Present perfect continuous

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

You are going to play dominoes in groups of four

Start with the dominoe with the green dot: 

"J K Rowling has been writing" 

Lay this one down on the table and find its match, then continue to find the next match. Do this until you have used all your dominoes.

Let's discuss...

🔹 What did you notice about the sentences?

🔹 When do we use “have/has been + verb-ing” vs. “have/has + past participle”?

🔹 What’s the difference between “I have read three books” and “I have been reading a book” ?

Look at these sentences

• J K Rowling has been writing books since the 1990s
• They have been travelling since February.
• She has been watching the series Outer Banks on Netflix. 

What do these sentences have in common?

Are this actions finished or still happening?

How long has it been going on? 

How do you form the present perfect continuous?

When do you use it?

Why do you think this person is tired?

Using only the present perfect continuous, right down your answers

1. I _______ (learn) how to play the guitar for six months.

2. She _______ (paint) a beautiful landscape since last week.

3.They _______ (play) chess for two hours.

4. My brother _______ (practice) his dance moves all day.

5. She _______ (drive) for five hours without a break.

6. They _______ (explore) the city since early morning.

Check your answers

1. I have been learning how to play the guitar for six months.

2. She has been painting a beautiful landscape since last week.

3.They have been playing chess for two hours.

4. My brother has been practicing his dance moves all day.

5. She has been driving for five hours without a break.

6. They have been exploring the city since early morning.

Match the sentence and it's meaning

He hasn’t been eating healthy food.

He has been painting the house all morning.

I have been learning French for two years.

 What have you been doing all day?

 He started painting earlier, and it has been a long process.

 The person’s lifestyle has been unhealthy.

The action started two years ago and is still happening.

The speaker wants to know how the listener has spent their time.

Correct the error and write the full sentence out:
He have been watching tv all day.

Correct the error and write the full sentence out:
She has been write a book for two years.

Rewrite the sentence to use the present perfect continuous:
She didn't start learning Spanish three months ago, but four. (use "for") use a contraction and add a full stop

Rewrite the sentence to use the present perfect continuous:
I started reading this book last Tuesday. (use "since")

Rewrite the sentence to use the present perfect continuous:
He started fixing the car two hours ago. (use "for")

What have you been doing today?
(Answer with a full sentence please)

Writing exercise

In pairs: Think about the past week/ weekend and discuss for a minute:

What have you been doing a lot recently?

What have you accomplished in the last week?

Have you been working on anything for a long time?

• Each write 8 - 10 sentences and use both the present perfect continuous and present perfect at least 3 times.

Swap texts

Underline two examples of the present perfect continuous and present perfect. 

Have they used the tenses correctly? 

Continue with...

U3:L5 Ex. 1 t/m 6

Finished? - start learning the vocabulary for the test.