PRESENT PERFECT CONTINOUS

The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb
have
has been base + ing
Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:
+
+
?
?

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

I have been waiting for one hour.
You have been talking too much.
It has not been raining.
We have not been playing football.
Have you been seeing her?
Have they been doing their homework?

Contractions
When we use the present perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract
the subject and the first auxiliary. We also sometimes do this in informal writi
ng.
I have been I've been
You have been You've been
He has been
She has been
It has been
John has been
The car has been He's been
She's been
It's been
John's been
The car's been
We have been We've been
They have been They've been
Here are some examples:
I've been reading.
The car's been giving trouble.
We've been playing tennis for two hours.
How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a co
nnection with the present or now. There are basically two uses for the present p
erfect continuous tense:
1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped
We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started
in the past and stopped recently. There is usually a result now.
I'm tired because I've been running.
past present future
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------!!!
Recent action. Result now.

I'm tired [now] because I've been running.

Why is the grass wet [now]? Has it been raining?
You don't understand [now] because you haven't been listening.
2. An action continuing up to now
We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started
in the past and is continuing now. This is often used with for or since.
I have been reading for 2 hours.
past present future
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Action started in past. Action is continuing now.
I have been reading for 2 hours. [I am still reading now.]
We've been studying since 9 o'clock. [We're still studying now.]
How long have you been learning English? [You are still learning now.]
We have not been smoking. [And we are not smoking now.]
For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense
We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.
We use for to talk about a period of time - 5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.
We use since to talk about a point in past time - 9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday.
for since
a period of time a point in past time
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------x
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------20 minutes 6.15pm
three days Monday
6 months January
4 years 1994
2 centuries 1800
a long time I left school
ever the beginning of time
etc etc
Here are some examples:
I have been
I have been
Tara hasn't
Tara hasn't
He has been
He has been

studying for 3 hours.

watching TV since 7pm.
been feeling well for 2 weeks.
been visiting us since March.
playing football for a long time.
living in Bangkok since he left school.
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

[had been + present participle]

Examples:
You had
Had you
You had
Complete

been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.
been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived?
not been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.
List of Past Perfect Continuous Forms

USE 1 Duration Before Something in the Past

We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past an
d continued up until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two w
eeks" are both durations which can be used with the Past Perfect Continuous. Not
ice that this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous; however, the duratio
n does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.
Examples:
They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.
She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business
.
How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.
James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for
Asia.
A: How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to Ankara?
B: I had not been studying Turkish very long.
USE 2 Cause of Something in the Past
Using the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past is a good wa
y to show cause and effect.
Examples:
Jason was tired because he had been jogging.
Sam gained weight because he had been overeating.
Betty failed the final test because she had not been attending class.
Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous
If you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or
"since Friday," many English speakers choose to use the Past Continuous rather t
han the Past Perfect Continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning
of the sentence. Past Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Past Pe
rfect Continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the past. Stu
dy the examples below to understand the difference.
Examples:
He was tired because he was exercising so hard.
This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he was exercising at that exa
ct moment.
He was tired because he had been exercising so hard.
This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he had been exercising over a
period of time. It is possible that he was still exercising at that moment OR t
hat he had just finished.
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs
It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any cont
inuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be u
sed in continuous tenses. Instead of using Past Perfect Continuous with these ve
rbs, you must use Past Perfect.
Examples:
The motorcycle had been belonging to George for years before Tina bought it. Not
Correct

The motorcycle had belonged to George for years before Tina bought it. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only,
never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
You had only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived.
Had you only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years be
fore he moved to Paris. Active
The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two
years before he moved to Paris. Passive
NOTE: Passive forms of the Past Perfect Continuous are not common.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
The structure of the future continuous tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary verb BE + main verb
invariable invariable present participle
will be base + ing
For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between wil
l and be. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at thes
e example sentences with the future continuous tense:
+
+
?
?

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

I will be working at 10am.
You will be lying on a beach tomorrow.
She will not be using the car.
We will not be having dinner at home.
Will you be playing football?
Will they be watching TV?

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subje
ct and will:
I will I'll
you will you'll
he will
she will
it will he'll
she'll
it'll
we will we'll
they will they'll
For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with w
on't, like this:
I will not I won't
you will not you won't
he will not
she will not
it will not he won't

she won't
it won't
we will not we won't
they will not they won't
We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.How do we use th
e Future Continuous Tense?
The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the futur
e. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at tha
t moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:
At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.
past present future
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------4pm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working.
When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understan
ds what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:
I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.
They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.
What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
What will you be doing when I arrive?
She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.
We'll be having dinner when the film starts.
Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.
RELATIVE CLAUSE DEFINING
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called
a "relative" pronoun because it "relates" to the word that it modifies. Here is
an example:
The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.
In the above example, "who":
relates to "person", which it modifies
introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"
There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that*
Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is for poss
ession. Which is for things. In non-defining relative clauses, that is used for
things. In defining relative clauses (clauses that are essential to the sentence
and do not simply add extra information) that can be used for things and people
**.
Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference be
tween male and female. Look at these examples showing defining and non-defining
relative clauses:
example sentences
S=subject, O=object, P=possessive notes

defining relative clauses

S- The person who phoned me last night is my teacher. NOTE That is preferable
- The person that phoned me last night is my teacher. ""
- The car which hit me was yellow. NOTE That is preferable
- The car that hit me was yellow. ""
O- The
formal.
- The
- The
- The

person whom I phoned last night is my teacher. NOTE Whom is correct but
The relative pronoun is optional.
people who I phoned last night are my teachers.""
person that I phoned last night is my teacher.""
person I phoned last night is my teacher. ""

- The car
pronoun is
- The car
- The car

which I drive is old. NOTE That is preferable to which. The relative

optional.
that I drive is old. ""
I drive is old.
""

P - The student whose phone just rang should stand up.

- Students whose parents are wealthy pay extra.
- The police are looking for the car whose driver was masked. Whose can be use
d with things. Of which is also possible.
- The police are looking for the car of which the driver was masked. ""

non-defining relative clauses

S - Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my teacher.
- The car, which was a taxi, exploded.
- The cars, which were taxis, exploded.
O - Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is my teacher. Whom is correct but formal.
Who is common in spoken English and informal written English.
- Mrs Pratt, who I like very much, is my teacher. ""
- The car, which I was driving at the time, suddenly caught fire.
P - My brother, whose phone you just heard, is a doctor.
- The car, whose driver jumped out just before the accident, was completely de
stroyed. Whose can be used with things. Of which is also possible.
- The car, the driver of which jumped out just before the accident, was comple
tely destroyed. ""

*Not all grammar sources count "that" as a relative pronoun.

**Some people claim that even in defining relative clauses we cannot use "that"
for people but must use "who/whom". There is no good reason for such a claim; th
ere is a long history of "that" for people in defining relative clauses from Cha
ucer, Shakespeare and the Authorized Version of The Bible to Fowler's and Church
ill.
GERUND
Gerunds (-ing)

When a verb ends in -ing, it may be a gerund or a present participle. It is impo

rtant to understand that they are not the same.
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a noun, it is usually a gerund:
Fishing is fun.
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a verb or an adjective, it is usually
a present participle:
Anthony is fishing.
I have a boring teacher.
Gerunds are sometimes called "verbal nouns".