English/Parts of Speech/Verbs/Tenses/Perfect Progressive Tenses
From Wikibooks
The perfect progressive tenses, or perfect continuous tenses, are three tenses, namely the past perfect progressive, present perfect progressive, and future perfect progressive.
[change] Past perfect progressive
The past perfect progressive, or past perfect continuous, is used to talk about an event that had been happening over a specific period of time in the past, and may still be continuing now.
The past perfect progressive is formed by the following formula: Subject + had + been + present participle of main verb + object.
Example:
- I had been studying English for four years, and really wanted to give up.
- I had been playing football for two hours when Dad told me to leave.
Note that the period of time is usually stated unless it is mentioned before.
[change] Present perfect progressive
The present perfect progressive, or present perfect continous, is used to talk about an event that has been happening over a specific period of time since a point of time in the past, and may continue in the future.
The present perfect progressive is formed by the following formula: Subject + have + been + present participle of main verb + object.
Example:
- I have been studying English for four years, and I am beginning to enjoy it very much.
- I have been playing football since ten.
Note that the time is usually stated unless it is already mentioned, or in exceptional cases such as the second sentence.
[change] Future perfect progressive
The future perfect progressive, or future perfect continous, is used to talk about an event that has been happening over a specific period of time in the future point of time it is seen from, and may continue beyond that point.
The future perfect progressive is formed by the following formula: Subject + will + have + been + present participle of main verb + object.
Example:
- I will have been studying English for six years in December, and I think I will be ready for the IELTS then.
- I will have been playing football for four hours, and will badly need a rest.
Note that the time is usually stated unless it is already mentioned.
