Of course, it is unusual for an activity that started in the past and finished in the past to be categorized as present tense, but this is because it normally has a relevance to the present (e.g., John's cakes are now available).
Table of Contents
- Julie has been relying on a pay rise to pay her student loan. (Julie might still be relying on a pay rise, or she might have received the pay rise. You can't tell from this sentence. However, this information is just setting the scene for some more information about Julie's present situation.)
- Mr and Mrs Cox have been taking the wrong pills for years. (The Coxes might still be taking the wrong pills or not. You can't tell from this sentence. However, this information is just setting the scene for some more information about the Coxes' present situation.)
The present perfect progressive tense is formed:
"has been" or "have been"
[present participle]
- I have been working since yesterday evening.
- She has been chewing for two minutes.
Forming the Present Present Participle
In the examples above, the words "working" and "chewing" (i.e., the [verb] + "ing" part of the construction) are known as present participles. A present participle is formed like this:
- play > playing
- shout > shouting
- prepare > preparing
- ride > riding
- lie > lying
- untie > untying
- run > running
- forget > forgetting
The Negative Version
If you need the negative version, you can use the following construction:
"has not been" or "have not been"
[present participle]
- Julie has not been relying on a pay rise to pay her student loan.
- Mr and Mrs Cox have not been taking the wrong pills for years.
The Question Version
If you need to ask a question, you can use the following word order for a yes/no question:
"has" or "have"
[present participle]
- Has Julie been relying on a pay rise to pay her student loan?
- Have Mr and Mrs Cox been taking the wrong pills for years?
[question word]
"has" or "have"
[present participle]
- Why has Julie been relying on a pay rise to pay her student loan?
- Where have Mr and Mrs Cox been taking the wrong pills?
Interactive Verb Conjugation Tables
The tables below show all 12 tenses so you can see the present perfect progressive tense among the other tenses. (You can change the verb by clicking one of the green buttons.)
Top 10 Regular Verbs
want look use work start try ask need talk help
Top 10 Irregular Verbs
see say go come know get give become find think
All 4 Past Tenses
- I
- you
- he/she/it
- we
- you
- they
- past tense
- past tense
- past tense
- past tense
- past tense
- past tense
The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.
- was present participle
- were present participle
- was present participle
- were present participle
- were present participle
- were present participle
The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.
- had past participle
- had past participle
- had past participle
- had past participle
- had past participle
- had past participle
The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.
All 4 Present Tenses
- I
- you
- he/she/it
- we
- you
- they
- base form
- base form
- 3rd pers sing present
- base form
- base form
- base form
The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.
The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.
- have past participle
- have past participle
- has past participle
- have past participle
- have past participle
- have past participle
The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)
- have been present participle
- have been present participle
- has been present participle
- have been present participle
- have been present participle
- have been present participle
The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).
All 4 Future Tenses
- I
- you
- he/she/it
- we
- you
- they
- will base form
- will base form
- will base form
- will base form
- will base form
- will base form
The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.
The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.
Video Lesson
Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos.
The Other Present Tenses
The present perfect progressive tense is one of four present tenses. This table shows all four of the present tenses:
| The 4 Present Tenses | Example |
|---|
| simple present tense | I go |
| present progressive tense | I am going |
| present perfect tense | I have gone |
| present perfect progressive tense | I have been going |
This page was written by Craig Shrives.
