Perfect Continuous Tense

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

1. This tense indicates an action that began in the past and is still continuing and may continue in the future too :

The goats have been bleating for last ten minutes.

She has been picking flowers since last week.

2. It also indicates an action that began in the past, continued for some time and has just stopped with impact on the present :

He has been climbing up the tree for half an hour, but no he has hurt himself.

She has been knitting asweater for me, she has just completed it.

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
Subject + has/have + been + Verb III Form (-ing) + since/for + Time Phrase.	Subject + has/have + not + been + Verb III Form (-ing) + since/for + Time Phrase.	Has/Have + Subject + been + Verb III Form (-ing) + since/for + Time Phrase?
I/We/You/They have been throwing a ball for two hours. He/She/It has been throwing a ball since noon.	I/We/You/They have not been throwing a ball for two hours. He/She/It has not been throwing a ball since noon.	Have I/we/you/they been throwing a ball for two hours? Has he/she/it been throwing a ball since noon?

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

This tense indicates an action that continued in the past until another action overtook it :

We had been skipping rope when we started to play kho-kho.

The dog had been wagging its tail, so the butcher gave it a bone.

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
Subject + had + been + Verb III Form (-ing) + since/for + Time Phrase.	Subject + had +not + been + Verb III Form (-ing) + since/for + Time Phrase.	Had + Subject + been + Verb III Form (-ing) + since/for + Time Phrase?
I/We/You/He/She/It/They had been throwing a ball for two hours.	I/We/You/He/She/It/They had not been throwing a ball since morning.	Had I/we/you/he/she/it/they been throwing a ball for ten minutes?

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

This tense indicates a continuous action that will take place in the future :

They will have been sweeping the ground for two years.

I shall have been driving this bus since 2008.

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
Subject + will/shall + have + been + Verb III Form (-ing) + since/for + Time Phrase.	Subject + will/shall + have + not + been + Verb III Form (-ing) + since/for + Time Phrase.	Will/Shall + Subject + been + Verb III Form (-ing) + since/for + Time Phrase?
I/We shall have been throwing a ball for two years. You/He/She/It/They will have been throwing a ball since 2006.	I/We shall not have been throwing a ball for two years. You/He/She/It/They will not have been throwing a ball since 2006.	Shall I/we have been throwing a ball for two years? Will you/he/she/it/they have been throwing a ball since 2006?