PRESENT: PERFECT SIMPLE AND PERFECT CONTINUOUS

PRESENT
PERFECT SIMPLE	PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Ÿ completion (how much of an activity is complete) ex. Have you finished your essays?	Ÿ continuation (how long the activity has been in progress) ex. I’ve been cooking all afternoon.      Marcos has been thinking about Nora all day.
Ÿ change or result ex. I’ve phoned my sister and she’s coming to my parents’ house.	Ÿ repetition ex. I’ve been phoning my friends.      Joseph and I have been seeing a lot of each other lately.
Ÿ very long or permanent states (may be accompanied by a time expession) ex. Vanessa has always lived in Japan.	Ÿ temporary (may be accompanied by a time expression) ex. You’ve been putting on diet during Christmas. Congrats!
Ÿ how many times (an action has been repeated) ex. Robert has sent his CV to IDC Company two or three times.	Ÿ process of change over a period of time (these changes are not finished) ex. I’ve been improving my skills since my boss started teaching me how the new programme works.