GRAMMAR CENTRE

EXERCISE

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Introduction
.........................................................................................................................
.............
The present perfect continuous in English is used to talk about:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
1. something which started in the past and has been in progress up to the
present:
I've been writing letters all day.
Eu estou escrevendo cartas o dia
todo.
It's been raining all morning.
Est chovendo a manh
toda. ................................................................................................................
......................
2. something that has been in progress up to the recent past, has just
finished but you can still see the results in the present:
It's been raining.(it's not raining now, but the ground is wet)
You look tired. Have you been running? (he's not running now, but he's
tired because he's just stopped running)
.........................................................................................................................
.............
3. repeated actions or situations in a period of time up to the present or
recent past.
I've been living in Braslia for 10 years.
Eu moro em Braslia h 10
anos.
I've been studying English since 1996.
Eu estudo ingls desde 1996.
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Form
.........................................................................................................................
.............
To form the present perfect continuous, we use have/has + been and we
add -ing to the main verb.
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Affirmative Form:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
To form the affirmative, we usually use the contracted forms of have ('ve)

and has
('s): ..................................................................................................................
....................
Look at the examples below:
I've been studying English for 5 years.
They've been working for that company for a long time.
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Negative Form:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
To form the negative, we add not to have/has. It is more usual to use the
contracted
forms: haven't and hasn't..............................................................................
.........................................................
Look at the examples below:
She hasn't been doing her homework.
They haven't been studying together since last year.
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Questions:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
To form questions we only invert have/has and the subject of the
sentence. .........................................................................................................
.............................
Look at the examples below:
How long have you been studying English?
How long have you been looking for a job?
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Short answers:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
We use have/has in short answers. We do not use the contracted forms in
affirmative answers, only in the
negative...........................................................................................................
............................
Look at the examples below:
'There's paint on your clothes. Have you been painting?' 'Yes, I have.'
(Not: 'Yes, I've. )
'Has Mary been having driving lessons?' 'No, she hasn't. She's only 15.'
(Not: 'No, she's not. )
.........................................................................................................................
.............

Watch Out!
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Remember that although in Portuguese we use the present simple to talk
about something that started in the past and has been in progress up to the
present, in English we must use the present perfect simple or continuous.
We've been living here since 1990.
We live here since 1990.
I've known Fred for 8 years.
I know Fred for 8 years.

AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE FORMS

AFFIRMATIVE

NEGATIVE

I've (have) been working

I haven't (have not) been working

.................................

.................................

you've (have) been working

you haven't (have

not) been working

.................................
he's (has) been working
.................................
she's (has) been working
.................................
it's (has) been working
.................................
we've (have) been working
.................................
they've (have) been working

.................................
he hasn't (have not) been working
.................................
she hasn't (have
not) been working
.................................
it hasn't (have not) been working
.................................
we haven't (have
not) been working
.................................
they haven't (have

not) been working

QUESTION FORMS

AFFIRMATIVE

QUESTION

I've (have) been working

Have I been working?

.................................

.................................

you've (have) been working

Have you been working?

.................................

.................................

he's (has) been working

Has he been working?

.................................

.................................

she's (has) been working

Has she been working?

.................................

.................................

it's (has) been working

Has it been working?

.................................

.................................

we've (have) been working

Have we been working?

.................................

.................................

they've (have) been working

Have they been working?

SHORT ANSWERS

AFFIRMATIVE

NEGATIVE

Yes, I have

No, I haven't

.................................

.................................

Yes, you have.

No, you haven't.

.................................

.................................

Yes, he has.

No, he hasn't

.................................

.................................

Yes, she has.

No, she hasn't

.................................

.................................

Yes, it has.

No, it hasn't

.................................

.................................

Yes, we have.

No, we haven't.

.................................

.................................

Yes, you have.

No, you haven't.

.................................

.................................

Yes, they have.

No, they haven't.

Complete the sentences below using the correct form

of the present perfect continuous.

1. They're extremely tired. They

2. He

are so low.

(work) all day.

(not study) very hard recently. That's why his marks

3. How long

4. Tom

5. Where

6. It

7. Sue

(you/live) in your new flat?

(learn) Spanish since he was fifteen.

(you/sit)? Your clothes are all dirty.

(snow) all morning. Isn't it ever going to stop?

(have) driving lessons for the past two months.

8. He

(drink) all evening. It's time he went home.

9. We

(wait) for an hour and Peter hasn't arrived yet.

10.

(you/walk) in the rain? Your hair is all wet.

TRADUO EM PORTUGUS

Introduo:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
O present perfect continuous usado em ingls para falar sobre:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
1. algo que comeou no passado e continua at o presente;
I've been writing letters all day.
Eu estou escrevendo cartas o dia
todo.
It's been raining all morning.
Est chovendo a manh
toda..................................................................................................................
.....................
2. algo que estava em progresso at um passado recente; terminou h
pouco tempo porm ainda possvel ver os resultados da ao no presente.
It's been raining.(no est chovendo agora, porm o cho est molhado)

You look tired. Have you been running? (ele no est correndo agora, mas
est cansado porque ele parou de correr h pouco tempo atrs)
.........................................................................................................................
.............
3. aes ou situaes que se repetem por um perodo at o presente ou
um passado muito recente.
I've been living in Braslia for 10 years.
Eu moro em Braslia h 10
anos.
I've been studying English since 1996.
Eu estudo ingls desde 1996.
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Forma:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Para formar o present perfect continuous, usamos have/has + been e
adicionamos -ing ao verbo principal.
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Forma afirmativa:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Para formar a afirmativa, geralmente usamos as formas reduzidas de have
('ve)e has
('s):...................................................................................................................
...................
Observe os exemplos abaixo:
I've been studying English for 5 years.
They've been working for that company for a long time.
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Forma Negativa:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Para formar a negativa, adicionamos not ao verbo have/has. mais
comum usar as formas
reduzidas:haven't e hasn't.............................................................................
..........................................................
Observe os exemplos abaixo:
She hasn't been doing her homework
They haven't been studying together since last year.
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Perguntas:
.........................................................................................................................
.............

Para formar perguntas, apenas invertemos have/has e o sujeito da

frase.................................................................................................................
......................
Observe os exemplos abaixo:
How long have you been studying English?
How long have you been looking for a job?
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Respostas curtas:
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Usamos have/has nas respostas curtas. As formas reduzidas no so
usadas na afirmativa, apenas em respostas
negativas..........................................................................................................
.............................
Observe os exemplos abaixo:
'There's paint on your clothes. Have you been painting?' 'Yes, I have.'
(Not: 'Yes, I've. )
'Has Mary been having driving lessons?' 'No, she hasn't. She's only 15.'
(Not: 'No, she's not. )
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Ateno!
.........................................................................................................................
.............
Lembre-se de que embora em portugus usemos o present simple para falar
sobre algo que comeou no passado e continua at o presente, em ingls
devemos usar o present perfect ou o present continuous.
We've been living here since 1990.
We live here since 1990
I've known Fred for 8 years.
I know Fred for 8 years.

Complete the sentences below using the correct form of the present perfect
continuous.

1. They're extremely tired. They have been working (work) all day.
2. He hasn't studying (not study) very hard recently. That's why his marks
are so low.

3. How long have you been living (you/live) in your new flat?
4. Tom has been learning (learn) Spanish since he was fifteen.
5. Where have you been sitting (you/sit)? Your clothes are all dirty.
6. It has been snowing (snow) all morning. Isn't it ever going to stop?
7. Sue has been having (have) driving lessons for the past two months.
8. He has been drinking (drink) all evening. It's time he went home.
9. We have been waiting (wait) for an hour and Peter hasn't arrived yet.
10. have you been walking (you/walk) in the rain? Your hair is all wet.
The correct sequence of words is:
've been working / have been working
hasn't been studying / has not been studying
have you been living
's been learning / has been learning
have you been sitting
's been snowing / has been snowing
's been having / has been having
's been drinking / has been drinking
've been waiting / have been waiting
Have you been walking