How to Use the Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous

Hi, I’m Kasia. Welcome to Oxford  Online English! In this lesson,  

you can learn about the present perfect simple  and present perfect continuous verb forms.

What’s the difference between ‘I have done’  and ‘I have been doing?’ When should you  

use the present perfect continuous? You’ll see  the answers to these questions in this lesson.

Before we start, do you find it difficult  to listen to English for long periods?  

No problem – use the English subtitles to  help yourself understand! Turn them on now;  

just click the ‘CC’ button in the  bottom right of your video player,  

or, if you’re watching on a  smartphone, tap the settings button.

But now, let’s start with a basic point: what  is the present perfect continuous verb tense? 

Hey! Sorry I’m late…

Where have you been? I’ve been  trying to call you all morning!

Have you been waiting long?

Not so long. I just didn’t know where you were.

I’ve been preparing for this lesson for the  last few hours. I just lost track of time!

So, let’s start!

Look at three sentences you heard in the dialogue.

Do you know how to complete them? Look at the full sentences. 

These all use the same verb form –  the present perfect continuous. Some  

questions. One: how do you make positive  and negative sentences, and questions? 

Two: what does this verb form mean?

We’ll spend the rest of this  lesson answering question two,  

but let’s look at the first question now.

Form the present perfect continuous with  three things. Firstly, ‘have’ or ‘has’. 

Then, add ‘been’. Then, add an -ing verb. 

Let’s try it now. Look at three  sentences. Can you make them  

present perfect continuous? Pause the  video and say the sentences out loud,  

using the present perfect continuous verb form. Could you do it? Let’s check the answers. 

Did you get them right? Next, to make a negative,  

just add ‘not’ after ‘have’ or ‘has’. For  example: I have been working all morning;  

I have *not* been working all morning. She has been waiting there for hours;  

she has *not* been waiting there for hours. Actually, we’re emphasising the word ‘not’ so you  

can hear it, but in natural speech, you should  use contractions, like ‘haven’t’ or ‘hasn’t’.

‘I haven’t been working all morning.’ ‘She hasn’t been waiting there for hours.’ 

What about the last sentence?  Can you make it negative? Make  

the negative form and say it  out loud. Use a contraction.

The answer is ‘it hasn’t been  raining.’ Did you get it? 

Finally, make questions in the present  perfect continuous by moving ‘have’ or  

‘has’ before the subject. For example: ‘Has she been  

waiting there for hours?’ ‘Has it been raining?’ 

These rules will help you to form the  present perfect continuous verb tense. But,  

how do you use it? What does it mean?  Let’s start to answer that question. 

How long have you been doing this?

This? You mean, making this video?

I mean teaching. How long have you been teaching?

Ooh… For over ten years now. 

Should we take a break?  We’ve been working for hours.

Sure. Want to get a doughnut  or something from the bakery?

Hmmm… Better not. I’ve been trying  to cut down on how much sugar I eat.

Well, how about a coffee, instead?

Good idea! Look at four examples of the  

present perfect continuous which you heard. Can you see what connects them? 

In all four sentences, you’re talking  about something which started in the past,  

and continues in the present. This can be a continuous action;  

something which started before now, and  continued without a break until now. 

For example, if you say ‘We’ve been  working for hours’, you mean that  

we started working several hours ago, and  we’ve continued working from then until now. 

You can also use the present perfect continuous  for repeated or regular actions. For example,  

if I say ‘I’ve been teaching for over ten  years now’, I mean that this is something  

I’ve been doing regularly, starting  over ten years ago and continuing now.

So, to use the present perfect continuous  in this way, three things need to be true.

One: the action must have started in the past. 

Two: the action must be something  continuous, or repeated regularly. 

Three: you must still be doing  this thing now, in the present.

Let’s practise! Look at three questions. Pause the video and try to answer the questions,  

using the present perfect continuous. Say  your answers out loud. If it’s difficult,  

repeat your answers until you can  produce them fluently. Try it now! 

Could you do it? Was it easy or difficult? 

Of course, there are many possibilities,  but let’s look at three sample answers.

For question one, you could say  ‘I’ve been cleaning my room and  

doing a little bit of English study.’ For question two, you could say ‘I’ve  

been watching a show called Dark on Netflix.’ For question three, you could say ‘So far this  

week, I’ve mostly been hanging out at home and  reading. I have a good book I want to finish!’ 

This is the most basic way to use  the present perfect continuous. But,  

there’s another important use of  this verb tense – let’s look now.

What happened to your hands? They’re filthy!

I’ve been working on my bike.

Well, go and wash them! I don’t  want you getting everything dirty.

Why are you in such a bad mood?

I’ve been working on my website…

Not going well?

No!

Look at the first two lines from the dialogue. A question: is she working on her bike now? 

The answer is ‘no’. So, why use the  present perfect continuous here? The  

action has finished; it’s in the past.  Shouldn’t we use a past verb tense? 

You use the present perfect continuous here for  a continuous action which finished recently and  

which has visible results *now*. Or, more simply: use the present  

perfect continuous to explain why  things look they way they look now.

For example: ‘Why are you so sweaty? I’ve been jogging.’ 

‘Why is the kitchen in such a mess? I’ve been cooking all afternoon.’ 

‘You look tired. Yeah, I’ve been  working too much this week.’ 

OK, now you know the two basic ways to  use the present perfect continuous. Next,  

another important question: how do you know  when to use the present perfect continuous,  

and when to use the simple form?

Did you hear? Jen’s getting married!

Really? That’s good news, I guess.

‘I guess’?

Well, how long have they been together?  I last saw her three months ago,  

and she didn’t say anything  about being in a relationship.

I think they’ve been going  out for a couple of months.

That’s not long…

Maybe not, but I think they’ve known each  other for longer. Anyway, she seems really  

happy. She’s so excited about the wedding –  she’s been talking about it non-stop for weeks.

I bet.

Let’s look at two sentences you heard. These are describing similar  

situations. So, why use different verb forms? The verb in the first sentence – ‘go out’ – is  

an action. But, in the second sentence, the verb  – know – describes a *state*, not an action.

What does this mean? ‘Knowing’ someone is a state.  It’s not something you do. If you know someone,  

then you know them. You know them today,  and you’ll know them tomorrow, too.

State verbs include ‘be’, ‘like’,  ‘believe’, ‘understand’ or ‘seem’.  

Many verbs which relate to feelings  or mental states are state verbs.

State verbs aren’t generally used in continuous  forms. If you’re using a state verb, like ‘be’,  

you should use the present perfect  simple tense, not the continuous.

Let’s test this quickly. Look at two  more sentences from the dialogue. 

Do these verbs refer to states, or actions? Should  they be present perfect simple, or continuous? Try  

to remember, or work out the answers! Pause  the video if you need more time to think.

Let’s check.

‘Be’ is a state verb, so it  should be present perfect simple.

‘Talk’ is an action – it’s something you do. So,  it should be present perfect continuous here.

There’s one exception to this rule: ‘want’ is  a state verb, but you can use it in the present  

perfect continuous. For example: ‘I’ve  been wanting to see this film for ages!’ 

‘Actually, I’ve been wanting to talk  to you about this for some time.’ 

You could also use the simple form here –  I’ve wanted – it doesn’t matter which you use.

In this section, you’ve learned a basic way to  

tell the difference between the simple  and continuous present perfect forms.

In our final section, you’ll see  

one more important difference  between these two verb tenses. 

Haven’t you started cooking yet? Everyone  will be here in less than an hour!

I have started… I mean, I’ve  chopped all the vegetables.

But, the stew will take at least two hours to  cook. There’s no way it’ll be ready in time!

Well, you could have helped me… I’ve been doing  everything myself, and it’s a lot of work.

Yeah, you know what else is a lot of work?  Cleaning the whole house! I’ve been vacuuming,  

mopping, dusting… I’ve cleaned both bathrooms.  I haven’t just been sitting around all day.

OK, well, have you finished?  Can you give me a hand now?

Sure, I’m free now. What needs doing?

Actually, you know what? We’ve run out  of milk. Could you pop out and get some?

Yeah, OK.

Look at a sentence you heard. 

Let’s add another one. These are both possible,  

but they have slightly different  meanings. Can you explain the difference?

The first sentence, with the present  perfect simple, focuses on the *result*  

of the action. Using the simple form shows  that you have finished this and there is  

a result – in this case, the vegetables  are chopped and ready to go in the stew. 

The second sentence, with the present perfect  continuous, focuses on the *process*. If  

you say ‘I’ve been chopping the vegetables’,  there’s no clear result. Using the continuous  

form simply shows that you’ve spent time on  this thing, and you’re probably not finished.

Let’s practise this point. Look at four sentences.

Here’s a task for you: in these sentences, can you  use the present perfect simple, or the continuous,  

or both? If both are possible, is  the meaning the same, or different? 

Pause the video and think about your ideas.  Take your time! Start again when you’re ready. 

OK? Let’s look together.

In number one, only the simple form is possible. 

This is because there’s a number – you’ve called  *five* times – which shows a clear result.

In sentence two, both are possible,  but the continuous is more likely.  

There’s no difference in meaning. This is because you still haven’t arrived,  

so there’s no result. Probably,  you want to focus on the process,  

meaning how much time you’ve spent driving. In sentence three, both are possible,  

with little difference in meaning.  This is because you can focus on the  

result – you’ve finished watching  many documentaries – or you can  

focus on the process – you’ve spent  time watching nature documentaries. 

Confusing? Don’t worry about it. Here, the basic  meaning is the same whichever form you use.

In sentence four, both are possible,  but here the meaning would be different. 

If you say ‘I’ve made a  soup for lunch’, then you’ve  

finished cooking, and the soup is ready to eat. If you use the continuous form, then you probably  

haven’t finished. I’ve spent some time cooking,  but there’s probably no result – meaning no soup.

Maybe you’re thinking: why  ‘probably?’ It’s a good question! 

It’s because the sentence just doesn’t  contain that information. If you say  

‘I’ve been making a soup for lunch,’ there’s no  information about whether you’ve finished or not.

But, if you *had* finished, you’d almost certainly  use the present perfect simple – ‘I’ve made a  

soup.’ So, using the continuous strongly  suggests that you haven’t finished.

That’s all. Thanks for watching!

See you next time!