Present perfect continuous and present perfect simple (I have been doing and I have done)

Learn and practise the difference between the present perfect continuous and the present perfect simple in English.

A

B Compare these examples:

• My hands are very dirty. I’ve been repairing my bike.
• My bike is OK again now. I’ve repaired it. (= I’ve finished repairing it)

• Joe has been eating too much recently. He should eat less.
• Somebody has eaten all the chocolates. The box is empty.

• It’s nice to see you again. What have you been doing since we last met?
• Where’s the book I gave you? What have you done with it?

• Where have you been? Have you been playing tennis?
• Have you ever played tennis?

C

We use the continuous to say how long (for something that is still happening):

• How long have you been reading that book?
• Amy is writing emails. She’s been writing emails all morning.
• They’ve been playing tennis since 2 o’clock.
• I’m learning Arabic, but I haven’t been learning it very long.

We use the simple to say how much, how many or how many times (for completed actions):

• How many pages of that book have you read?
• Amy has sent lots of emails this morning.
• They’ve played tennis three times this week.
• I’m learning Arabic, but I haven’t learnt very much yet.

D Some verbs (for example, know) are not normally used in continuous forms (be + -ing):

• I’ve known about the problem for a long time. (not I’ve been knowing)
• How long have you had that camera? (not have you been having)

But note that you can use want and mean in the present perfect continuous (have/has been + -ing):

• I’ve been meaning to phone Anna, but I keep forgetting.