The present perfect continuous is often taught alongside the present perfect simple. These are some of the present perfect continuous activities I’ve used in class to highlight its use for actions that started in the past and are still continuing — or have only recently stopped.
I often begin by contrasting the sentences I’ve read this book and I’ve been reading this book. In my experience, students often already have a feel for which one sounds more natural, which makes it a good starting point for introducing the present perfect continuous. I’ve read this book suggests the action is complete, while I’ve been reading this book focuses on the ongoing activity and may not be finished yet.
Since or For
Ask students to divide a page into two columns: for and since.
Dictate or display the following time phrases and have them sort them into the correct column:
- a long time
- two weeks
- the last lesson
- I was a child
- the start of the year
- half an hour
- ages
- 10 years ago
- ten years
Follow up by challenging students to make present perfect continuous sentences using the phrases:
I’ve been learning Turkish for two weeks.
She’s been living here since the start of the year.
Finding out about Hobbies and Interests
Ask students to find out and make a list of some of their partner’s hobbies and interests. When the list is complete, find out how long their partner has been involved with that hobby or activity.
How long have you been doing yoga?
I’ve been doing yoga for two years.
Complete the Sentence – TEFLtastic Game
I often use this fun activity from Alex Case’s site. Students have to complete sentence stems with their own ideas and then read only their part to the class. The class has to guess what the original stem was.
Tense Review Board Game
The present perfect continuous is one of the tenses used in the grammar review board game. Students are challenged to make suitable sentences about a variety of random topics.
Other games are available on the board games page.
Online Present Perfect Continuous Activities
For online present perfect continuous exercises and activities see our online-focused site LearnHip.com