grammar · neutral

have/has been + V-ing

Band 4-5speakingtask2

Present perfect continuous: action that started in the past and continues to the present, or has recently finished with present relevance.

Examples

“I have been studying English for three hours.”

“She has been working here since 2019.”

“They have been painting the house, so it's very messy.”

Band 8 sentence

“I have been researching renewable energy sources for my dissertation for almost six months, and the results are promising.”

Collocations

  • have/has been + V-ing + for + duration
  • have/has been + V-ing + since + point in time

Common mistakes

I have been here since three years.→I have been here for three years.

She has worked here since 2019 (when we want to stress the duration).→She has been working here since 2019.

Say it for a higher band

5have/has + past participle→6present simple + since/for→7+have/has been + V-ing

Synonyms

have/has + past participle

Easily confused

have/has + past participle

“I have lived in Hanoi for five years.”

Related words

have / has + past participlesubject + V(s) (simple present)be about to + base verbbe + V-ingso + adjective/adverb + that + clauseIf + present perfect, will + base verbNot only + clause, but also + clausewill have been + V-ing

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In Tenses

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