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Introduction
Why has Phil been doing lots of washing this week? Neil and Beth tell us what they've been up to recently, and our grammar guru Georgie teaches us about the present perfect simple and present perfect continuous tenses.
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Grammar explanation
What is the present perfect tense?
It's a tense we use to talk about things that happened in the very recent past, or that have a connection to now. Common words and phrases we use with the present perfect include 'this week', 'this month' and 'this year'. We can also use 'since', 'just', 'yet', 'already', 'never' and 'ever' with the present perfect.
Present perfect simple
has/have + past participle (third form of the verb)
Examples:
I've eaten breakfast already.
Neil's had a coffee.
Beth has spoken to a friend on the phone.
Present perfect continuous
has/have + been + -ing verb
Examples:
Phil has been washing clothes after his holiday.
We have been working in the office this morning.
Pippa's been doing yoga to help her flexibility.
What's the difference between the present perfect simple and the present perfect continuous?
Sometimes there is no difference at all. But, we often use the present perfect continuous when we want to emphasise how long an action takes. It focuses on the activity and duration of the activity.
Examples:
I've worked at the BBC for five years.
I've been working at the BBC for five years. (no difference in meaning)
I've done some exercise. (activity has finished recently)
I've been doing some exercise. (activity has finished recently and the focus is on how long they exercised for)
To do
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