Present Perfect Continuous Tense — Exercise 3 (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 ______ they ______ the A/B experiments?
A) have, been running B) are, running C) have, run D) did, run
Verb: run = to operate experiments.
Correct: A) have, been running
Why A is correct: “How long” requires present perfect continuous for duration up to now.
Why B wrong: present continuous lacks duration reference.
Why C wrong: perfect simple doesn’t emphasize continuity.
Why D wrong: past.
2. I ______ the queue workers since noon; jobs are slowly completing.
A) have been restarting B) restarted C) have restarted D) am restarting
Verb: restart = to reboot processes.
Correct: A) have been restarting
Why A is correct: Ongoing repeated action from noon to now — perfect continuous explains slow completion.
Why B wrong: single past restart.
Why C wrong: perfect simple suggests restarts happened but not repeated continuous attempts.
Why D wrong: present continuous lacks duration.
3. They ______ the documentation updates for several days before publishing.
A) have been drafting B) drafted C) have drafted D) are drafting
Verb: draft = to prepare documents.
Correct: A) have been drafting
Why A is correct: Repeated/ongoing writing across several days fits perfect continuous.
Why B wrong: past single action.
Why C wrong: present perfect simple possible but continuous better captures the multi-day process.
Why D wrong: present continuous narrower.
4. Why ______ the monitoring alerts ______ more frequently since the change?
A) have, been firing B) are, firing C) have, fired D) did, fire
Verb: restart = to reinitialize a node/system.
Correct: A) have, been firing
Why A is correct: Since the change indicates a period from past to now; repeated alerts call for present perfect continuous.
Why B wrong: present continuous lacks the “since” timeframe.
Why C wrong: perfect simple signals occurrences but not continuous repetition causing present concern.
Why D wrong: past.
5. I ______ the CSS fixes all day to resolve layout glitches.
A) have been applying B) applied C) have applied D) apply
Verb: apply = to implement fixes.
Correct: A) have been applying
Why A is correct: “All day” suggests continuous work up to now; perfect continuous fits.
Why B wrong: past single application.
Why C wrong: perfect simple suggests completion, not ongoing iterative attempts.
Why D wrong: simple present habit.
6. Have you ______ the recent performance regressions to the engineering lead?
A) been reporting B) reported C) have reported D) are reporting
Verb: report = to inform someone about problems.
Correct: A) been reporting (as in “Have you been reporting …?”)
Why A is correct: Present perfect continuous question probes repeated reporting behavior recently.
Why B wrong: reported (past simple) only asks about single past events.
Why C wrong: redundant auxiliary; incorrect form for this choice list.
Why D wrong: present continuous lacks the “have you” + duration nuance.
7. We ______ the backlog grooming sessions every morning this sprint.
A) have been holding B) hold C) have held D) held
Verb: hold = to conduct meetings.
Correct: A) have been holding
Why A is correct: Repeated activity across the sprint (an unfinished period) — present perfect continuous is appropriate.
Why B wrong: simple present indicates habit but not the current sprint focus.
Why C wrong: present perfect simple compresses repeated actions but continuous emphasizes ongoing process.
Why D wrong: past.
8. She ______ with stakeholders all afternoon to collect approvals.
A) has been meeting B) met C) has met D) is meeting
Verb: meet = to hold discussions.
Correct: A) has been meeting
Why A is correct: Ongoing series of meetings across the afternoon — continuous best explains current exhaustion or delays.
Why B wrong: single past meeting.
Why C wrong: possible but simple perfect doesn’t stress repeated engagement.
Why D wrong: present continuous less explicit about the whole afternoon.
9. They ______ latency spikes since we pushed the new config.
A) have been observing B) observed C) have observed D) are observing
Verb: observe = to notice or measure.
Correct: A) have been observing
Why A is correct: “Since we pushed” implies a period from past to now; repeated spikes suit the present perfect continuous.
Why B wrong: past singular event.
Why C wrong: perfect simple can be used but continuous better captures repeated spikes.
Why D wrong: present continuous misses the “since” timeframe.
10. How long ______ the client ______ issues with the portal?
A) have, been reporting B) do, report C) have, reported D) did, report
Verb: report = to communicate problems.
Correct: A) have, been reporting
Why A is correct: “How long” + ongoing reporting → present perfect continuous.
Why B wrong: present simple wrong for duration.
Why C wrong: perfect simple lacks continuous/duration nuance.
Why D wrong: past.