• The guests have been arriving since about 6 o’clock.
• Since the operation two months ago, Joe has been learning to walk again. He can already take two or three steps unaided.
• She’s been driving for 3 years now.
• Mark and Helena have arrived - they’re in the sitting room.
• I have learnt a lot about painting from Paul.
• We have driven all the way here without a break.
We use both the present perfect continuous and the present perfect to talk about something that started in the past and which affects the situation that exists now. The difference is that the present perfect continuous focuses on the activity or event which may or may not be finished. The present perfect, however, focuses on the effect of the activity or event, or the fact that something has been achieved. [Usamos tanto o presente perfeito contínuo e presente perfeito para falar de algo que começou no passado e que afeta a situação que existe agora. A diferença é que o presente perfeito contínuo se concentra na atividade ou evento que pode ou não estar concluído. O presente perfeito, no entanto, concentra-se sobre o efeito da atividade ou evento, ou o fato de que alguma coisa tem sido atingido.]
Sometimes the difference between them is simply one of emphasis: [Às vezes, a diferença entre eles é apenas de ênfase:]
• I’ve been following their discussions with great interest, (emphasises the activity; that is, my following their discussions)
• I’ve followed their discussions with great interest, (emphasises the result; I may now react to what was said or decided)
We can use either the present perfect continuous or the present perfect to talk about activities or events that are repeated again and again until now: [Nós podemos usar tanto o presente perfeito contínuos ou o presente perfeito para falarmos sobre atividade ou eventos que são repetidas muitas vezes até agora.]
• Joseph has been kicking a football against the wall all afternoon, (or ...has kicked...)
• The press has been calling for her resignation for several weeks, (or ...has called...)
However, if we mention the number of times the activity or event was repeated, we use the present perfect rather than the present perfect continuous: [No entanto, se mencionarmos o número de vezes que a atividade ou evento se repetiu, nós usamos o presente perfeito no lugar do presente contínuo:]
• I’ve bumped into Susan 3 times this week.
• He has played for the national team in 65 matches so far.
We use the present perfect rather than the present perfect continuous when we talk about longlasting or permanent situations, or when we want to emphasise that we are talking about the whole of a period of time until the present: [Nós usamos o presente perfeito no lugar do presente perfeito contínuo quando nós falamos de situações duradouras ou permanentes, ou quando nós queremos dar ênfase de que estamos falando de um inteiro período de tempo até o presente:]
• I have always admired Chester’s work.
• They are the most delicious oranges I've ever eaten.
When we talk about more temporary situations we can often use either the present perfect continuous or the present perfect: [Quando nós falamos sobre situações mais temporárias, nós podemos usar frequentemente tanto o presente contínuo ou o presente perfeito:]
• “Where’s Dr Owen’s office?” “Sorry, I don’t know. I’ve only worked / I’ve only been working here for a couple of days.”
When we want to emphasise that a situation has changed over a period of time up to now, and may continue to change, we prefer the present perfect continuous to the present perfect: [Quando nós queremos enfatisar que uma situação tem mudado durante um período de tempo até agora, e pode continuar a mudar, nós preferimos o presente perfeito contínuo ao presente perfeito:]
• The pollution problem has been getting worse over the last decade.
• Sales have been increasing for some time.
However, if we talk about a specific change over a period of time which ends now, particularly to focus on the result of this change, we use the present perfect: [No entanto, se nós falamos sobre uma mudança específica sobre um período de tempo que acabou agora, particularmente para focalizar o resultado desse mundança, nós usamos o presente perfeito:]
• Prices have decreased by 7%. (= in a period up to now)
• The population has grown from 35 million in 1950 to 42 million today.