I’ve finished painting. The activity is completed. 

I’ve been painting my room, so I’m tired. We use the Present Perfect Continuous  

when the result comes from doing the activity. Why am I tired? 

I’m tired of painting my room. There is another example: 

I’ve played a new game, so  I can tell you the rules. 

We use the Present Perfect when  the result comes from the activity 

I can tell you the game  rules because I’ve played it. 

I’ve been playing video games all  day, so I have a headache now. 

We use the Present Perfect Continuous when the  result comes from doing the activity itself: 

I have a headache now because I’ve  been playing video games all day.

But there is one important thing you should know: 

with the verbs STUDY, TEACH and WORK in most cases there is no difference in meaning. 

I’ve studied languages for five years. I’ve been studying languages for five years.

they mean the same thing

He’s been worked here for two weeks. He’s been working here for two weeks. 

Once again, there is no difference in meaning.

I’ve taught English since 2016. 

I’ve been teaching English since 2016. And these sentences mean the same thing, too. 

Now it's your turn. You need to practice what you've learned. 

Please write one sentence below  using the Present Perfect and 

one sentence using the Present Perfect Continuous.

Well that’s it for today. I hope that this lesson was easy to understand, 

and now you get the difference between the Present  Perfect and the Present Perfect Continuous. 

If you like this video, please hit the like button subscribe to this channel 

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Thank you so much for watching. See you next week.