1. ….up to now

2. use of the present perfect continuous to speak about actions, states or situations that started in the past and continue in the present. to indicate actions, states or situations that lasted for a period of time. *There is no corresponding structure in Italian!

3. + I have been workingYou/we/they have been workingHe/she/it has been working - I have not been workingYou/ they have not been workingHe/ she/ it has not been working ? Have I been working?Have you/ we been working?Has he/ she been working? Contractions: I’ve, we’ve, they’ve, he’s, she’s; haven’t, hasn’t We make the present perfect continuous with have/ has + been + ….ing John’s been working in the bank for three months.

4. We use the present perfect continuous to say how long things have been happening up to now. Examples: I’ve been studying English for four years. Have you been waiting long? It’s been raining all day.

5. Here’s a good example of the present perfect continuous. A famous song from the 80’s. So long, I've been looking too hard, I've been waiting too long Sometimes I don't know what I will find, I only know it's a matter of time. I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life I've been waiting for a girl like you, your loving will survive Do you want to hear the song? Here’s the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J71Qcl4DnnM&feature=related Listening and reading the lyrics is a good way to improve your English!!

6. Make present perfect continuous sentences. Use for or since. Ex. John started learning Chinese in February. Now it’s July. (for) John has been learning Chinese for five months. 1. It started raining on Sunday. It’s still raining. (since) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2. We started driving at 6:00. Now it’s 10:00. (for) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3. Ann started working at Smith’s in January. (since) …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4. Prices started going up last year. (since) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

7. It’s been raining since Sunday. We’ve been driving for four hours. Ann’s been working at Smith’s since January. Prices have been going up since last year.

8. * unfinished action in an unfinished time. * I’ve read 50 pages of this book so far. (result) * unfinished action in an unfinished time with emphasis on the duration of the action. * I’ve been reading for two hours. (action)

9. He’s been running for over an hour. She’s been working all night. He’s been travelling.