Present Perfect Continuous Tense

5. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE (waktu selesai sedang)

            Digunakan untuk menyatakan suatu perbuatan yang telah dilakukan di waktu lampau dan perbuatan tersebut masih terus berlangsung sampai sekarang dan kemungkinan akan terus berlangsung sampai masa akan datang. Pada umumnya tense ini menggunakan hampir sama dengan Present Perfect Tense.

Structure:

Subject + have/has been + verb-ING form

e.g.      I have been living here for seven years.

            She has been waiting for John since early in the morning.

            Mary has been studying French for two years.

HOW LONG ....? = Berapa lama.

How long digunakan dalam Present Perfect & Present Perfect Continuous untuk menanyakan sudah berapa lama suatu kejadian berlangsung.

e.g.      - How long have you been staying in Jakarta?

            I have been staying in Jakarta for seven months.

-          How long has he studied music?

            He has studied music since 1981 up to now.

-          How long has your father been sailing?

            My father has been sailing for more than ten years.

-          How long have you been sick?

            I have been sick for two weeks.

-          How long have they been discussing the matter?

            They have been discussing the matter all day long.

How long juga digunakan dalam Simple Past Tense untuk menanyakan lamanya suatu peristiwa berlangsung di masa lampau tanpa ada hubungannya dengan masa sekarang. Perhatikan contoh percakapan berikut ini:

            X : Last year I visited Bali.

            Y : How long did you stay there?

            X : I stayed there for two weeks.