Remember that:

♦ in the same way that there is a ‘simple’ and a ‘continuous’ form of the present and the past, there are also two forms of the present perfect (simple and continuous).

♦ the most important difference between the two forms is that with How long…? and for / since we normally use the continuous form with action verbs (e.g. learn, go, play, do, wait, etc) and the simple form is used with non-action verbs (e.g. be, know, have).

♦Two common verbs which can be used in either tense are live and work.

♦ Some typical mistakes:

– getting the form wrong, e.g. forgetting to include been:

e.g.  How long have you learning English?

– using the present tense instead of the present perfect continuous:

e.g. I am learning English for a long time.

– using the continuous form of the present perfect with non-action verbs:

e.g. I’ve been knowing my best friend for fifteen years.