Sometimes we use the present perfect continuous with expressions that indicate the time period (e.g. with since and for): [Nós usamos o presente perfeito contínuo com expressões que indicam o período de tempo (e.g., com since e for)]
• I’ve been meaning to phone Jack since I heard he was back in the country.
• The competition has been running every year since 1980.
• She’s been living in New Zealand for over a year now.
• People have been saying for ages that the building should be pulled down.
Without such an expression, the present perfect continuous refers to a recent situation or activity and focuses on its present results: [Sem essa expressão, o presente perfeito contínuo se refere à uma situação recente ou atividade e se concentra em seus resultados presentes:]
• Look! It’s been snowing.
• ‘You’re looking well.’ ‘I’ve been playing a lot of squash to lose weight.’
• ‘Haven’t seen anything of Rod for a while.’ ‘No, he’s been working in Germany.’
The situation or activity may still be going on, or it may just have stopped. Compare: [A situação ou atividade pode ainda está ocorrendo, ou já pode ter parado. Compare:]
• We’ve been discussing the proposals for a number of years. (= still going on) and
• Your eyes are red - have you been crying? (= recently stopped)
We often use the present perfect continuous when we ask questions with How long...? and when we say how long something has been in progress: [Nós usamos frequentemente o presente perfeito contínuo quando nós fazemos perguntas com How long...? e quando falamos há quanto tempo algo tem estado em progresso:]
• How long have you been waiting for me?
• How long have they been living next door to you?
• For more than two years I've been trying to get permission to extend my house.
• Unemployment has been rising steadily since the huge increase in oil prices.
We can use the present perfect continuous or a present tense (the present simple or the present continuous) when we talk about a situation or activity that started in the past and is still happening now or has just stopped. However, we use the present perfect continuous when we are talking about how long the action or event has been going on. Compare: [Nós podemos usar o presente perfeito contínuo ou um tempo presente (o presente simples ou o presente contínuo) quando nós falamos sobre uma situação ou atividade que começou no passado e ainda está acontecendo agora ou acabou de parar. No entanto, nós usamos o presente perfeito contínuo quando estamos falando sobre há quanto tempo a ação ou evento tem estado ocorrendo. Compare:]
• I see Tom most weekends, and
• I’ve been seeing a lot of Tom since he moved into the flat upstairs, (not
• It’s raining, and
• It’s been raining heavily all night, (not
When we talk about situations or actions that went on over a past period of time but finished at a particular point in time before now, we don't use the present perfect continuous: [Quando nós falamos de situações ou ações que continuaram por um período de tempo no passado mas terminou em um ponto específico no tempo antes do presente, nós não usamos o presente perfeito contínuo.]
• I was reading until midnight last night, (not
• She had been living in Spain before her family moved to Brazil, (not
• He put off the decision for as long as possible, but eventually he made up his mind and bought the car. (not
We generally avoid the present perfect continuous with verbs that describe states. [Nós geralmente evitamos o presente contínuos com verbos que descrevem estados.]