Present Perfect Continuous Tense Test

Present Perfect Continuous Tense — Exercise 2 (Questions with Full Explanations and Verb Definition)

This Present Perfect Continuous practice set gives you 10 high-value questions plus detailed explanations for every option so you understand both form and meaning. Use this to master have/has been + verb-ing (duration, recent ongoing actions with present relevance, repeated actions, and cause/result). The distractors are intentionally close — two plausible answers and two decoys — to train careful reading and real understanding. Suitable for learners, teachers and exam prep.

Definition: Present Perfect Continuous (have/has + verb-ing form)

  • Form: have / has + been + verb-ing.
  • Examples: I have been working; She has been testing; Have they been waiting?
  • Main uses:
  • Actions that started in the past and are continuing now (use with for / since).
  • Actions that have been happening recently / repeatedly with present result.
  • Explaining present conditions by showing ongoing cause.
  • Signal words: for, since, recently, lately, all day, how long, ever.
  • Negatives/Questions: have/has not (haven’t/hasn’t) and Have/Has + subject + been + verb-ing + … + since/for + …?
  • To learn more about it – Visit Here

Quiz Instructions

  1. Read each question and choose the best answer out of four given options.
  2. On top, header section of the quiz, you will see the “title of the quiz,’ ‘spending-time,’ ‘value of question in points,’ and ‘number of questions.”
  3. Below on footer, you will see Full Screen mode. As the name suggests, it covers the whole screen. It will save a lot of your time attempting the quiz.
  4. You can zoom the images given in the questions.
  5. After submitting the quiz, you can see your score and compare with other users.
  6. The Full Leaderboard link will take you to a page, where you can see all users attempts.
  7. Below the quiz box, there are explanation of each options. You can study and try again.
  8. Best of Luck!
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Quiz Question, Answer and Explanation

Note: Do remember in the quiz box above, the questions and options will shuffle, so they won’t have the same sequence like 1, 2, 3, or A, B, C as below.

1. How long ______ she ______ the migration tasks?

A) has, been performing  B) is, performing  C) has, performed  D) did, perform

Verb: perform = to carry out tasks.

Correct: A) has, been performing
Why A is correct:
“How long” requires present perfect continuous to ask about length of ongoing activity.

Why B wrong: present continuous doesn’t ask about duration that started earlier.
Why C wrong: present perfect simple lacks continuous duration nuance.
Why D wrong: past — wrong.

2. We ______ intermittent outages since last night.

A) have been experiencing  B) experienced  C) have experienced  D) are experiencing

Verb: experience = to undergo events/situations.

Correct: A) have been experiencing
Why A is correct:
“Since last night” + ongoing occurrences fits present perfect continuous (repeated/ongoing outages).

Why B wrong: past simple lacks ongoing implication.
Why C wrong: present perfect simple could be used but continuous better captures multiple events continuing now.
Why D wrong: present continuous less precise for period starting in past.

3. Have you ______ any delays while deploying the new release?

A) been seeing  B) have seen  C) saw  D) are seeing

Verb: see = to observe or notice.

Correct: A) been seeing (used after Have: Have you been seeing… ? )
Why A is correct:
Present perfect continuous in question form (“Have you been seeing…?”) asks about repeated/ongoing observations recently.

Why B wrong: have seen (present perfect simple) asks about occurrence but not the ongoing/repeated nature.
Why C wrong: past simple; wrong for recent recurring issues.
Why D wrong: present continuous lacks the implied period up to now.

4. He ______ the faulty nodes for hours; they still haven’t recovered.

A) has been restarting  B) restarted  C) is restarting  D) has restarted

Verb: restart = to reinitialize a node/system.

Correct: A) has been restarting
Why A is correct:
Repeated attempts over hours — present perfect continuous fits and explains persistent failure.

Why B wrong: single past event, not repeated attempts.
Why C wrong: present continuous may work momentarily but not the period “for hours.”
Why D wrong: present perfect simple signals completion of a restart, not repeated attempts.

5. They ______ the compatibility tests since the sprint began.

A) have been running  B) have run  C) ran  D) are running

Verb: run = to execute tests.

Correct: A) have been running
Why A is correct:
“Since the sprint began” calls for present perfect continuous describing activity from start to now.

Why B wrong: have run (perfect simple) indicates tests executed but not necessarily continuous work.
Why C wrong: past.
Why D wrong: present continuous missing duration.

6. Why ______ you ______ the same patch three times today?

A) have, been applying  B) are, applying  C) did, apply  D) have, applied

Verb: apply = to install or add a patch.

Correct: A) have, been applying
Why A is correct:
Present perfect continuous with “today” and repetition (“three times”) emphasizes repeated recent attempts.

Why B wrong: are you applying asks about current action only, not repeated attempts today.
Why C wrong: past; lacks present relevance.
Why D wrong: present perfect simple (have applied) shows completion(s), but continuous emphasizes ongoing repeated attempts and their current impact.

7. I ______ that slow query for ages and still can’t reproduce it locally.

A) have been chasing  B) am chasing  C) chased  D) have chased

Verb: chase (here) = to pursue resolving/debugging an issue.

Correct: A) have been chasing
Why A is correct:
“For ages” requires present perfect continuous for long ongoing effort.

Why B wrong: present continuous lacks the long-duration nuance.
Why C wrong: past.
Why D wrong: present perfect simple doesn’t emphasize continuous frustration.

8. The ops team ______ the incident updates to users throughout the day.

A) have been posting  B) posted  C) have posted  D) are posting

Verb: post = to publish updates/messages.

Correct: A) have been posting
Why A is correct:
Repeated updates across the day — present perfect continuous is best.

Why B wrong: single past action.
Why C wrong: possible, but continuous stresses repeated messages.
Why D wrong: present continuous narrower in time.

9. We ______ more logs to the analyzer for the last three hours.

A) have been streaming  B) stream  C) have streamed  D) streamed

Verb: stream = to send continuous data.

Correct: A) have been streaming
Why A is correct:
Ongoing stream over a defined period — perfect continuous fits.

Why B wrong: simple present habitual.
Why C wrong: perfect simple indicates completed streams, not ongoing activity.
Why D wrong: past.

10. She ______ with HR about remote work arrangements this week.

A) has been liaising  B) liaised  C) has liaised  D) is liaising

Verb: liaise = to communicate/coordinate between groups.

Correct: A) has been liaising
Why A is correct:
“This week” (unfinished period) + ongoing coordination → present perfect continuous.

Why B wrong: past; less ongoing.
Why C wrong: possible, but continuous emphasizes the ongoing process.
Why D wrong: present continuous but less sense of work across the week.

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