PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Unlike the other tenses, the Present Perfect Continuous tense has different features. It shows an action that began in the past and currently the action or work in its running position. It does not stop in the coming future. This tense generally emphasizes the duration of the time in which an action has been taken place. For better understanding please read the complete description of this tense along with exact examples.

Use of Present Continuous Tense

As we discussed above that it is used for a specific time period which starts in the past and remains continues in the future. Look below for examples.

I have been waiting for you since 2 o clock. Positive form

I have not been waiting for you since 2 o clock. Negative form

Have I been waiting for you since 2 o clock? Interrogative form

Have I not been waiting for you since 2 o clock? Interrogative & negative

It has been raining for two days

The dog has been barking since midnight.

 

All the above-explained examples belong to the present perfect tense. It can be positive, negative, and interrogative or both interrogative & negative. You should use have been and has been with plural, singular countable, and non-countable nouns and pronouns respectively. For more information about countable and noncountable nouns as well as plural and singular pronouns, you should read this article present perfect tense.

USE OF FOR & SINCE

Since is used for the Point of time. For example, it is used for Morning, Evening, Time of watches like 2 o clock, Day, Month, Year, and other points of time.

For is used with a Period of time. For example, it is used for 4 DAYS, For 2 weeks, for six weeks. for eight years, for the 14th century or any other period of time. ( I have been solving this question for four hours)

Structure of Present Perfect Tense

Subject	Helping verb	From of verb+ing	Object	For /since
I	have been	reading	a book	for an hour
He	has been	reading	a book	since Friday
They	have been	reading	a book	since 4 o clock

Now we turn toward past perfect continuous tense that will ultimately enhance your knowledge regarding the use of this tense.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past perfect continuous tense also speaks about the past action that began in the past and runs during some future period. Look at the following examples for understanding.

I had been reading a book for an hour. Period of time

I had been reading a book since 4 clocks. Point of time

 

Note: In past perfect tense we will use Had been instead of has been or have been to show action in the past. No matter whether it is a singular or plural noun, countable or uncountable nouns you should use had been. So be very careful and don,t use has been or have been in the past perfect continuous tense.

 

Structure of Past Perfect Continuous

Subject	Helping verb	From of verb+ing	Object	For /since
I	had been	watching	a movie	for an hour
He	had been	doing	his	since Friday
They	had been		a book	since 4 o clock
It	had been	raining		since morning
He	has been	coming	to school	for three days

 

Future Perfect Tense

Lastly, we will discuss the future perfect continuous tense. It is used for an action that is in progress in the future and it will continue at a certain time in the future. Read the example given below.

Future Perfect Tense Structure

As compared to present and past perfect continuous tenses, in future tense we shall use different helping verbs for making the sentences, such as will have and shall have. Always remember there is no rule for shall has or will has in the English language. So avoid using it in the English language. You have to use will have and shall have for making future perfect continuous tenses. Consult the given examples given below.

I Shall have been reading a book for an hour.

He will have been reading a book since Friday.

As you should notice, we did not use any will has helping verb. we used just shall have and will have. So keep in mind these rules for making future perfect continuous tense.

Here we are giving a table of present perfect tense, past, and future perfect tenses all together.

Table of Perfect Continuous Tenses

Sr#	Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future Perfect Continuous
1	They have been waiting for you for two days	We had been waiting for you for two days	she will have been waiting for you for two days
2	The milkman has been milking the cow for fifteen minutes	He had been milking the cow for fifteen minutes	They will have been milking the cow for fifteen minutes
3	We have been playing at cards since 7 O clock	They had been playing at cards since 7 O clock	We shall have been playing at cards since 7 O clock
4	The people have been praying for rain since May.	Women had been praying for rain since May.	Man will have been praying for rain since May.
5	It has been raining since morning	It had been raining since morning	It will have been raining since morning
6	He has been reading in this school since 1990	They had been reading in this school since 1990	We will have been reading in this school since 1990
7	The juggler has been performing the show since 5 O clock	Artist had been performing shows since 5 O clock	They will have been performing shows since 5 O clock
8	Shahid has been making lame excuses since yesterday	Furqan had been making lame excuses since yesterday	Tariq will have been making lame excuses since yesterday

 

Conclusion

The present perfect continuous tense has different features in different situations. In the past form, we use had been while in the future period we use shall have and will have been. Now it is your responsibility to inculcate each and every aspect of this tense under different periods. This is not rocket science if you want to do it. You have to just remember some rules which we defined above.

For any questions and queries please comment on the section box.