1.4.5 Present perfect continuous
Forms: has been mending; have been waiting.
We make questions and negatives with have:
|
Positive statement |
She has been mending. |
They have been waiting. |
|
Negative statement |
She hasn't been mending. |
They haven't been waiting. |
|
Positive question |
Has she been mending? |
Have they been waiting? |
|
Negative question |
Hasn't she been mending? |
Haven't they been waiting? |
We use the present perfect continuous to refer to an action or situation that started in past time and has not stopped at the present time. This use often goes with for, since and how long, e.g.:
 | I have been waiting for two hours.
(Hace dos horas que espero.) |
| A: How long has Nancy been working here? (¿Desde cuándo trabaja Nancy aquí?) |
| B: She has been working here since 1999. (Trabaja aquí desde 1999.) |
We also use the present perfect continuous to emphasise the activity itself rather than the result. Compare:
| A: The walls look very nice. (Las paredes tienen buen aspecto.) |
| B: Yes, we've painted them. (Sí, las hemos pintado.) |
| (Here, we use the present perfect simple because the action is finished and so the walls are painted.) |
| C: There's a strange smell. (Huele de manera extraña.) |
|
| D: Yes, we've been painting the walls. (Sí, hemos pintado las paredes.) |
| (Here, we use the present perfect continuous because the activity explains the smell, but it doesn't imply that the painting is finished.) |
Note that we do not use the present perfect continuous with how often? or with ever, never, yet or already.
 |
