Present Perfect Continuous VS Present Perfect Simple

I_______ and my legs are really tired now.

• 've been cycling

• 've cycled

• cycled

• was cycling

Answer explanation

*We use the present perfect continuous with dynamic verbs for situations which started in the past and have not finished or have just finished.

*We use the present perfect continuous when the present result comes from the process of doing the action: my legs are tired because I have been cycling.

I'm sorry I'm late, _______ for a long time?

• have you waited

• have you been waiting

• you waited

• waiting you

Answer explanation

*We can use both the present perfect simple or continuous to talk about situations that started in the past and have not finished, but the present perfect continuous is more common when the verb is dynamic (action verbs).

How long _______ Sarah?

• do you know

• you know

• have you known

• have you been knowing

Answer explanation

*We can use both the present perfect simple and the present perfect continuous with how long, for, since, recently, lately to talk about situations that started in the past and still continue.

*But we can only use the present perfect simple with stative verbs, and "know" is a stative verb.

Somebody _______ my cookies. There are none left.

• was eating

• ate

• has been eating

• has eaten

Answer explanation

*When we use the present perfect simple for a past finished action, we focus on the completion of the action; i.e. the action has been completed - "there are no cookies left." When we use the present perfect continuous, we focus on the duration of the action; the action has been going on for some time and maybe it's been completed or maybe not.

Somebody _______ my cookies. There are very few left.

• has eaten

• has been eating

• ate

• was eating

Answer explanation

When we use the present perfect simple, we focus on the completion of the action, i.e. the action has been finished - "somebody has eaten all the cookies."

And when we use the present perfect continuous we focus on the duration of the action; the action has been going on for some time and maybe it’s been completed or maybe not. If there are some cookies left, it means that the action has not been completed, and this is why we need the present perfect continuous.

How many books _______?

• has she been writing

• has she written

• she write

• she writing

Answer explanation

*We use the present perfect simple to talk about how many things or how much of something we have done - "how many books."

She must be tired. She _______ all afternoon.

• was writing

• wrote

• has been writing

• has written

Answer explanation

*We use the present perfect continuous with action verbs (=dynamic verbs) to talk about situations that started in the past and have not finished or have just finished.

*With the present perfect continuous, we emphasise the duration of the action: we have been doing something all morning, all day, etc.

I _______ all afternoon. I _______5 chapters.

• 've been reading ...

  've read

• 've read ... 've been reading

• read ... was read

• was reading ... readed

Answer explanation

*We use the present perfect continuous with action (=dynamic) verbs for situations which started in the past and are still going on or have just finished. We focus on the duration of the action - "all afternoon".

*We use the present perfect simple when we talk about how many things or how much of something we have completed -"how many chapters"; we are focusing on the completion of the action.

I think I _______ ice cream since I was born.

• 've loved

• 've been loving

• love

• loved

Answer explanation

*We can use both the present perfect simple and the present perfect continuous with how long, for, since, recently, lately to talk about situations that started in the past and still continue.

* But we can only use the present perfect simple with non-action (=stative) verbs, and "love" is a non-action(=stative) verb.

My friends _______ for months, and they _______ five countries so far.

• have been travelling ... have visited

• have travelled ... have been visiting

• travel ... visit

• travelled ... visited

Answer explanation

*We use the present perfect continuous with action (=dynamic) verbs to talk about situations that started in the past and have not finished or have just finished. In this sentence the verb travel is action (=dynamic), and we focus on the duration of the action - "for months."

* We use the present perfect simple to talk about how many things or how much of something we have done. We focus on the completion of the action, i.e. how many things we have finished doing.