Present Perfect Continuous Practice Tests with B1 Grammar Rules & Examples

Present Perfect Continuous

The present perfect continuous is a verb tense that connects the past to the present. We use it to talk about actions that started in the past and are still happening now, or actions that recently stopped but have a visible result. It helps us explain how long something has been happening or show that an activity has been going on for a period of time.

Look at this simple situation:

Maria started studying at 2 o'clock. It is now 5 o'clock. She is still studying.
➡ Maria has been studying for three hours.

We can see that the action (studying) began in the past and is still continuing. The present perfect continuous is perfect for this.

Here are a few more quick examples before we look at the rules:

• I have been working all morning.
• She has been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.
• They have been living in London since 2019.
• It has been raining since Tuesday.

How to Form the Present Perfect Continuous

The present perfect continuous is made up of three parts. Each part is important. Let's look at the formula:

Subject + have/has + been + verb-ing

Let's break each part down:

• have / has – this is the auxiliary verb (a helper verb). We use have with I, you, we, they. We use has with he, she, it.
• been – this is the past participle of the verb "to be". It never changes.
• verb + ing – this is the main verb in its continuous form (e.g. work → working, wait → waiting, study → studying).

Full Positive (Affirmative) Forms

Subject	have / has	been	verb + ing	Example Sentence
I	have	been	working	I have been working all day.
You	have	been	waiting	You have been waiting a long time.
He	has	been	running	He has been running since noon.
She	has	been	studying	She has been studying for two hours.
It	has	been	raining	It has been raining since Monday.
We	have	been	travelling	We have been travelling for six hours.
They	have	been	playing	They have been playing football all afternoon.

Contractions in the Present Perfect Continuous

In spoken English and informal written English, we very often use contractions. A contraction is a short form where we join two words together and use an apostrophe (') to show where letters are missing.

have → 've
has → 's

Full Form	Contraction	Example
I have been	I've been	I've been cooking all morning.
You have been	You've been	You've been working very hard.
He has been	He's been	He's been sleeping for hours.
She has been	She's been	She's been feeling unwell.
It has been	It's been	It's been snowing all night.
We have been	We've been	We've been waiting for an hour.
They have been	They've been	They've been arguing all evening.

Negative Forms of the Present Perfect Continuous

To make a negative sentence, we add not after have or has:

Subject + have not / has not + been + verb-ing

• I have not been sleeping well lately.
• She has not been eating much this week.
• They have not been attending classes regularly.

Negative Contractions

We can also contract the negative form:

have not → haven't
has not → hasn't

• I haven't been feeling well.
• He hasn't been working at all today.
• We haven't been waiting long.

Question Forms of the Present Perfect Continuous

To make a question, we move have or has to the beginning of the sentence, before the subject:

Have / Has + subject + been + verb-ing?

Question	Short Answer (Yes)	Short Answer (No)
Have you been waiting long?	Yes, I have.	No, I haven't.
Has she been studying today?	Yes, she has.	No, she hasn't.
Have they been living here long?	Yes, they have.	No, they haven't.
Has it been raining all day?	Yes, it has.	No, it hasn't.
Have we been walking the right way?	Yes, we have.	No, we haven't.

Wh- Questions with the Present Perfect Continuous

We can also use question words like what, where, how long, why at the beginning:

Wh- word + have / has + subject + been + verb-ing?

• How long have you been learning English?
• What has she been doing all day?
• Why have they been arguing?
• Where has he been staying?

When to Use the Present Perfect Continuous

There are three main situations where we use the present perfect continuous. Let's look at each one carefully.

1. Actions that started in the past and are still continuing

We use for to talk about a period of time (e.g. for two hours, for a week, for ten years).
We use since to talk about the starting point (e.g. since Monday, since 2015, since breakfast).

• I have been studying English for three years. (I am still studying now.)
• She has been working at the hospital since 2018. (She still works there.)
• They have been living in Spain for six months. (They still live there.)

2. Actions that recently stopped but have a result we can see now

Sometimes the action has just finished, but we can see or feel the result in the present.

Tom looks very tired. Why?
➡ He has been running. (We can see he is out of breath — the action has just finished.)

Why are your hands dirty?
➡ I have been gardening.

Why is the floor wet?
➡ It has been raining.

3. To emphasise that an action has been repeated or ongoing over a period

• She has been calling him all morning. (She called many times.)
• I have been trying to contact them for days.
• The children have been asking about the trip all week.

For and Since with the Present Perfect Continuous

Two very common words used with the present perfect continuous are for and since. Students often confuse them, so let's make it very clear:

Word	We use it to talk about...	Examples
for	a length of time (how long)	for two hours, for a week, for six months, for a long time
since	a point in time (when it started)	since Monday, since 2010, since lunch, since I was a child

• I have been waiting for forty minutes.
• I have been waiting since 3 o'clock.
• She has been feeling ill for a few days.
• She has been feeling ill since the weekend.

Important Differences: Present Perfect Continuous vs Present Perfect Simple

At B1 level, it is very important to understand the difference between the present perfect continuous (I have been reading) and the present perfect simple (I have read). They are related but they are not the same.

Focus on the activity vs focus on the result

The present perfect continuous focuses on the activity itself — the action in progress.
The present perfect simple focuses on the result or completion of the action.

Present Perfect Continuous	Present Perfect Simple
I have been writing a report. (I was busy doing it; maybe it is not finished.)	I have written a report. (It is finished — the result is complete.)
She has been reading that book. (She has been in the process of reading it.)	She has read that book. (She has finished it.)
They have been painting the house. (The process has been happening.)	They have painted the house. (The house is now finished — it is painted.)

How long vs How many / How much

We usually use the present perfect continuous with how long.
We usually use the present perfect simple with how many times, how much, or when we state a number of completed actions.

• How long have you been learning French? → Present Perfect Continuous ✅
• How many times have you visited Paris? → Present Perfect Simple ✅
• I have been reading today. (focus on time spent) → Present Perfect Continuous ✅
• I have read five books this month. (focus on the number completed) → Present Perfect Simple ✅

Stative Verbs: An Important Special Case

Some verbs are called stative verbs. These are verbs that describe a state (a condition or feeling), not an action. We do not normally use stative verbs in continuous forms.

Common stative verbs include: know, believe, want, need, like, love, hate, understand, own, seem, prefer, belong.

With these verbs, we use the present perfect simple even when talking about duration:

• I have known her for ten years. ✅ (NOT: I have been knowing her.)
• He has wanted to travel since he was young. ✅ (NOT: He has been wanting.)
• We have owned this house for a long time. ✅ (NOT: We have been owning.)

Spelling Rules for Verb + ing

When we add -ing to a verb, there are a few spelling rules to remember:

Most verbs: simply add -ing

• work → working
• read → reading
• play → playing
• wait → waiting

Verbs ending in a silent -e: remove the -e, then add -ing

• make → making
• write → writing
• have → having
• come → coming

Short verbs ending in consonant + vowel + consonant: double the final consonant, then add -ing

• run → running
• sit → sitting
• swim → swimming
• get → getting

Verbs ending in -ie: change -ie to -y, then add -ing

• lie → lying
• die → dying
• tie → tying

Common Mistakes

Here are the most common errors that students make with the present perfect continuous. Study them carefully!

❌ She have been working all morning.
✅ She has been working all morning. (Use has with he, she, it — not have.)

❌ I have been wait for an hour.
✅ I have been waiting for an hour. (Always use verb + ing, not the base verb.)

❌ He has been work since 8 o'clock.
✅ He has been working since 8 o'clock. (Don't forget the -ing ending.)

❌ They have been living here since five years.
✅ They have been living here for five years. (Use for with a period of time, not since.)

❌ She has been knowing him for a long time.
✅ She has known him for a long time. (Stative verbs like know cannot be used in continuous forms.)

❌ I have been study English for two years.
✅ I have been studying English for two years. (The main verb must always have -ing.)

❌ Have you been waited long?
✅ Have you been waiting long? (The main verb must be in the -ing form, not the past participle.)

❌ I have been working here since three months.
✅ I have been working here for three months. (A period of time needs for, not since.)

❌ We been working all day.
✅ We have been working all day. (Never forget have or has — they are essential.)

Present Perfect Continuous: Quick Summary

Let's review the key points about the present perfect continuous:

• The form is: subject + have/has + been + verb-ing
• Use have with I, you, we, they. Use has with he, she, it.
• We use it for actions that started in the past and are still happening now.
• We use it for actions that recently stopped but left a visible result.
• We use for + a period of time (for two hours, for a week).
• We use since + a starting point (since Monday, since 2020).
• The present perfect continuous focuses on the activity in progress; the present perfect simple focuses on the completed result.
• Stative verbs (know, want, love, etc.) are not used in the continuous — use the present perfect simple instead.
• In negative sentences: have not / hasn't + been + verb-ing (or contractions: haven't / hasn't).
• In questions: move have / has before the subject: Have you been waiting?

Now practise the present perfect continuous in the exercises below.