The Perfect Continuous Tenses: grammar rules, examples and using.
(In English, the perfect continuous tenses can also be called the perfect progressive tenses.)
present perfect continuous
past perfect continuous
future perfect continuous
(Verb Contractions: I have = I’ve; he has = he’s; she has = she’s; it has = it’s; we have = we’ve; you have = you’ve; they have = they’ve; have not = haven't; has not = hasn't)
The Present Perfect Continuous denotes an action which began in the past, has been going on up to the present and may be still going on.
Note: - The Present Perfect denote a complete action while with the Present Perfect Continuous there is no implication of completeness.
Key examples:
I have been living here for three years.
The members of Parachute (rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia) graduated from college in May 2008 and since then have been touring and promoting their debut album Losing Sleep and sophomore album The Way It Was full-time. For study:
The Past Perfect Continuous expresses an action which began before a given past moment and continued into it or up to it. Also the Past Perfect Continuous denotes an action which was in progress just before a given past moment and its effect tells on the past situation in some way.
Key example:
He said that he had been studying English for three years.
For study:
(Verb Contractions: I shall = I’ll; he will = he’ll)
This construction is used for an event that will still be in progress at a certain point in the future.
(In English, the perfect continuous tenses can also be called the perfect progressive tenses.)
present perfect continuous
past perfect continuous
future perfect continuous
The Present Perfect Continuous
The Formation of the Present Perfect Continuous
auxiliary verb to have (have/has ) been + Participle I
(the present perfect tense of the verb to be + the present participle of the main verb.)
| Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| I have been studying. He has been studying. She has been studying. It has been studying. We have been studying. You have been studying. They have been studying. |
Have I been studying? Has he been studying? Has she been studying? Has it been studying? Have we been studying? Have you been studying? Have they been studying? |
I have not been studying. He has not been studying. She has not been studying. It has not been studying. We have not been studying. You have not been studying. They have not been studying. |
The Present Perfect Continuous denotes an action which began in the past, has been going on up to the present and may be still going on.
Note: - The Present Perfect denote a complete action while with the Present Perfect Continuous there is no implication of completeness.
Key examples:
I have been living here for three years.
The members of Parachute (rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia) graduated from college in May 2008 and since then have been touring and promoting their debut album Losing Sleep and sophomore album The Way It Was full-time. For study:
- I have been studying English for 5 years.
I have studied English. I know it. - I have been reading English books all these years.
I have read “David Copperfield”. I can speak about it. - We have been practising at the language laboratory for 3 years.
I have practised this sound thoroughly. - We have been working all the time.
I have worked hard on my composition. I like it.
The Past Perfect Continuous
The Formation of the Past Perfect Continuous
auxiliary verb had been + Participle I
(the past perfect tense of the verb to be + the present participle of the main verb.)
| Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| I had been studying. He had been studying. She had been studying. It had been studying. We had been studying. You had been studying. They had been studying. |
Had I been studying? Had he been studying? Had she been studying? Had it been studying? Had we been studying? Had you been studying? Had they been studying? |
I had not been studying. He had not been studying. She had not been studying. It had not been studying. We had not been studying. You had not been studying. They had not been studying. |
The Past Perfect Continuous expresses an action which began before a given past moment and continued into it or up to it. Also the Past Perfect Continuous denotes an action which was in progress just before a given past moment and its effect tells on the past situation in some way.
Key example:
He said that he had been studying English for three years.
For study:
- They had been sailing for ten days when at last they saw land.
- They said that they had been working in this laboratory since they graduated from the University.
The Future Perfect Continuous
The Formation of the Future Perfect Continuous
auxiliary verb shall/will have been + Participle I
(the future perfect tense of the verb to be + the present participle of the main verb.)
| Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| I shall have been studying. He will have been studying. She will have been studying. It will have been studying. We shall have been studying. You shall have been studying. They will have been studying. |
Shall I have been studying? Will he have been studying? Will she have been studying? Will it have been studying? Shall we have been studying? Shall you have been studying? Will they have been studying? |
I shall not have been studying. He will not have been studying. She will not have been studying. It will not have been studying. We shall not have been studying. You shall not have been studying. They shall not have been studying. |
This construction is used for an event that will still be in progress at a certain point in the future.
Key example:
By the 1-st of June he will have been working here for 10 years.
He will have been working in the garden for an hour before you come to help him.
By the 1-st of June he will have been working here for 10 years.
He will have been working in the garden for an hour before you come to help him.