Present Perfect & Present Perfect Continuous

B1 lesson · Explanation, practice and answers

Both tenses connect the past with the present. The difference is often what we want to emphasise: the result or the activity and its duration.

1. Present perfect simple

Subject + have/has + past participle

Affirmative	Negative	Question
I have finished.	I haven’t finished.	Have you finished?
She has finished.	She hasn’t finished.	Has she finished?

Regular participles end in -ed. Irregular ones must be learnt: go → gone; see → seen; write → written; do → done.

Use it for:

• A completed action with a result now:
  I’ve lost my keys. → I can’t open the door.
• Experiences before now, without a finished past time:
  Have you ever travelled abroad?
• How much or how many you have completed:
  She has written three emails today.
• States that started in the past and continue now:
  I’ve known Oliver for five years.

Common words: ever, never, just, already, yet, so far.

I’ve just finished my homework.
She’s already eaten.
Have you finished yet? I haven’t finished yet.

2. Present perfect continuous

Subject + have/has + been + verb-ing

Affirmative	Negative	Question
I have been studying.	I haven’t been studying.	Have you been studying?
She has been studying.	She hasn’t been studying.	Has she been studying?

Use it for:

• An activity that started in the past and is still continuing:
  We’ve been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes.
• A recent activity that explains something we can see or feel now:
  Your hands are covered in paint. Have you been painting?

The activity may still be happening or may have just stopped.

Common expressions: for, since, all morning, all day, lately, recently, how long.

3. Compare the meaning

Present perfect simple	Present perfect continuous
I’ve read three chapters.	I’ve been reading for an hour.
Focus: the amount completed.	Focus: time spent on the activity.
She’s repaired the bike.	She’s been repairing the bike.
The repair is complete.	We focus on the work; we don’t know whether it is complete.

FOR = a period of time: for two hours, for three years.
SINCE = the starting point: since Monday, since 2023, since nine o’clock.

Important: We normally use the simple form with state verbs such as know, believe, understand, want and have when it means possession.

• ✅ I’ve known her since primary school.
• ❌ I’ve been knowing her since primary school.

Sometimes both forms are possible:

I’ve lived here for five years.
I’ve been living here for five years.

Also, use the past simple with finished past times:

✅ I visited London last year.
❌ I have visited London last year.

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Activity 1 · Present perfect simple

Complete the sentences using the present perfect simple.

1. I ____________________ (finish) my science project. It’s ready to hand in.
2. Mia ____________________ (not / see) this film before.
3. ____________________ (you / ever / travel) by plane?
4. Our team ____________________ (win) four matches this season.
5. Ben ____________________ (just / break) his glasses.
6. We ____________________ (not / do) our homework yet.
7. How many books ____________________ (Lucy / read) this month?
8. My parents ____________________ (already / buy) the train tickets.
9. I ____________________ (know) my best friend since primary school.
10. ____________________ (your teacher / give) you any advice about the exam?

Activity 2 · Present perfect continuous

Complete the sentences using the present perfect continuous.

1. I ____________________ (revise) for my exams all afternoon.
2. Tom ____________________ (not / sleep) well lately.
3. How long ____________________ (you / wait) for the bus?
4. We ____________________ (make) decorations for the school party since lunchtime.
5. Sara ____________________ (practise) the piano for an hour.
6. Why ____________________ (the dog / bark) for the last ten minutes?
7. My hands are dirty because I ____________________ (repair) my bicycle.
8. The students ____________________ (not / listen) carefully during the last few minutes.
9. It ____________________ (rain) since we arrived.
10. ____________________ (you / use) my headphones? They’re warm!

Activity 3 · Choose the best tense

Complete the sentences using the present perfect simple or continuous. Read the whole sentence and think about the meaning.

1. I ____________________ (write) three pages of my story so far.
2. I ____________________ (write) my story for two hours, and I’m still working on it.
3. Noah ____________________ (lose) his bus pass, so he can’t find it anywhere.
4. Your face is red and you’re out of breath. ____________________ (you / run)?
5. We ____________________ (know) our neighbours for ten years.
6. Ella ____________________ (not / finish) her art project yet.
7. How many model planes ____________________ (you / build) this year?
8. The children ____________________ (play) basketball since four o’clock. They’re still on the court.
9. Dad ____________________ (paint) the kitchen. It’s finished and looks fantastic.
10. Dad ____________________ (paint) the kitchen all morning, but there is still a lot to do.
11. ____________________ (you / ever / try) rock climbing?
12. I ____________________ (have) this backpack since I was twelve.
13. How long ____________________ (Sam / learn) to drive? He’s still taking lessons.
14. We ____________________ (save) €200 so far for our school trip.

Activity 4 · Correct the mistakes

Each sentence contains one grammatical mistake. Write it correctly.

1. She have finished her homework.
2. Have you been wait long?
3. I’ve been knowing him for three years.
4. We’ve been studying since two hours.
5. Did you ever been to Scotland?
6. He hasn’t been sleeping well yesterday.

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Solutions

Activity 1

1. have finished
2. hasn’t seen
3. Have you ever travelled
4. has won
5. has just broken
6. haven’t done
7. has Lucy read
8. have already bought
9. have known
10. Has your teacher given

Activity 2

1. have been revising
2. hasn’t been sleeping
3. have you been waiting
4. have been making
5. has been practising
6. has the dog been barking
7. have been repairing
8. haven’t been listening
9. has been raining
10. Have you been using

Activity 3

No.	Answer	Reason
1	have written	Completed amount: three pages.
2	have been writing	Duration of an ongoing activity.
3	has lost	Past action with a present result.
4	Have you been running	Recent activity explains what we see.
5	have known	Know is a state verb.
6	hasn’t finished	The task is not complete.
7	have you built	Number of completed models.
8	have been playing	Activity started earlier and continues.
9	has painted	Completed result.
10	has been painting	Time spent on an unfinished activity.
11	Have you ever tried	Life experience.
12	have had	Possession continuing until now.
13	has Sam been learning	Duration of an ongoing activity.
14	have saved	Amount saved so far.

Activity 4

1. She has finished her homework.
2. Have you been waiting long?
3. I’ve known him for three years.
4. We’ve been studying for two hours.
5. Have you ever been to Scotland?
6. He didn’t sleep well yesterday.
   Alternatively, to keep the present perfect continuous: “He hasn’t been sleeping well lately.”