Present Perfect Continuous is a rather obscure topic for the Russian citizen. The time period is already perfect, but also continued. How can this be? But in English it can! If we are talking about the period of time when in the past any action began (continued action) and continues to the present moment or is now ending (completed action). But in any case, the result is visible from this action.
Present Perfect Continuous in English
The literal translation of the name of this time is present perfect continuous. This time is suitable for expressing an action that began in the past (a certain moment), lasted for a certain period of time and continues until now or has just ended and the result is visible.
This interesting time is created using the following construction:
- have (or has in the 3rd person singular) - been - the fourth form of the semantic verb.
The form of the main semantic verb is used here with the ending gerund -ing.
Usage example
1) The sun is shining on the street, and there are no clouds in the sky (the action has just ended), but the grass under the feet is wet (the result), and drops are dripping from the leaves of the trees. It was raining.
It has been raining.
That is, for some time in the past it rained and continued to the present moment, but the result was left from this action.
2) The sun shines clearly (the end of the action), but the whole earth is covered with snow, and white snow lies on the trees and bushes (the result of the action lasting some time).
It has been snowing for five hours - It snowed for five hours.
That is, it snowed for a certain period of time, ended, and now the result of the completed action is visible.
We can say that this is a mixture of times in English - Present Simple, Continuous, Perfect. Perfect Continuous (like other times in English) has its own forms of use: affirmative, negative and interrogative.
Various forms
As in other times of the English language, to create an interrogative sentence from the affirmative, you only need to rearrange the auxiliary verb in front of the subject in the sentence. And it doesn’t matter if a special question is used or not.
That is, put the have or has form in first place:
- You have been cooking. - Did you (you) cook (s)?
- Have you been cooking? - Did you cook?
- She has been sleeping. - She slept.
- Has she been sleeping? - She slept?
- We have been walking. - We walked on foot.
- Have we been walking? - We walked on foot?
As can be seen from the translation into Russian, the words do not change places - only the speaker’s intonation and the meaning of the sentence change.
To make the statement a negation, a particle not is added after the auxiliary verb in English:
You have not been sleeping - You (you) did not sleep (s).
We have not been walking - We did not walk.
How to distinguish?
It can be difficult to distinguish between a simple present and a present perfect continuous time. To simplify this task, it is necessary to get acquainted with additional words characteristic of each time.
Present simple time is used to express a known fact (phenomenon) or a repetitive action that characterizes an object or animate being.
She always speaks Russian at home. - She always speaks Russian at home.
He often comes to the library with his friends. - He always comes to the library with his friends.
The words characteristic of this time are:
- every week (day, month, year, hour, minute) - every week (day, month, year, hour, minute);
- often - often;
- always - always;
- usually - usually;
- never - never;
- seldom - rarely.
You can simply focus on these words and their meaning to reveal the present simple time.
For the present perfect extended tense, other prepositions are characteristic:
- since - from any time, from any time;
- for - for any period of time.
It is with the help of these prepositions that one can express both perfection and simultaneously the duration of an action.
Lisa has been living there since 1989. - Lisa has been living there since 1989.
My turtle has swimming for several minutes. - My turtle swims for a few minutes.
Exercises
1) Make a translation of sentences into English using the Present Perfect Continuous form:
- It has been snowing for several hours.
- It rained for two hours.
- Tom did not learn Spanish for three years.
- She has been waiting for you for a week.
- They play until the evening.
- My cat has been walking in the park for several hours.
- You write this letter in three days.
- We have been living in this village since 2001.
- Katya has not celebrated the New Year since she became an adult.
- Lisa drinks coffee and eats her breakfast in the early morning.
- Anya reads books in the morning.
2) Present Perfect Continuous. Repetition exercises. Try translating sentences from English to Russian:
- Kate has been working her new text for three hours already.
- Here they are at last! We have been waiting for them for an hour.
- Mother has been writing her the letter since morning.
- Our aunt has been making pancakes for half an hour.
- Your friends have been walking at the park for a minute.
- My father has been writing poems since evening.
Answers:
- Katya has been working on her new text for three hours.
- You are finally here! We are waiting for you for an hour.
- Mom writes her letter in the morning.
- Our aunt makes pancakes for half an hour.
- Your friends walk in the park for a minute.
- My father writes poetry in the evening.
3) Distinguish the times in the examples: Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Past Continuous. Pay close attention to the translation of offers - there is also a present perfect continuous time.
How long has my mother been looking for a job? “How long has my mom been looking for work?”
How long has it been snowing? - How long has it been snowing?
You have already done your homework. - You have already done your homework.
At two o'clock yesterday we were reading a poem. - At two o'clock yesterday we read a poem.
At the end of September I was preparing for my holiday. - At the end of September, I was preparing for my vacation.
Were they speaking Japanese? - Do they speak Japanese?
He had asked about our clothes. - He asked about our clothes.
She had wrote the book and was eating her breakfast when you come. - She wrote a book and ate her breakfast when you (you) entered (walked).
Tomas has writen a book about children. - Thomas wrote a book about children.
She has lost her car. - She lost her car (that is, the time of loss is not important, but only the result - the car is lost).
My mother has lived in England. - My mother lived in England (that is, once, but now she does not live there).