Pdf online exercise: Present perfect continuous - Free Printable

Of course! Let's solve the exercises on the "Present Perfect Continuous" worksheet step by step.

The Present Perfect Continuous tense is used to describe actions that:
- Started in the past
- Have continued up to the present (or very recently)
- Often emphasize the duration or the ongoing nature of the action
- Structure: have/has + been + verb-ing

---

## ✔ EXERCISE 1: Complete the sentences

1. My cat ___ ___ (sleep) ___ all day.

✔ has been sleeping
*(Action started in the past and continues now — cat is still sleeping.)*

---

2. A: ___ Jim ___ (do) ___ exercise?

B: Yes, he ___. He needs a rest.
✔ Has... been doing / has
*(Question asks if Jim has been exercising up until now. Answer confirms it.)*

---

3. It ___ ___ (rain) ___ for several days.

✔ has been raining
*(Rain started days ago and is still happening or just stopped.)*

---

4. I failed the test because I ___ not ___ (study) ___ hard.

✔ have been studying → Wait, this is incorrect logic.
Actually: I failed the test because I *had not been studying* hard.
But since we’re focusing on Present Perfect Continuous, and the context implies recent past leading to present result, we can say:
✔ have not been studying
*(Implies lack of recent continuous effort leading to failure.)*

---

5. We ___ ___ (drive) ___ for two hours.

✔ have been driving
*(Driving started 2 hours ago and continues now.)*

---

6. Tracy and Tom ___ ___ (play) ___ tennis for an hour.

✔ have been playing
*(They started playing an hour ago and are still playing.)*

---

7. A: I’m sorry I’m late. ___ you ___ (wait) ___ a long time?

B: No, I ___ ___.
✔ Have... been waiting / haven’t been waiting
*(Asking if the person was waiting continuously up to now. Answer says no — they didn’t wait long.)*

---

8. Where ___ you ___ (spend) ___ your summer holidays?

✔ have... been spending
*(This implies “where have you been going during your summer holidays?” — possibly repeated or ongoing activity.)*
⚠️ Note: More naturally, we’d say “Where did you spend...” for completed past. But for P.P.C., this works if implying recent/repeated activity.

---

9. Who ___ ___ (eat) ___ my cookies?

✔ has been eating
*(Someone has been secretly eating them over time — maybe some are left, but the action has been ongoing.)*

---

10. A: You look tired. ___ you ___ (work) ___ hard?

B: Yes, I ___.
✔ Have... been working / have
*(You look tired now because you’ve been working hard up until now.)*

---

## ✔ EXERCISE 2: Complete the sentences

1. She ___ ___ ___ (watch) too much television lately.

✔ has been watching
*(“Lately” = recent continuous action.)*

---

2. What ___ you ___ ___ (do)?

✔ have... been doing
*(Asking about recent ongoing activity.)*

---

3. Mary ___ ___ ___ (feel) a little depressed.

✔ has been feeling
*(Emotional state continuing from past to now.)*

---

4. It ___ ___ ___ (wait) for two hours.

✔ has been waiting
*(Waited for 2 hours up until now — though “it” is odd for waiting; usually people wait. But grammatically correct.)*

---

5. She ___ ___ ___ (listen) to music for two hours.

✔ has been listening
*(Continuous action lasting 2 hours.)*

---

6. ___ she ___ ___ (write) the report since 7th August 2011?

✔ Has... been writing
*(Action started in the past and continues to now — note the specific date.)*

---

7. I ___ ___ ___ ___ (meet) him since 2009.

✔ have not been meeting
*(If you haven’t met him since 2009 — negative form.)*
OR if positive: have been meeting — but context suggests absence.
➡️ Likely: have not been meeting
*(No ongoing meetings since 2009.)*

---

8. They ___ ___ ___ ___ (complete) their work since Monday.

✔ have been completing
*(They started Monday and are still finishing up.)*

---

9. Kids ___ ___ ___ ___ (play) games for five hours.

✔ have been playing
*(Ongoing activity for 5 hours.)*

---

10. They ___ ___ ___ ___ (come) to office since January 2012.

✔ have been coming
*(Regular or continuous action starting in Jan 2012 and continuing.)*

---

## ✔ EXERCISE 3: Complete using verbs in brackets

She ___ ___ (not cooking) because she is tired.

✔ has not been cooking
*(She hasn’t cooked recently — maybe she’s been resting instead.)*

---

Mary and Laura ___ ___ (study) French for 3 years.

✔ have been studying
*(Started 3 years ago and still studying.)*

---

My dogs ___ ___ (bark) all night.

✔ have been barking
*(Barking started at night and continued — likely woke someone up.)*

---

You ___ ___ (not drive) since we left the city.

✔ have not been driving
*(You stopped driving after leaving the city — perhaps someone else is driving now.)*

---

My sister ___ ___ (write) some nice poems.

✔ has been writing
*(She started writing poems recently and may still be doing so.)*

---

## 📝 FINAL ANSWER KEY:

---

Exercise 1:

1. has been sleeping
2. Has, been doing, has
3. has been raining
4. have, been studying
5. have been driving
6. have been playing
7. Have, been waiting, haven’t been waiting
8. have, been spending
9. has been eating
10. Have, been working, have

---

Exercise 2:

1. has been watching
2. have, been doing
3. has been feeling
4. has been waiting
5. has been listening
6. Has, been writing
7. have not been meeting
8. have been completing
9. have been playing
10. have been coming

---

Exercise 3:

1. has not been cooking
2. have been studying
3. have been barking
4. have not been driving
5. has been writing

---

Let me know if you’d like explanations for any specific sentence! 😊