§ 1. The Formation of the Present Perfect Continuous

1. We form the Present Perfect Continuous by means of the auxiliary verb TO BE in the Present Perfect (have been/has been) and Participle I of the main verb.

HAVE BEEN + PARTICIPLE I (Ving) HAS

E.g. I have been writing the letter for two hours.

She has been reading the book since Monday.

In informal English we can also use short affirmative forms.

Full affirmative forms	Short affirmative forms
I (we, you, they) have been working. He (she, it) has been working.	I (we, you, they)’ve been working. He (she, it)’s been working.

2. In negative sentences we place the negative particle NOT after the first part (have/has) of the auxiliary verb TO BE. In informal English we use short negative forms.

E.g. I have not/haven’t been writing the letter for two hours.

She has not/hasn’t been reading the book since Monday.

Full negative forms	Short negative forms
I (we, you, they) have not been working. He (she, it) has not been working.	I (we, you, they) haven’t been working. He (she, it) hasn’t been working.

3. In interrogative sentences (questions) we place the first part (have/has) of the auxiliary verb TO BE before the subject.

E.g. Have I been writing the letter for two hours?

Has she been reading the book since Monday?

4. In negative-interrogative sentences (negative questions) we place the first part (have/has) of the auxiliary verb TO BE before the subject and the negative particle NOT after the subject. In informal English we place short negative forms before the subject.

E.g. Have I not/Haven’t I been writing the letter for two hours?

Has she not/Hasn’t she been reading the book since Monday?

Full negative-interrogative forms	Short negative-interrogative forms
Have I (we, you, they) not been working? Has he (she, it) not been working?	Haven’t I (we, you, they) been working? Hasn’t he (she, it) been working?

§ 2. The Use of the Present Perfect Continuous

The Present Perfect Continuous has two uses:

• The Present Perfect Continuous Inclusive (Durative)

• The Present Perfect Continuous Exclusive (Resultative)

1. The Present Perfect Continuous Inclusive denotes an action which began in the past and is still in progress.

• The preposition FOR denotes the whole period of duration of the action.

• SINCE denotes the starting point of the action.

• We can also use the adverbials of the type these/last/past (two) days, all day (long), all this year, all my life, etc.

NOTE 1. We can treat SINCE as a preposition (since Monday), as a conjunction (since I came home) and as an adverb (since = відтоді).

E.g. It’s ten o’clock. I’ve been writing the letter

for two hours. since eight o’clock. since I came home. since.

NOTE 2. In adverbial clauses of time after SINCE we normally use the verb in the Past Indefinite. If the actions in the principal and adverbial clauses are still in progress, we use the Present Perfect Continuous in both of them.

E.g. I have been working for this company since I moved to England.

I have been working for this company since I have been living in England.

NOTE 3. In this case the Present Perfect is translated into Ukrainian by the present.

E.g. She has been studying English for six years.

Вона вивчає англійську шість років.

2. The Present Perfect Continuous Exclusive denotes an action which was recently in progress and is connected with the present by its result.

E.g. I am tired. I have been writing the letter.

Why are you laughing? Has Bob been telling his silly jokes again?

Shame on you! You have been doing nothing again!

NOTE 4. In this case the Present Perfect is translated into Ukrainian by the past imperfective.

E.g. Mary’s eyes are red. She’s been crying.

У Мері червоні очі. Вона плакала.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS AND THE

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS INCLUSIVE

The Present Continuous	The Present Perfect Continuous Inclusive
denotes an action in progress at the present moment.	denotes an action in progress at the present moment with the indication of the period of duration or the starting point of the action.
E.g. I’m reading a book now.	E.g. I’ve been reading a book for an hour/since I came home.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PRESENT PERFECT INCLUSIVE

AND THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS INCLUSIVE

The Present Perfect Inclusive	The Present Perfect Continuous Inclusive
1. is used with stative verbs;	1. is not used with stative verbs; NOTE. There is a tendency in Modern English to use the stative verbs to want, to wish, etc. in the Perfect Continuous form.
E.g. I have been here for two years.	E.g. I’ve been waiting for her for five hours. She’s been wanting to talk to you since Monday.
2. focuses on the activity which is practically finished.	2. focuses on the activity which is not finished.
E.g. I’ve followed their discussion for a long time, and I’ve come to the conclusion that they are both wrong.	E.g. I’ve been following their discussion for a long time. They are still talking.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PRESENT PERFECT AND THE

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS EXCLUSIVE

The Present Perfect	The Present Perfect Continuous Exclusive
focuses on the action which is completed.	focuses on the action which is not completed.
E.g. I have read this book. (=I can discuss it with you.)	E.g. I’m tired. I have been reading this book for a long time. (=I paused to have some rest.)

THE PAST TENSES

THE PAST INDEFINITE TENSE

(THE PAST SIMPLE)