Present perfect continuous tense - Structure - examples - complete detail

 Present perfect continuous tense

Present perfect continuous tense structure:

Affirmative Sentence structure:

Subject + has been / have been + 1st form of verb - ing +  object + since / for + time / date 

Affirmative sentence structure of present perfect continuous tense contains "has" and "have". "has" is used when the subject is " he, she, it, singular" and "have" is used when the subject is " I, we, they, you, plural". 

It is present perfect continuous tense so we use "the first form of the verb with - ing".

Use of since and for:

Since:

We use the "since" when the "period, time, and duration" is known exactly. Period means " years etc" and the word "time" means " clock time" and duration means " name of the week, name of months.

the word "since" is used with the following words:

Since Morning, Since Evening, Since Night, Since Noon, Name of the year " 2021, 2020", Name of the week "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc ", Name of the month " January, February, March, etc", Clock time " 2⁰Clock, 3⁰Clock, etc", Since Childhood, etc.

For:

We use the "for" when the "period, time, and duration" is not known exactly. 

"For" is used with the following words:

For many days, for 10 minutes, for three months, for three days, for three years, for 10 years, for three weeks, etc.

Present perfect continuous tense negative sentence structure:

Subject + has not been / have not been + 1st form of verb - ing + object + since / for + time / date

Present perfect continuous tense interrogative sentence structure:

Has / Have + subject + 1st form of verb - ing + object + since / for + time / date

Present perfect continuous tense examples:

Example 1.

They have been going there for two weeks.

In this sentence "two weeks" do not define time, duration, and period exactly. So, we use "for" in this sentence.

Its negative sentence is " They have not been going there for two weeks", and its interrogative sentence is " Have they not been going there for two weeks?"

Example 2:

• Affirmative / Simple: He has been cooking food since evening.
• Negative: He has not been cooking food since evening.
• Interrogative: Has he been cooking food since evening?
• Negative & Interrogative: Has he not been cooking food since evening?

Example 3:

• I have been playing Cricket since 2⁰Clock.
• I have not been playing Cricket since 2⁰Clock.
• Have I been playing Cricket since 2⁰Clock?
• Have I not been playing Cricket since 2⁰Clock?

Example 4:

• We have been eating mangoes for 10 years.
• We have not been eating mangoes for 10 years.
• Have we been eating mangoes for 10 years?
• Have we not been eating mangoes for 10 years?

Present perfect continuous tense rules:

Rules:

• Always use "has been & have been"
• Always use "the first form of verb + ing"
• Always use "since and for"