Present Perfect
Progressive Tense

(also called Present Perfect Continuous)


The Present Perfect Progressive is a very common tense in English. You should understand it, and know it well.

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All Tenses


What's next?

  1. Read and understand the following explanations and examples

  2. Read and understand the Rules

  3. Practice, practice, practice with the Exercises


How do We Use the this Tense?

PERFECT here means "complete, finished".

The Present Perfect Progressive is a form of the verb that shows the action started in the past and continued up until the present.

It does not mean the action is "perfect" (100%). It means the action is finished.

Here are the different usages of this tense:


Make sure you also read:

Examples of Typical Time Expressions


An action that started in the past,
and continued up until the present 

(The verbs are in bold)



She has been reading for the last 2 hours.

a lady reading


He has been sitting under the desk for the last hour. 

a man under a desk


He has been talking on his mobile since he got here.

a man talking on his mobile


He has been working in our hotel since 2005.

a man working in the hotel


He is exhausted because he has been running around all day.

an exhausted guy


They have been working hard, so now they want to party.

people in an office partying


He feels sick because he has been drinking too much.

a dizzy guy


To show something was happening lately



Lately, she has been playing really well.

a girl playing volleyball


She has been working a lot recently.

a lady with a lot of papers


He has been having difficulty writing.

a guy with difficulty writing


Recently, he has been getting into too much trouble.

a guy in trouble


I have been feeling better lately.

a smiling girl


Examples of
Typical Time Expressions

Up to now
Recently
for
lately
since
recently
all morning
all day


Boy writing happily


What's Next?

  1. If you want, you can REREAD the previous explanations and examples

  2. Read and understand the Rules

  3. Practice, practice, practice with the Exercises

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