ref – https://www.natterandramble.co.uk/present-perfect-continuous-timeline-form-uses/

Present perfect continuous
[have/has] + [been] + (present participle)

The present perfect continuous shows an ongoing action in the present that was started in the past. It is often used to emphasize the length of time.

We have [been] (waiting for over an hour)!

The team has [been] (practicing nonstop for the tournament).

ref –

• https://www.grammarly.com/blog/present-continuous/
• https://byjus.com/english/continuous-tense-examples/
• https://www.natterandramble.co.uk/present-continuous-timeline-form-uses/

The present continuous verb tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently, and may continue into the future.

Use the present continuous to show an action happening right now or in the near future.

The Present Continuous Formula:

to be [am, is, are] + action verb [present participle]

Aunt Christine is warming up the car while Scott is looking for his new leather coat.

They are eating at Scott’s favorite restaurant today, Polly’s Pancake Diner.

I am reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for the fifth time!

We are eating pizza tonight.

She is going out tonight.

It shows the event unfolded…showing the action as it is happening:

They are sitting at Scott’s favorite booth, the one with the sparkling red plastic seats. (For how long? We don’t know, but we do know they are sitting there now.)

The waiter is standing behind the counter right now with a notepad in his hand and pencil behind his ear. (Will he ever make it over to the booth? Probably, but not now.)

“Are you waiting to open your presents after you eat your pancakes?” said Aunt Christine, taking a sip from her root beer. (Here the present continuous is being used in question form.)

Writers use this tense to add suspense or humor in fictional pieces. What kind of pancakes will Scott and his aunt order? The suspense is killing me!

Do not use the present continuous tense with stative verbs

ref – https://chineseruleof8.com/2023/05/26/stative-verbs/

Stative verbs show a state of being, not qualities of change. These verbs can stay in the simple present. For example, let’s take a look at the stative word prefer. We try to use it in continuous form using preferring.

Aunt Christine is prefering the maple walnut pancakes over the banana peanut butter ones that Scott loves.
WRONG!

We can only use it at a stative verb in a simple present form:

Aunt Christine prefers the maple walnut pancakes over the banana peanut butter ones that Scott loves.

Thus, the stative verb to prefer shows opinion, and therefore SHOULD NOT be conjugated with the present continuous.

ref –

• https://www.grammarly.com/blog/simple-present/
• https://www.natterandramble.co.uk/present-simple-timeline-form-uses/

The simple present is the most basic of the English tenses. It’s used for individual actions or habitual actions in the present.

Often the simple present is just the root verb with no changes or additions. The main exception to this is when the subject is third person and singular. In this case you add the suffix –s. If the verb ends in o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z, you add –es. If the verb ends in a consonant and y (and the subject is third-person singular), drop the y and add –ies.

Today I feel like a million bucks!

My brother carries the groceries while my sister stays on the couch.

When to use the present simple

The present simple is the most commonly used tense in academic writing, so if in doubt, this should be your default choice of tense. There are two main situations where you always need to use the present tense.

Describing facts, generalizations, and explanations

Facts that are always true do not need to be located in a specific time, so they are stated in the present simple. You might state these types of facts when giving background information in your introduction.

• The Eiffel tower is in Paris.
• Light travels faster than sound.

Similarly, theories and generalizations based on facts are expressed in the present simple.

• Average income differs by race and gender.
• Older people express less concern about the environment than younger people.
• Explanations of terms, theories, and ideas should also be written in the present simple.
• Photosynthesis refers to the process by which plants convert sunlight into chemical energy.
• According to Piketty (2013), inequality grows over time in capitalist economies.

Describing the content of a text

Things that happen within the space of a text should be treated similarly to facts and generalizations.

This applies to fictional narratives in books, films, plays, etc. Use the present simple to describe the events or actions that are your main focus; other tenses can be used to mark different times within the text itself.

In the first novel, Harry learns he is a wizard and travels to Hogwarts for the first time, finally escaping the constraints of the family that raised him.

The events in the first part of the sentence are the writer’s main focus, so they are described in the present tense. The second part uses the past tense to add extra information about something that happened prior to those events within the book.

When discussing and analyzing nonfiction, similarly, use the present simple to describe what the author does within the pages of the text (argues, explains, demonstrates, etc).

In The History of Sexuality, Foucault asserts that sexual identity is a modern invention.
Paglia (1993) critiques Foucault’s theory.
This rule also applies when you are describing what you do in your own text. When summarizing the research in your abstract, describing your objectives, or giving an overview of the dissertation structure in your introduction, the present simple is the best choice of tense.

Use present simple to describe habits

I smoke.
I bike.
I play badminton.
I mountain hike.

He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
They watch television regularly.

Use present simple to describe unchanging situations (repeated actions)

I work in the Bay.
I work in London.
I ride the bus to work.
I ride my bike to school.

We catch the bus every morning.
It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
They drive to Monaco every summer.

He goes to office every day.
We paint the walls every year.
He goes for a walk every morning.
She writes a letter every day.

Use present simple to describe general truths

Shenzhen is a green city.
Shanghai is an international city.
Beijing is the capitol of China.
The Earth is round.

Water freezes at zero degrees.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Her mother is Peruvian.

Use present simple to describe For instructions or directions

Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
You walk down Arvada, and make a left on Entradero. Keep going until the end.

In the third person singular the verb always ends in -s:

– he wants
– she needs
– he gives
– she thinks

I enjoy going to the gym.
She enjoys playing the piano.
He understands English.

ref –

• https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present-perfect.php
• https://www.espressoenglish.net/difference-between-present-perfect-and-past-perfect-in-english/
• https://www.natterandramble.co.uk/present-perfect-tense-timeline-form-uses/

Perfect in latin means ‘action that has been completed’.

Present Perfect is an action that started in the past and continues to the present:

I have lived in this city for six months.

An action that happened before now (unspecified time) and is complete:
I have been to Japan twice.

With Present Perfect, one thing happened before the other, but one thing happened in the past, the other happened in the present.

Whereas in Past Perfect, one thing happened before the other, and they BOTH happened in the past.

Subject + [have/has] + past participle

Present Perfect tense

There is always a connection with the past and with the present.

The present perfect tense is used to show an action that happened in the past that is directly related to the present, such as actions that are still continuing or that indicate a change over time.

Six situations to use Present (Perfect)

1 – Habit: An ongoing action that started in the past, and is repeated up to the present

examples

• The professor has [taught] here for two decades.
• I (First person singular) have [been] here for twenty minutes.
• She (third person singular) has [worked] in the bank for five years.
• We (First person plural) have [had] the same car for ten years.
• He (third person singular) has [worked] in New York for a long time.
• They have [played] piano for three years.
• I have [worked] here for two
• He has lived here for ten years.

If you want to use ‘since’, the common trait is that the time between the past and now tends to be months or years. But sometimes, we can use hours too:

• I (First person singular) have [been] here since 9 o’clock.
• Have you (Second person singular) [played] the piano since you were a child?
• You have worked here since you left school.
• He (third person singular) has [worked] in New York since he left school.
• John (third person singular) hasn’t (has not) [called] since February.
• I haven’t ridden a horse since I was nine.
• I haven’t been on holiday since last year.
• They have been at the hotel since for weeks.

2 – Experiences

The present perfect tense emphasizes the effects or consequences of the action.

He has [climbed] many mountains in the world.

I have [seen] an alien.

He has [lived] in Bangkok.

Have you [been] there?

We have never [eaten] caviar.

The scientists have [discovered] plant life on the moon.

3 – An action that was completed very recently, so recent that it’s directly connected to the present

If an action was only completed very recently, you can describe it with the present perfect tense.

Even though the action happened in the past, it was so recent that it’s directly connected to the present. These cases usually use adverbs like just or now to show that the action “just now”.

I should not eat anymore because I have just brushed my teeth.

We have finished practice now, so let’s go home.

I have just finished my soccer practice.
I’ve just finished soccer practice.

We have now finished eating and are looking at the dessert menu.

4 – A change over time

The present perfect tense is often used to emphasize a change that happened over an extended period of time.

My cousin has [grown so much] since I saw her two years ago.

Thanks to the many months of playing, I have [become an expert] at Wordle.

I have [bought a car].

John has [broken his leg].

Has [the price gone up]

The police have [arrested the killer]

5 – An uncompleted action that is expected to be finished (in the negative)

If an action started in the past but was not completed, you can describe it with the present perfect tense if it’s likely to be completed in the future. This situation uses the negative form to show that the action is still unfinished and often uses the adverb yet.

The jury has [not reached a verdict (yet)].

I have [not finished my paper], but it’s due in an hour!

6 – To add significance to a completed action

You can use the present perfect tense to make any past action sound more important. The present perfect tense is often used with great achievements or accomplishments, as well as dramatic or rare events. This makes it appropriate for newsworthy events or major life experiences.

Macbeth has [killed the king]. (king now dead)

I have [met the love of my life]! (still with that person)

Additional Notes

have – First, second, and third plural
has – third person singular
resent (and will probably continue into the future). This is a situation (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure.

First, Second, third person plural have.
Third person use has.

Note on usage of have/has vs had:
As a main verb, use have/has for the present tense and had for the past tense.

Is the subject still doing it?

If we make clear how long or when the subject has been doing it, then its up to the current present. For example:

John has lived here for ten/few years.

In this situation John still lives there.