📝 Daily Practice
🎯 Lesson Goal
Learn how to use the Present Perfect Continuous tense to talk about actions that started in the past and are still happening now or have just finished, especially in work, study, and personal experiences.
🧠 Grammar Focus
We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about actions that began in the past and continue now or have just stopped. This tense helps show how long something has been happening. It is often used to describe work, study, travel plans, or personal progress. The structure is: subject + have/has + been + verb + -ing. For example, ‘I have been working on my project all morning.’ It shows the action is not finished or was very recent. Another use is to explain why something is true now, like ‘She has been studying a lot, so she understands the topic well.’ We use it with time expressions like ‘for,’ ‘since,’ and ‘all day.’ Remember, it focuses on the action duration or activity itself, not the result.
📖 Short Reading
Maria has been learning English for three months. She has been studying every day after work because she wants to improve her skills. This week, she has been practicing speaking with her classmates online. Also, Maria has been reading English books to learn new words. Her teacher says she has been making good progress. Recently, Maria has been feeling more confident in her conversations. She has been enjoying the challenge of learning a new language and is excited about her future trips to English-speaking countries. So far, Maria has been having a great experience.
✏️ Exercise 1 – Fill in the Blanks
1. He ____ on his report for two hours. (has been working / work / worked)
2. They ____ tennis since morning. (have been playing / play / played)
3. She ____ English for five years. (has been studying / study / studied)
4. I ____ to learn the new software this week. (have been trying / try / tried)
5. We ____ for the bus for 20 minutes. (have been waiting / wait / waited)
6. She ____ on the phone all afternoon. (has been talking / talk / talked)
7. You ____ dinner since 6 PM. (have been cooking / cook / cooked)
8. The students ____ their presentations recently. (have been practicing / practice / practiced)
🔗 Exercise 2 – Matching
1. I have been reading
2. She has been working
3. They have been learning
4. We have been waiting
5. He has been running
6. You have been studying
✅ Exercise 3 – Multiple Choice
1. How long ____ she ____ ____ for the test? (study / studying / studied)
2. They ____ ____ ____ in the garden since this morning. (work / working / worked)
3. I ____ ____ ____ the guitar for two years. (learn / learning / learned)
4. He ____ ____ ____ a lot of emails lately. (send / sending / sent)
5. We ____ ____ ____ our English skills all month. (improve / improving / improved)
6. You ____ ____ ____ so much this week. (talk / talking / talked)
📝 Writing Practice
1. Write about something new you have been learning recently. Explain how long you have been learning it and why you are interested.
2. Describe a hobby or activity you have been doing regularly. Explain how it has helped you and how long you have been doing it.
3. Talk about a project or task you have been working on at school or work. Explain what you have been doing and what progress you have made.
📚 Key Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| improve | get better |
| practice | do something again to get better |
| progress | development or improvement |
| confident | feeling sure about yourself |
| challenge | a difficult task |
| recently | a short time ago |
| excited | very happy and interested |
| speaking | using your voice to talk |
| learning | getting knowledge or skills |
| experience | what you have done or seen |
🔎 Answer Key
- exercise_1_fill_blanks: 1.has been working 2.have been playing 3.has been studying 4.have been trying 5.have been waiting 6.has been talking 7.have been cooking 8.have been practicing
- exercise_2_matching: 1.a new book all evening 2.on her project since Monday 3.English for six months 4.at the station for half an hour 5.every morning to get fit 6.a lot for your exams
- exercise_3_multiple_choice: 1.has been studying 2.have been working 3.have been learning 4.has been sending 5.have been improving 6.have been talking
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