Present Perfect Continuous I. Forms             Positive:        Subject + have / has + been + Verb (- ing) +… Examples: §  You have been waiting here for two hours. §  It has been raining for an hour. §  They have been talking for the last hour. §  She has been working at that company for three years. `           Negative:      Subject + have / has + not + been + Verb (- ing) +… Examples: §  Lisa has not been practicing her English. §  She hasn’t staying with me. §  I haven’t been doing anything since the early month. §  You have not been waiting here for two hours. Question:      Have / has + subject + been + Verb (- ing) +…? Examples: §  Have you been waiting here for two hours? §  What have you been doing? §  How has she been doing today? §  Whom have you been staying with? II. Uses The Present Perfect Progressive is used to express:       1. Duration from the past until now (an indefinite past action which is still happening now)   We use the Present Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now and maybe to the future, or has just finished. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect Continuous.       Examples: ·       What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes? ·       James has been teaching at the university since June. ·       We have been waiting here for over two hours! ·       Why has Nancy not been taking her medicine for the last three days?      2. Recently, Lately You can also use the Present Perfect Continuous WITHOUT a duration such as "for two weeks." Without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of "lately." We often use the words "lately" or "recently" to emphasize this meaning. Examples: ·       Recently, I have been feeling really tired. ·       She has been watching too much television lately. ·       Have you been exercising lately? ·       Mary has been feeling a little depressed. ==>  IMPORTANT Remember that the Present Perfect Continuous has the meaning of "lately" or "recently." If you use the Present Perfect Continuous in a question such as "Have you been feeling alright?", it can suggest that the person looks sick or unhealthy. A question such as "Have you been smoking?" can suggest that you smell the smoke on the person. Using this tense in a question suggests you can see, smell, hear or feel the results of the action. It is possible to insult someone by using this tense incorrectly.       3. a recent past action with present result.      Examples: ·       They have been spending money all day. (Now they have no money.) ·       He has been running all morning. (Now he is exhausted.) ==> Note: *  Without such an expression, the present perfect continuous refers to a real situation or activity and focus on its results. ·       Look! It has been snowing. ·       You are looking unwell è I have been playing sports under the sun. *  We don’t use Present perfect continuous to talk about situation or action that went on over the past period which finished at a particular point of time before moment of speaking. ·        was reading book until midnight last night. (have been reading) ·       She was living in Poi Pet before her family moved to Svay Rieng. *  When we ask question with “How long” and we say “How often” something has been in progress. ·       How long have you been waiting for me? ·       Unemployment has been rising steadily since the huge increase in oil price. ==> Compare Present perfect simple and present perfect continuous *  We use both present perfect and present perfect continuous to talk about something that started in the past and which effects the situation the exists on the difference is that the present perfect continuous focus on the activities or events which may or may not be finished. The present perfect simple, however, focuses on the effect of the activity or event, or the fact that something has been achieved. ·       I have been reading “Tom Teav” this week. - (I am still reading it now.) ·       I have read “Tom Teav” this week. - (This may imply that I started and finished the book during this wee.) ·       I have read “Tom Teave”. - (Without adverb of time this indicates something that a past of my past experience.) * Sometimes the difference between them is simply on emphasis. ·       I have been following their discussion with great interest. - (Emphasis the activity; that is, I followed their discussion.) ·       I have followed their discussion with great interest. - (Emphasis the result; I may not react to what was said or decided.) *  We cat use either the present perfect simple or present perfect continuous to talk about activity or event that are repeated again and again until now. ·       John has been kicking a football with his friends all afternoon. (has kicked) ·       The press has been calling for her resignation for several weeks (has call) *  When we mention about the figure or number, we use Present Perfect Simple instead of Present Perfect Continuous. ·       She has written three novels. (Correct.) ·       She has been writing three novels. (Incorrect) *  We use the present perfect simple than present perfect continuous when we talk about long-lasting or permanent situations or when we want to emphasis that we are talking about the whole of a period of time until the present time. ·       I have always admired Socheat’s study. ·       They have the most delicious oranges, I have never eaten. *  When we talk about more temporary situations we can often use either the present perfect continuous or present perfect simple. ·       Where’s Dr Owen’s office? ==> Sorry, I don’t know. I’ve only worked / have been working here for a couple of days. *  When we want to emphasis that a situation has changed over a period of time up to now, and many continue to change, we prefer the present perfect continuous to present perfect simple. ·       The pollution problem has been getting worse over than last decade. ·       Sales have been increasing for some time. *  However, if we talk about a specific change over a period of time which ends now, particularly to focus on the result of this change. We use present perfect simple. ·       Prices have decreased by 7%. - (in a period up to now) ·       The population has grown form 35 million in 1950 to 42 million today. ==> Remember Non-Continuous Verbs It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Perfect Continuous with these verbs, you must use Present Perfect. Examples: ·       Sam has been having his car for two years. Not Correct ·       Sam has had his car for two years. Correct III. Present Perfect Continuous Active / Passive Receiver action + has/have + been + being + Past Participle (by…)   Examples: ·       Recently, John has been doing the work. Active ·       Recently, the work has been being done by John. Passive ==> NOTE: Present Perfect Continuous is less commonly used in its passive form.