Present Perfect Simple

Present Perfect Simple – Present Perfect Progressive
Use
Both tenses are used to express that an action began in the past and is still going on or has just finished. In many cases, both forms are correct, but there is often a difference in meaning: We use the Present Perfect Simple mainly to express that an action is completed or to emphasise the result. We use the Present Perfect Progressiveto emphasise the duration or continuous course of an action.
Result or duration?
Do you want to express what has happened so far or how long an action has been going on yet?
Present Perfect Simple | Present Perfect Progressive |
Result (what / how much / how often)I have written 5 letters. / I have been to London twice. | Duration (how long)I have been writing for an hour. |
Certain verbsThe following verbs are usually only used in Present Perfect Simple (not in the progressive form).
state: be, have (for possession only)
Example: We have been on holiday for two weeks.
senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
Example: He has touched the painting.
brain work: believe, know, think, understand
Example: I have known him for 3 years.
Emphasis on completion or duration?
Doyou want to emphasise the completion of an action or its continuous course (how has somebody spent his time)?
Present Perfect Simple | Present Perfect Progressive |
Emphasis on completionI have done my homework. (Meaning: My homework is completed now.) | Emphasis on durationI have been doing my homework. (Meaning: That's how I have spent my time. It does not matter whether the homework iscompleted now.) |
Result or side effect?
Do you want to express that a completed action led to a desired result or that the action had an unwanted side effect?
Present Perfect Simple | Present Perfect Progressive |
desired resultI have washed the car. (Result: The car is clean now.) | unwanted side effectWhy are you so wet? - I have been washing the car. (side effect: I became wet when I waswashing the car. It does not matter whether the car is clean now.) |
Permanent or temporary?
If an action is still going on and we want to express that it is a permanent situation, we would usually use the Present Perfect Simple. For temporary situations, we would prefer the Present Perfect Progressive. This is not a rule, however, only a tendency.
Present Perfect Simple | Present PerfectProgressive |
permanentJames has lived in this town for 10 years. (Meaning: He is a permanent resident of this town.) | temporaryJames has been living here for a year. (Meaning: This situation is only temporary. Maybe he is an exchange student and only here for one or two years.) |
The present perfect simple tenseUseThe present perfect combines the past and present.1. We use the present perfect simplefor activities or states that started in the past and still continue.
We have lived here since 2001.
She has known me for more than two years.
I haven't seen her since Christmas.
How long have they been here?

It is often used with expressions indicating that the activity began in the past and comes up to now, such as: for 10 years, since 1995, all week, all the time, always, lately,recently ...
We have always worked in York. (We still work in York.)
It has been quite cold lately. (It is still cold.)If the activity started in the past and ended in the past we cannot use the present perfect.
I have smoked for 5 years. (present perfect - I still smoke.)
I smoked for 5 years. (past simple - I smoked from 2000 to 2005, then I stopped.)2. We use it to describe an experience thathappened in the past (the time is not given), but the effects are important now.
She has been to London. (And so she knows London.)Compare:
I have already been to Greece. (experience - And I want to go somewhere else now.)
I have been in Greece for two weeks. (state - I am stlill in Greece.)When we use this tense to express some experience, we can use following adverbs - ever, never, already,...