English/Parts of Speech/Verbs/Tenses/Perfect Progressive Tenses
The perfect progressive tenses, or perfect continuous tenses, are three tenses, namely the past perfect progressive, present perfect progressive, and future perfect progressive.
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.
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.
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.