Improve your English today at ANGLOPOD.COM. Hi everyone, I’m Dan and today we’re going to learn about the present perfect simple and continuous. We’ll look at some examples to help us understand when to use them.

In the last lesson, we looked at the difference between the present perfect and the past simple. We saw that the past simple is used to talk about a point in time, but the present perfect is used to talk about a period of time that starts in the past and goes up to the present. But what’s the difference between the present perfect simple and continuous?

Here’s an example of the present perfect simple. You can say: “We HAVE BEEN married for years”. BE is a state, not an action, so we use it in the simple form. We got married in the past and we are still married now. The situation hasn’t changed, so “We HAVE BEEN married for years”.

But if you use an action verb, you can use the present perfect continuous, like this: “We HAVE BEEN DATING for three months”. This also refers to a period of time that started in the past and goes up to the present, now.

However, sometimes the choice between present perfect simple and continuous can refer to an action over a period of time or what you have completed so far. For example, you could say: “I HAVE BEEN STUDYING English for two years”. This refers to the repeated action of learning over a two-year period until now. 

But you could also use the present perfect simple to show what you have completed or achieved. “I HAVE STUDIED basic English”. Basic English is now finished and you will now go on to the next level.

So, how long HAVE you BEEN studying English? What HAVE you STUDIED so far? Go to ANGLOPOD.COM and tell us in the comments. See you soon!

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