Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
present perfect continuous

present perfect continuous

4.7
A verb tense using has or have been plus -ing for actions started in the past and still continuing
  • noun
  • /ˈprɛzənt ˈpɜrfɪkt kənˈtɪnjuəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pretérito perfecto continuo
  • He has been working here for three years.

Examples

  • They have been waiting for the bus since morning.

  • She has been studying all night for the exam.

  • I have been studying the present perfect continuous tense for weeks.

  • The present perfect continuous is often used in English.

  • She has been studying for her exams using the present perfect continuous tense to describe her ongoing efforts.

  • In English class, we learned that the present perfect continuous form highlights actions starting in the past and still happening.

  • The teacher explained that the present perfect continuous is formed with 'has been' plus the verb ending in -ing.

Synonyms

present perfect progressive
vspresent perfect continuous
  • Specialized
5.3

A verb form using has/have been plus -ing to show an action that started in the past and continues now

has identical meaning but is an alternative name

Surface Forms

present perfect continuous singular
present perfect continuouss singular

Morphology

present + perfect + continuous

The components 'present' (current time), 'perfect' (completed action), and 'continuous' (ongoing action) transparently signal a tense that combines present reference with both completed and ongoing aspect, so a learner who knows the words can infer a rough meaning. However, the exact grammatical form (has/have been + -ing) and the precise nuance that actions began in the past and continue or have just stopped are technical details not fully predictable from the constituents, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Present perfect continuous shows its meaning in the three words: present means 'now', perfect means 'connected to the past', and continuous means 'still happening'. So, it describes actions that began before now and are still going or have just stopped.