Present Perfect Continuous

Watch this animated version of the story: (click on the link)

Present Perfect Continuous Story

The next day when Mr. Orange went to the park, he saw Havehas and ENED with Ingrid and BE. This time, he was not surprised. He was finally starting to understand that his friends could work together to show different times. He decided to talk to them.

“Hi!” said Mr. Orange.

“Hello!” they all answered.

“Let me guess,” Mr. Orange said. “I bet I can figure out what the four of you are doing together. I know Havehas and ENED like to talk about things that started in the past and are still true. I know baby BE and Ingrid talk about things that continue. So I guess you are talking about things that started in the past and are still true and are continuing.”

“Yes,” ENED answered. “Really when you add Ingrid and BE to a sentence with Havehas and me, you can add more meaning to the sentence in four ways. First, you can show that something that you have been doing is temporary.”

“Like what?”

“Well, if you said: ‘He has been living with his parents for three months, but hopes to move out soon,’ it would show that the situation is temporary. If you said: ‘He has lived with his grandparents since his mother died,’ that would be showing something that is permanent.”

“What else can you show?”

“You can show that something that you have been doing is repeated rather than just once. For example: If you said, ‘I have gone to Disney World before,’ that would probably mean that you went only once. If you wanted to emphasize that it was repeated, you could say: ‘I have been going to Disney World since I was three.’”

“Okay. What is the third thing you can show?”

“You can show that something is continuous and still going on rather than just repeated or recurring. For example, you can say, ‘I have been waiting for the bus for three hours.’ That would really emphasize that you have been waiting and waiting. If you said, ‘I have waited for the bus for three hours,’ it could have happened any time in the past. It does not mean that it is necessarily continuing now.”

“So what is the fourth thing you can show?”

“You can show that something is not finished. For example you can say: ‘I have been working on my project since this morning.’ That would emphasize that you worked and worked and still aren’t finished. If you said, “I have worked on my project.’ That could mean that you are finished with it.”

“Wow! That’s cool that adding ING and BE helps to add all those meanings.”

“Yes, but you still have to be careful. Remember when you learned that some verbs can’t add ING when you are talking about NOW? It is still true. The verbs that can’t take ING for now can’t take ING for Present Perfect Continuous either. Words like: believe, like, need, cost, and know don’t take ING to show that they are continuing.”

“Ok. I will try to remember, but how do I know where to put all of you in a sentence. What order do you stand in?”

“Well, you know me. I love to hold babies, so BE and I stand together and become BEEN (BE’s last secret name). Havehas stands to our left. He comes first in the sentence. It’s Havehas then BEEN then you (Orange) and then Ingrid. You and Ingrid always stay together when she is here. The order looks like this:

Havehas + BE+ENED + Mr. Orange + Ingrid

Or Havehas + BEEN + VERB + ING.”

That sounds easy. I have been learning a lot about verbs from you today. Thanks for your help. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Let’s Practice Finding Havehas, BE, Ened, and Ingrid Green

Read these quotes from the story. Draw boxes around the Havehas, BE, Ened, and Mrs. Green words. Color the Havehas boxes yellow. Color the BE box white (or outline it in black and leave the center white). Color the Ened boxes a rose color. Color Mr. Orange orange. Color Mrs. Green green.

“He has been living with his parents for three months, but hopes to move out soon,”

“He has lived with his grandparents since his mother died,”

“I have been going to Disney World since I was three.”

“I have been waiting for the bus for three hours.”

“So what is the fourth thing you can show?”

“I have been working on my project since this morning.”

Now write four sentences about yourself, following the cues.

1. What have you been doing for a long time?
2. What have you been doing recently that is temporary?
3. What have you been doing that is not finished yet?
4. What have you been doing that has been repeated over a long time?

Present Perfect Continuous Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and Activities

(Attached below)