1.4 TENSE FORM [PAST / PRESENT / FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS] - USES

 PAST / PRESENT / FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

The perfect progressive tense (also called the perfect continuous tense) is used to say that an event or action is, was, or will be continually occurring (progressive) but that it is, was, or will be completed at a later time, or that it relates to a later time (perfect). The perfect progressive has a present, a past, and a future, just like other verb tenses.

The present perfect progressive says that a continuous action started in the past and continuing which is completed or not completed, The following examples show how it is used.

The forms of Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous) Tense 

• Sub ( I / we / you / they / Plural form) + have + been + Main verb (ing) 

                                  You have been driving since in the morning.

• Sub ( he / she / it / Singular form) + has + been + Main verb (ing)

                                 Ramya has been reading a novel for an hour straight.

The past perfect progressive says that a continuous action started in the past and was completed before another event in the past,The following examples show how it is used.

The forms of Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) Tense 

• Sub + had + been + Main verb (ing)                                  

               My mother had been cooking for only an hour before their guests arrived.

The future perfect progressive tells us that a continuous action will be completed at, or relates to, a time in the future. The continuous action may have started at any time in the past, present, or future, but it always ends on or relates to a point in the future. The following examples show how it is used.

The forms of Future Perfect Progressive (Continuous) Tense 

• Sub + will + have + been + Main verb (ing)                                                            

                          Next year, we will have been working together for 15 years.

In all perfect progressive tenses an event or action continues for a time, then stops at a later time, or relates to a later time.