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
- Read each question and choose the best answer out of four given options.
- 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.”
- 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.
- You can zoom the images given in the questions.
- After submitting the quiz, you can see your score and compare with other users.
- The Full Leaderboard link will take you to a page, where you can see all users attempts.
- Below the quiz box, there are explanation of each options. You can study and try again.
- Best of Luck!
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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