The present perfect continuous

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EXTRA English 19 Kung Fu Fighting Grammatik und Übungen

The present perfect continuous

We use the present perfect continuous to mean different things.

An action started in the past and continued until very recently:

• I’ve been watching Charlotte’s Kitchen on television.

An action which was started in the past and is still continuing:

• I've been reading this book since nine o'clock.

• I've been working at this company since January.

An action which continues (but not necessarily all the time):

• I’ve been thinking about our relationship.

• We've been playing tennis together for three years.

A) Complete these sentences with a suitable verb in the present perfect continuous tense.

1 I ________ _’ve been reading __________________ a great book for the past few days.

2 My friend and I _____have been playing ________________________ tennis all day.

3 My parents ______have been watching_____________________ a movie about China.

4 Stop! You ______’ve been eating ____ ___________________ biscuits for half an hour!

5 She _______has been playing with _________________ her iPod for about three hours.

6 My cousin _______ has been working__________________ in a restaurant since 2005.

7 I _____________have been writing ________ ____________ emails since this morning.

8 My sister ______has been living____ ________ with her boyfriend Jack for about a year.

9 Annie _______has been working ________ ___________ as a traffic warden for a week.

10 I _________’ve been doing _ ____________________________ this exercise all day!

B) Complete this conversation with information about you.

A: Hi! What are you doing?

YOU: ____I’ve been practising my English for about an hour.______________________

A: Really? How long have you been learning English?

YOU: ____I’ve been learning English for about a year now. _______________________

A: Are you studying anything else?

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EXTRA English 19 Kung Fu Fighting Grammatik und Übungen

YOU: ____Yes, I’m also studying Spanish. _________________________________

A: How long have you been studying that?

YOU: ____I’ve been studying it for six weeks. __ ______________________________

Some verbs don't have a continuous form in the present tense or present perfect tense.

• I know what I'm doing (NOT I'm knowing).

• I've known him for ten years.

• I love Ricky Chung movies (NOT I'm loving Ricky Chung movies).

• I've loved his movies since I was a kid.

• Nick has a motorbike (NOT Nick is having a motorbike).

• He's had a tattoo for three months.

C) Complete these questions and answer them.

How long have you been waiting for a bus?

For about an hour.

1 How long ____have you been learning____________________ __ English?

_____________For about a year.__________________ ____________

2 How long ____have you known______________________ your best friend?

_____________I’ve known him / her since kindergarten.___________________

3 How long ____have you had ______________________ an email address?

_____________For as long as I can remember.__________________________

4 How long ____has___________ Nick ________had__________ a motorbike?

_____________For about three months. __ ____________________________

5 How long ____has ___________ Annie _______known___________ Hector?

_____________Since he moved in with Nick. ___________________________