English Tenses · Further practice · Focus on an activity and its duration
Present Perfect Continuous – Learn & Practise
“I’ve been waiting.” “She hasn’t been sleeping well.” “How long have you been studying?” Describe activities continuing until now or stopping recently.
100 questions · 10 per round · No sign-in needed
1. What is Present Perfect Continuous?
Make the present perfect continuous with have/has + been + verb-ing. It focuses on an activity happening over a period of time up to now, or an activity that has recently stopped and has a result you can notice now.
Continuing until now
“I have been waiting for twenty minutes.” I am still waiting.
A recent activity and its effect
“She is tired because she has been running.” She may have just stopped.
Repeated activity around now
“We have been practising every day this week.” The repeated activity belongs to the current period.
2. Choose the correct form
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I / You / We / They | have been + verb-ing | We have been studying. |
| He / She / It / one person | has been + verb-ing | She has been studying. |
3. Positive, negative and question patterns
+ Positive
Subject + have/has + been + verb-ing
She has been studying.
− Negative
Subject + have/has + not + been + verb-ing
She hasn’t been studying.
? Question
Have/Has + subject + been + verb-ing?
Has she been studying?
Choose have or has for the subject. Keep been, then use the -ing form. Put not after have/has. In a question, move have/has before the subject and keep been + verb-ing together after it.
4. Contractions
I have been → I’ve been
We have been → We’ve been
She has been → She’s been
have not been → haven’t been
has not been → hasn’t been
“She’s not been sleeping well” and “She hasn’t been sleeping well” are both correct.
5. Questions and short answers
Yes/No questions
“Have you been waiting?” → “Yes, I have.” / “No, I haven’t.”
“Has she been working?” → “Yes, she has.” / “No, she hasn’t.”
“Have they been studying?” → “Yes, they have.” / “No, they haven’t.”
Repeat have or has, not been, in the short answer.
WH-questions
- How long have you been learning English?
- What has she been doing?
- Where have they been working?
- Why have you been waiting outside?
6. Spelling and verb forms
Keep been in the middle
have been working; has been working. Been does not change with the subject.
Add -ing or drop a silent e
work → working; study → studying; make → making; write → writing.
Double some final consonants
sit → sitting; run → running; stop → stopping. Do not double w, x or y: snowing, fixing, playing.
Other forms
lie → lying; British spelling: travel → travelling; practise → practising.
7. Time expressions and common mistakes
For an hour · since nine · all morning · recently · lately · this week
For and since
For gives a length of time: for two hours. Since gives a starting point: since nine. “We have been waiting for an hour.” “We have been waiting since ten.”
Simple or continuous?
“I have read three pages” focuses on a completed amount. “I have been reading for an hour” focuses on the activity and duration. It does not tell us how much I have completed.
With some verbs, both forms can describe a situation continuing until now: “I have worked here for years” and “I have been working here for years”. Do not choose a tense from for or since alone; consider the meaning and focus.
State verbs
Use the simple form with verbs such as know and own: “I have known her for years”, not “I have been knowing her for years”.
- “I have been wait.” → I have been waiting.
- “She have been studying.” → She has been studying.
- “He has working all day.” → He has been working all day.
- “Has she been worked?” → Has she been working?
- “How long you have been waiting?” → How long have you been waiting?
Audio uses your device’s English (UK) voice when available. No sound plays automatically.
8. Your practice space
Choose an activity. Each round has 10 questions. Type answers, choose an option or build a sentence. Read the feedback before moving on.
Full forms and standard contractions are accepted. Capital letters and final punctuation do not affect your score. Each answer is checked once per round; you can practise missed questions afterwards.
The final assessment draws from the practice bank. It is a learning check, not a qualification test.
Your round
9. Your progress
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10. Print and practise
Use these questions for classwork or homework. The print version includes 20 questions followed by the answer key on a separate page. Use your print settings to save as PDF if you prefer.
View worksheet questions and answers
- Use present perfect continuous: I ___ for the bus for twenty minutes. (wait)
Answer: have been waiting - Use present perfect continuous: We ___ on this project all morning. (work)
Answer: have been working - Use present perfect continuous: You ___ your pronunciation every day this week. (practise)
Answer: have been practising - Use present perfect continuous: We ___ the event for several weeks. (plan)
Answer: have been planning - Use present perfect continuous: They ___ since early this morning. (travel)
Answer: have been travelling - Complete the present perfect continuous negative: I ___ for the bus for twenty minutes. (wait)
Answer: have not been waiting - Complete the present perfect continuous negative: He ___ for a job for two weeks. (look)
Answer: has not been looking - Complete the present perfect continuous negative: My children ___ outside for an hour. (play)
Answer: have not been playing - Complete the present perfect continuous negative: We ___ the event for several weeks. (plan)
Answer: have not been planning - Complete the present perfect continuous negative: The students ___ in the library for an hour. (read)
Answer: have not been reading - Complete the question: ___ I been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes?
Answer: Have - Complete the question: ___ he been looking for a job for two weeks?
Answer: Has - Complete the question: ___ the nurse been helping patients all morning?
Answer: Has - Build a present perfect continuous question. Use all the words.
Words: weeks / several / for / event / the / planning / been / we / Have
Answer: Have we been planning the event for several weeks? - Build a present perfect continuous question. Use all the words.
Words: time / long / a / for / bags / heavy / those / carrying / been / you / Have
Answer: Have you been carrying those heavy bags for a long time? - Make this negative. Keep the same subject and details: I have been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.
Answer: I have not been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes. - Make this negative. Keep the same subject and details: They have been cleaning the house since nine.
Answer: They have not been cleaning the house since nine. - Make a yes/no question. Keep the same subject and details: He has been repairing his bicycle for an hour.
Answer: Has he been repairing his bicycle for an hour? - Correct the mistake. Write the complete sentence: They has been working since nine.
Answer: They have been working since nine. - Correct the mistake. Write the complete sentence: He hasn’t been wrote all morning.
Answer: He has not been writing all morning.
Keep practising
Try another activity, revisit a rule or use a grammar video to support your learning.
ESOLish · Present Perfect Continuous
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Write your answers. Keep the same subject when changing sentences. Full forms and contractions are both correct.
Present Perfect Continuous · Answer key
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