You will learn how to:

 To talk about your experiences.

 to review the use of the present perfect continuous with for and since to talk about an action or situation
that began in the past and continues now.

GUIDE NUMBER 3

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

AFFIRMATIVE (+) NEGATIVE (-) QUESTION (?)

We have been doing We have not been doing Have we been doing
homework for two hours. homework for two hours. homework for two hours?

He has been sleeping for He has not been sleeping Has he been sleeping for
three hours for three hours three hours?

Rules for present perfect continuous sentences:

Auxiliary verb “has been” or “have been” is used after the subject.
- “Has been” is used with He, She, It, name or any other singular noun.
- “Have been” is used with I, We, You, They, or any plural noun.

There are verbs, we can’t use in present perfect continuous. So, we use present prefect.
Con verbos que no suelen utilizar la forma progresiva, empleamos el "present perfect".
For example: I've wanted to visit China for years.
She's known Robert since she was a child.
I've hated that music since I first heard it.
I've heard a lot about you recently.
We've understood everything.
We've heard this morning.
Affirmative Negative
I have I’ve I have not I haven’t
He has He’s He has not He hasn’t
She has She’s She has not She hasn’t
It has It’s It has not It hasn’t
You have You’re You have not You haven’t
We have We’ve We have not We haven’t
They have They’ve They have not They haven’t
Contractions:
We use “have” and “has” in the present perfect continuous. When speaking (not in formal writing), most
native speakers use these contractions. We use these contractions most often with pronouns (I, he, she, it,
you, we, they)

Time to practice:
I have ________________ he has ________________ she has ________________
You have ________________ I have not ________________ They have ________________
She has not ________________ it has ________________ you have not ________________
We have not ________________ they have not ________________ it has not ________________
Circle the PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS verb tense in each of the following sentences.
1. We have been waiting for them for over two hours.
2. Until recently, Mia has been watching her weight.
3. The car has been idling in front of the house for ten minutes.
4. I have been dying to tell you about the new movie.
5. Because there has been so much work to do, Paul has been feeling tired
Fill in the blank with the PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS form of the verb in parentheses.
1. I ________________________________ (watch) television for an hour!
2. Karla ________________________________ (listen) to rock music lately.
3. You ________________________________ (talk)on the phone too long!
4. We ________________________________ (ask) about the schedule for weeks.
5. They ________________________________ (play) tennis all afternoon.

READING AND WRITING

A. Read the short story and then answer the questions:

Ruth and Martha are best friends. They have been spending time
together since they were young girls. Every morning, they get dressed
and walk to the post officer together. They have been walking together to
the post office every morning for the past 10 years.
Lately, Martha has not been feeling well. Ruth has been walking to the
post office alone each morning. Then she visits Martha at home. She has
been bringing Martha her mail every morning for 2 weeks. She hopes
Martha feels better soon.
Answer the following questions: use the present perfect continuous
tense.
1. How long have Ruth and Martha been spending time together? For how many years have they been
walking together to the post office?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. How has Martha been feeling lately?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

3. For how long has Ruth been visiting Martha and bringing her mail?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
 Review: SINCE and FOR

“For” is used to express period of time; as, morning, evening, etc.

“since” is used to denote point of time; as, some time, hours, months, etc.

C. Write sentences. Use the present perfect continuous and for or since.
1. Milena /watch/TV/six o’clock
Milena has been watching TV since six o’clock.
2. Lucas/play/video games/this morning
____________________________________________________.
3. David/plan/his party/a long time
____________________________________________________.
4. Lucy/learn/to play the piano/she was six
____________________________________________________.
5. They/stay/with their aunt/a week
____________________________________________________.

LISTENING

Listen and order the sentences according to the audio.

A. What kind of music have you been listening to lately? _______
B. Have you been exercising? _______
C. She has been living there for two years. _______
D. It has been raining all day. _______
E. Flights have been arriving late all day. _______
F. How have you been doing? _______
G. They haven't been paying attention. (negative) _______
H. What has he been reading? _______
I. We have been eating a lot of healthy food lately. _______
J. This car hasn't been running properly. (negative) _______