SCG Language Tutorials English Grammar - English Verbs

PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSES

of ENGLISH VERBS

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Past Perfect Continuous Conjugation

The Past Perfect Continuous (or Past Perfect Progressive) tense is constructed this way:

subject + had been + present participle ("-ing")

The conjugation is fairly simple because only the subject changes. The auxiliary or helping verb ("had been") and  the present participle of  the verb remain the same for all subjects.

Here are some examples with the subject pronouns I, you, he/she/it, we, you and they.

1.    I had been talking. I had been walking. I had been dancing. I had been eating.

2.    You had been talking. You had been walking. You had been dancing. You had been eating.

3.    He/she/it had been talking. He/she/it had been walking. He/she/it had been dancing. He/she/it had been eating.

4.    We had (all) been talking. We had (all) been walking. We had (all)  been dancing. We had (all) been eating. (OR: All of us had been...)

5.    You had (all) been talking. You had (all) been walking. You had (all) been dancing. You had (all) been eating. (OR: All of you had been...)

6.    They had (all) been talking. They had (all) been walking. They had (all) been dancing. They had (all) been eating. (OR: All of them had been...)

Past Perfect Continuous Forms

1.    Affirmative Usage

(I had been learning. You had been learning. He/she/it had been learning. We had (all) been learning. You had (all) been learning. They had (all) been learning.)

2.    Negative Usage

(I hadn't been learning. You hadn't been learning. He/she/it hadn't been learning. We hadn't been learning/None of us had been learning/Neither of us had been learning. You hadn't been learning/None of you had been learning/Neither of you had been learning. They hadn't been learning/None of them had been learning/Neither of them had been learning.)

3.    Yes/No Questions

(Had I been reading? Had you been reading? Had he/she/it been reading? Had we (all) been reading? Had any of us been reading? Had either of us been reading? Had you (all) been reading? Had any of you been reading?  Had either of you been reading? Had they been reading? Had any of them been reading? Had either of them been reading?)

4.    Short Answers

(Yes, I had. No, I hadn't. Yes, you had. No, you hadn't. Yes, he/she/it had. No, he/she/it hadn't. Yes, we had. No, we hadn't. Yes, all of us had. No, none of us had. Some of us had, but some of us hadn't. Yes, you had. No, you hadn't. Yes, you all had. No, none of you had. Some of you had, but some of you hadn't. Yes, they had. No, they hadn't. Yes, all of them had. No, none of them had. Some of them had, but some of them hadn't.) [Note: the use of "all", "some"  and "none" to modify the plural answers to indicate how compliance might have varied across groups.]

5.    WH- Questions

(e.g., When had she been studying her bible? Why had you been running? Where had they been going?)

Note: "Been" is sometimes added to the Short Answer form; e.g., "Yes, I had been." It is also common to answer these questions with a simple "Yes" or "No".

Past Perfect Continuous Function

The Past Perfect Continuous has two main functions.

For example, I had been waiting for them for thirty minutes before they finally showed up.

2.    To express an activity that was in progress close in time to another activity or time in the past.

For example, She was all wet because she had been jogging in the rain.

Challenges:-

This participle requires practice to get used to the long construction of the verb tense ("subject + had been + present participle").

As with most English grammar verb tenses, "practice makes perfect"!

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Present Perfect Continuous Tense Conjugation

The Present Perfect Continuous (or Present Perfect Progressive) is constructed this way:

subject + have/has been + present participle ("-ing")

The conjugation is fairly simple. However, the student must remember to use "has" for only the third person; and this tense has more individual components to remember and keep in order.

Here are some examples of Present Perfect Continuous conjugation of miscellaneous English verbs with the subject pronouns I, you, he/she/it, we, you and they.

1.    I have been talking. I have been learning. I have been dancing. I have been eating.

2.    You have been talking. You have been learning. You have been dancing. You have been eating.

3.    He/she/it has been talking. He/she/it has been learning. He/she/it has been dancing. He/she/it has been eating.

4.    We have been talking. We have been learning. We have been dancing. We have been eating. (We have all been.../We have both been.../All of us have been.../Some of us have been...Both of us have been...)

5.    You have been talking. You have been learning. You have been dancing. You have been eating. (You have all been.../You have both been.../All of you have been.../Some of you have been...Both of you have been...)

6.    They have been talking. They have been learning. They have been dancing. They have been eating. (They have all been.../They have both been.../All of them have been.../Some of them have been.../Both of them have been...)

(N.B. "They have both been..." can be used but it sounds clumsy. Its use is reserved for an assertion, or positive emphasis in response to or correcting an opposite statement. For example:

"Only one  of them understands this point, yet they have both been reading the same textbook.")

Examples:

• I have been walking in the woods to clear my head.

• She has been sitting out there for hours.

• We have been living here for two years.

• Neither of you have been taking this job seriously.

• They have both been talking at the same time.

Present Perfect Continuous Forms

1.    Affirmative Usage (e.g., She has been studying English as a Foreign language for four years.)

2.    Negative Usage (e.g., She has not been living here since 2005.)

3.    Yes/No Questions (e.g., Have you been playing tennis for very long?)

4.    Short Answers (e.g., Yes, I have. No, I haven’t. Yes, she has. No, she hasn't....)

5.    WH- Questions (e.g., Where have they been doing their rehearsals? Who has she been seeing? What have you been saying about him?)

Present Perfect Continuous Functions

The Present Perfect Continuous has two functions:

1. The first function is to show the duration of an activity that began in the past and continues until the present time.

Here are some examples of this tense using this first function:

She has been working on this project for three years.

They have been acting strangely since they arrived.

(Note the use of "for" and "since" to show the passage of time.)

2. The second function is to talk about something that has been in progress recently or lately.

Here are some examples of this tense using the second function:

You look great! Have you been working out lately?

I've been thinking about taking a trip to Brazil.

Challenges:-

The biggest challenge comes because one of the functions of the Present Perfect is to talk about an activity that has begun in the past and continues until the present. This is almost the same function as the Present Perfect Continuous; the difference is that the Continuous tense stresses duration.

The Continuous (or Progressive) tense is used when you want to emphasize the duration of an activity that started in the past and continues until now; otherwise either tense can be used with very little or no difference in meaning.

There is especially very little difference in meaning with English verbs such as "teach," "live" and "work" when "for" or "since" are used. For example, "I have been teaching English to adults for ten years," and "I have taught English to adults for ten years." Both of these sentences have the same meaning. However, I may want to emphasize the duration if I hope to impress a potential employer; in that case, I would use the Present Perfect Progressive.

Future Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect Continuous Conjugation

The Future Perfect Continuous (or Future Perfect Progressive) is constructed this way:

subject + will have been + present participle ("-ing")

The verb conjugation is the same for all subjects, however, this verb tense has the longest string of words; so it's often difficult for English language students to consistently get the order right.

Here are some examples of Future Perfect Continuous English verbs with I, you, he/she/it, we, you and they.

1.    I will have been talking. I will have been walking. I will have been dancing. I will have been eating.

2.    You will have been talking. You will have been walking. You will have been dancing. You will have been eating.

3.    He/she/it will have been talking. He/she/it will have been walking. He/she/it will have been dancing. He/she/it will have been eating.

4.    We will have been talking. We will have been walking. We will have been dancing. We will have been eating.

5.    You will have been talking. You will have been walking. You will have been dancing. You will have been eating.

6.    They will have been talking. They will have been walking. They will have been dancing. They will have been eating.

Note: all the variations we have seen before - "All", "Some", "Both", "Neither" and "None" - follow the same rules. As in all of these examples, their use can result in clumsy-sounding grammar. In English, we try to avoid such clumsiness if we can, but sometimes it is necessary if we are to make a point or argument, or to emphasize just how many of a group of people the statement refers to.

Example:

"As part of the charity fund-raising some of them will have been dancing for more than twenty-four hours."

"To get to Los Angeles from New York and Rome in time for their meeting, they will both have been travelling all night."

Future Perfect Continuous Forms

1. Affirmative Usage

(I will have been teaching. You will have been teaching. He/she/it will have been teaching. We will have been teaching. You will have been teaching. They will have been teaching.)

2. Negative Usage

(I won't have been studying. You won't have been studying. He/she/it won't have been studying. We won't have been studying. You won't have been studying. They won't have been studying.)

3. Yes/No Questions

(Will I have been learning? Will you have been learning? Will he/she/it have been learning? Will we have been learning? Will you have been learning? Will they have been learning?)

4. Short Answers*

(Yes, I will have. No, I won't have. Yes, you will have. No, you won't have. Yes, he/she/it will have. No, he/she/it won't have. Yes, we will have. No, we won't have. Yes, you will have. No, you won't have. Yes, they will have. No, they won't have.)

5. WH- Questions

(e.g., How long will the children have been sleeping?)

*Note: The Short Answer can also include "been" at the end of the sentence; for example, "Yes, I will have been."

Function of Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The Future Perfect Continuous is used to emphasize the duration of an activity that will be in progress before another time or event in the future.

Here are some examples:

She will have been sleeping for only four hours when the alarm goes off.

We will have been driving for fifteen hours by the time we arrive in Los Angeles.

At midnight, I will have been studying English grammar tenses for three hours.

Also, the activity that will be in progress before the other time or event in the future may be something that started in the past.

Challenges:-

The Future Perfect Continuous tense can sometimes be used interchangeably with the Future Perfect.

For example:

He is going to move next year. He will have lived in the same house for twenty years when he moves. or He will have been living in the same house for twenty years when he moves.

It's 11 p.m. At midnight, I will have studied English grammar tenses for three hours. or I will have been studying English grammar tenses for three hours.

Remember that the Future Perfect Continuous tense is used when you want to emphasize the duration of an activity. This will help you to distinguish when to use each of these two tenses more effectively.

Exercise:-

Using the English verb list, practise making sentences that describe your life over the last few years, how you live now and how you plan to live in the future.