Present Perfect Continuous Tense

You'll use this one a lot when you complain about traffic, the weather and buses. 😄 It joins the past and the now, like the present perfect, but it's about the activity, not the result.

How to make it

When do we use it?

1. Started in the past, still going on

Still going

සිංහලෙන්

• She's been waiting for you since morning.
• I've been working on this report since eight o'clock.
• It's been raining for a week.
• How long have you been learning English?

2. It just stopped, and you can see the signs

You can see the signs

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• The roads are wet. Has it been raining?
• Why are your eyes red? Have you been crying?
• I'm tired because I've been running.

This one or the present perfect?

If there's a number of things done (three times, five curries, 100 pages), use the present perfect, not the continuous.

Remember the verbs that don't like -ing? They don't take it here either. Say I've known her for years, not I've been knowing her.

Quick check

Tap an answer. Nothing is saved.

1. I for an hour. Where are you?

   have been waitingam waiting

2. It raining since last night.

   has beenhave been

3. I three emails this morning.

   've been writing've written

4. We each other since grade one.

   have knownhave been knowing

5. The baby has been sleeping 5 o'clock.

   forsince