Skip to Content

The difference between present perfect and present perfect continuous

In contrast with the present perfectThe aspect expressing completion. E.g.: He’s finished university. simple tenseA grammatical category that is marked by verb inflection. To express when an event or action happens in time or when a state exists, we use tenses., which emphasisSpecial importance or attention given to something. E.g.: All I wanna do is have some fun.es the result of a completeA concept, related to the perfect aspect, expressing that an action has finished. E.g.: He’s finished university.d actionA general term expressing that somebody or something does something, the present perfect continuousThe aspect expressing duration, formed with be + verb-ing. E.g.: What are you doing? tense focusThe main or central point of attention or interest; what is emphasized. E.g.: All I wanna do is have some fun. ("all")es on the durationA concept, related to the continuous aspect, expressing that an action is in progress. E.g.: What are you doing? or the activity itself.

I have written two letters today. (result)
I've been writing this letter all week. (duration or activity)

The same difference exists between these two sentences:

What have you done?
What have you been doing?

The first one refers to one action that has a result in the present (a broken vase, a bleeding nose etc.). The second sentence could be rephrased as How have you spent the past minutes/hours?

Another difference between these two tenses is that the present perfect simple might refer to a habitual action over an incomplete period of timeA period of time that includes the time of speaking. E.g.: I have known him for two years. ("for two years"):

She has always worked hard.

... while the present perfect continuous can be used for habitual, repeated actions over an incomplete period time:

She has been getting up at 6 for the last two weeks.

Note that if the present perfect simple is used for an action which started in the past and is still in progressAn action is in progress when it is happening. E.g.: When I arrived he was surfing. ("he was surfing") in the present, a time expressionA word or group of words used in a particular situation. E.g.: Good morning, at six, on the sofa is needed, while the present perfect continuous can be used with or without such an expression.

I've waited for you for an hour.
I've been waiting for you for an hour.
I've been waiting for you.
Diagrams
He's been ironing his shirts.
I've been writing this letter all week.
I've written two letters today.
Login or register to access a printer-friendly version, add page to favourites or submit a quote.

Related topics

The following topics are closely related to the one you are viewing.

Topics with similar tags

The following topics share one or more tags with the one you are viewing and may also be interesting.

Rate this page

Average: 4.3 (8 votes)

Comments and questions

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.