How can I practice Present Perfect Continuous?

Step Ahead Grammar offers free practice questions on Present Perfect Continuous with instant feedback, answers and Hindi explanations. You can also take timed tests.

Is Present Perfect Continuous important for exams?

Present Perfect Continuous appears in school exams and competitive exams like SSC and Bank PO English sections. Practising with exam-style questions improves accuracy and speed.

Present Perfect Continuous

Tenses intermediate medium

Actions that started in the past and continue to now.

Tenses — Expressing time: present, past and future.

Rules

1. Form: has/have + been + verb-ing — She has been working. 2. Emphasises duration: How long have you been waiting? 3. Signal words: since, for, all day, lately. 4. For finished results use present perfect; for ongoing duration use present perfect continuous. 5. State verbs do not take continuous: I have known him for years (not "have been knowing").

Explanation

Use present perfect continuous when the action is still going on and you want to stress how long. "I have been reading for two hours" (still reading) vs "I have read two chapters" (result).

हिंदी में

Present perfect continuous उस क्रिया के लिए है जो भूत में शुरू हुई और अभी भी चल रही है — has/have been + -ing।

Examples

It has been raining since morning. — सुबह से बारिश हो रही है।
She has been teaching here for five years. — वह पाँच साल से यहाँ पढ़ा रही है।

Common Mistakes

{"mistake":"I have been knowing him for years.","correction":"I have known him for years.","note":"\"know\" is a state verb."}

Practice Questions

Q1. "They have been building this bridge for two years" suggests the bridge is still unfinished.

True
False

Answer: True

💡 The continuous form implies the action is still in progress.

Q2. Translate into English: "यह किताब मैं तीन दिनों से पढ़ रहा हूँ।"

Answer: I have been reading this book for three days.

💡 For + duration → have been + -ing.

Q3. Improve: "He is playing cricket since childhood."

He has been playing cricket since childhood.
He is playing cricket since childhood.
He plays cricket since childhood.
He played cricket since childhood.

Answer: He has been playing cricket since childhood.

💡 Since + point in the past + continuing habit → present perfect continuous.

Practice & Test Yourself

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Topic	Level	What it covers
Present Simple	elementary	Habits, facts and routines in the present.
Present Continuous	elementary	Actions happening now or around now.
Present Perfect	intermediate	Past actions connected to the present.
Past Simple	elementary	Completed actions in finished time.
Past Continuous	intermediate	Actions in progress at a point in the past.
Past Perfect	intermediate	The earlier of two past actions.