Main uses

1 To talk about actions, which started in the past and are still going on

(generally with since, for, these two days, all morning etc.):

I 've bееn waiting for аn hоur.

The competition has been running every year since 1980.

Note!

Present perfect continuous is not used in the negative form:

I haven’t watered the flowers since Monday.

The Present Perfect Continuous is also found in negative sentences if the negation is partial: it does not refer to the action itself but to the circumstances attending the action.

I haven’t been sleeping well for the last two days (which means that I have been sleeping but my sleep has not been sound enough)

I’m sorry I’m late. I hope уоu have nоt bееn waiting for mе. (I know that you have bееn waiting but I hope it is not for mе)

2 To express an action (quite a long action) which began in the past and has recently or just stopped, a recently finished activity, which explains or gives reasons for the state of things at the present:

You are out of breath. Have you been running?

Why are your clothes so dirty? What have you been doing?

She said: "I've been talking to your boy-friend, Adeline, and I like him."

Don't tell your mother what I've been saying.

3 The perfect progressive forms are often used to show that an action is (or was) frequently repeated:

Tom has been drinking a lot for the last two months.

Jim has been phoning Jenny every night for the past week

4 To refer to an uncompleted activity:

I’ve been cleaning the house but I still haven’t finished.

The difference between an activity still in progress and one that has definitely been completed is marked by context and by the verbs we use.

The simple and progressive forms are not interchangeable here

I've been painting this room

I've painted this room

In the first example, the activity is uncompleted. In the second example, the job is definitely finished.

5 The present perfect continuous is often used with an emotional coloring (emphasizing the duration of the event):

I suppose you have been telling lies again.

Note!

A number of verbs can't normally bе used in thе continuous tense forms, but some оf these саn bе used in this form in certain cases (in colloquial English); especially the verbs to want and to wish.

6 The present perfect continuous can suggest that the action is temporary:

Compare:

We’ve been subscribing to one of the satellite TV companies (we may change)

We subscribe to one of the satellite TV companies (unlikely to change)

With lately or recently we use the present perfect continuous to talk about new developments which may be temporary:

Helen has been spending a lot of time at the club lately (she didn’t use to)