Present Perfect Continuous – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are at the doctor’s clinic. The doctor is looking at your recent test results and is very concerned. The doctor uses the test results as evidence to warn you about unhealthy lifestyle habits that you have been repeating recently. Choose the best option (a, b, or c) to complete the sentences.
1 Your blood pressure is unusually high. I suspect you ______ too much salty food lately.
(a) are eating
(b) have been eating
(c) have eat
2 Your lungs don’t sound clear at all. ______ recently, even though I told you to stop?
(a) Have you smoking
(b) Do you smoke
(c) Have you been smoking
3 The tests show your liver is under a lot of stress. ______ alcohol every night this month?
(a) Have you been drinking
(b) Are you drinking
(c) Have you drink
4 You look completely exhausted today. ______ enough sleep over the past few weeks?
(a) Don’t you get
(b) Haven’t you get
(c) Haven’t you been getting
5 Your eyes are extremely dry and red. ______ at your computer screen late at night again?
(a) Have you been staring
(b) Have you stare
(c) Are you staring
6 I see a significant weight gain since your last visit. ______ fast food instead of cooking?
(a) Have you buy
(b) Are you buying
(c) Have you been buying
7 Your blood sugar levels are spiking. I have to ask: ______ a lot of sweets lately?
(a) have you consuming
(b) have you been consuming
(c) are you consuming
8 Your posture has gotten much worse. ______ slouched in that office chair all day?
(a) Have you been sitting
(b) Do you sit
(c) Have you sit
9 You are breathing very heavily just from walking in here. ______ your daily exercises?
(a) Haven’t you do
(b) Haven’t you been doing
(c) Aren’t you doing
10 Your heart rate is far too fast. ______ too many energy drinks this morning?
(a) Have you been having
(b) Have you having
(c) Do you have
11 The inflammation in your knee joints is severe. ______ heavy objects at work recently?
(a) Are you lifting
(b) Have you lift
(c) Have you been lifting
12 Your skin is severely dehydrated. I can tell that you ______ enough water lately.
(a) haven’t been drinking
(b) aren’t drinking
(c) haven’t drink
13 You keep complaining about stomach pains. ______ your breakfast again to save time?
(a) Are you skipping
(b) Have you been skipping
(c) Have you skip
14 Your stress hormones are dangerously high. ______ without taking any days off?
(a) Do you work
(b) Have you working
(c) Have you been working
15 The back of your throat is completely inflamed. ______ loudly at those football matches?
(a) Have you been shouting
(b) Have you shout
(c) Are you shouting
16 You have carpal tunnel syndrome in your wrists. ______ without taking proper typing breaks?
(a) Are you working
(b) Have you work
(c) Have you been working
17 Your bad cholesterol went up again. You ______ those deep-fried foods, haven’t you?
(a) have eat
(b) are eating
(c) have been eating
18 Your Vitamin D levels are at an all-time low. ______ indoors too much this past month?
(a) Have you been staying
(b) Do you stay
(c) Have you stay
19 I notice your hands are trembling slightly. ______ your anxiety medication like I prescribed?
(a) Aren’t you taking
(b) Haven’t you take
(c) Haven’t you been taking
20 Your vocal cords are visibly damaged. ______ your voice when you sing with your band?
(a) Have you been straining
(b) Are you straining
(c) Have you strain
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): “Have been eating” emphasizes a recently developed, ongoing bad habit that resulted in high blood pressure.
- Incorrect (a): Common mistake. Present Continuous (“are eating”) is often mistakenly used for recent habits, but it lacks the past-to-present connection indicated by “lately”.
- Incorrect (c): Basic grammar error. Missing “been” and requires the “-ing” form.
2 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): Asks about a repeated negative action leading up to the current medical checkup.
- Incorrect (b): Common mistake. “Do you smoke” asks about a general lifelong habit, missing the specific recent timeline the doctor is investigating.
- Incorrect (a): Basic grammar error. Missing the auxiliary “been”.
3 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): Emphasizes the continuous, harmful repetition of drinking “every night this month.”
- Incorrect (b): Common mistake. “Are you drinking” focuses only on the present moment (e.g., right now in the clinic).
- Incorrect (c): Basic grammar error. Requires “been drinking”.
4 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): The negative question focuses on an ongoing lack of sleep causing current exhaustion.
- Incorrect (a): Common mistake. Present Simple (“Don’t you get”) doesn’t fit the “over the past few weeks” time marker.
- Incorrect (b): Basic grammar error. Incorrect verb form after “have”.
5 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): The physical evidence (dry, red eyes) is the direct result of a recent, repeated bad habit.
- Incorrect (c): Common mistake. Present Continuous loses the accumulation of time.
- Incorrect (b): Basic grammar error. Missing “been” and “-ing”.
6 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): Buying fast food is a repeated process over a recent period (“since your last visit”).
- Incorrect (b): Common mistake. Does not account for the duration since the last visit.
- Incorrect (a): Basic grammar error. Requires “been buying”.
7 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): “Lately” triggers the Present Perfect Continuous to describe a new, harmful eating pattern.
- Incorrect (c): Common mistake. Present Continuous doesn’t span a period of time like “lately”.
- Incorrect (a): Basic grammar error. Missing “been”.
8 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): Highlights an unhealthy physical posture maintained for a continuous duration (“all day”).
- Incorrect (b): Common mistake. “Do you sit” implies a permanent, general fact.
- Incorrect (c): Basic grammar error. Missing “been” and “-ing”.
9 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): The doctor is questioning the patient’s recent lack of adherence to their exercise routine, which explains their heavy breathing now.
- Incorrect (c): Common mistake. “Aren’t you doing” asks if they are exercising exactly at this moment.
- Incorrect (a): Basic grammar error. Invalid grammatical structure.
10 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): Having energy drinks repeatedly over “this morning” caused the fast heart rate.
- Incorrect (c): Common mistake. “Do you have” asks about a general, permanent routine.
- Incorrect (b): Basic grammar error. Missing the word “been”.
11 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): Investigates a recent, repetitive physical strain causing joint inflammation.
- Incorrect (a): Common mistake. Ignores the “recently” timeframe.
- Incorrect (b): Basic grammar error. Missing “been” and requires the “-ing” verb.
12 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): The ongoing failure to drink water is the direct cause of the current dehydrated skin.
- Incorrect (b): Common mistake. Focuses too much on the exact present moment.
- Incorrect (c): Basic grammar error. “Drink” must be “been drinking”.
13 (b)
Explanation:
- Correct (b): Skipping meals is a repeated negative action that explains the stomach pains.
- Incorrect (a): Common mistake. Present Continuous does not convey a repeated habit over a past-to-present timeline.
- Incorrect (c): Basic grammar error. Missing “been” and “-ing”.
14 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): Working continuously without breaks explains the dangerously high stress hormones.
- Incorrect (a): Common mistake. “Do you work” is just asking if the person is employed.
- Incorrect (b): Basic grammar error. Missing “been”.
15 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): The physical damage (inflamed throat) is the evidence of a recent repetitive action (shouting).
- Incorrect (c): Common mistake. “Are you shouting” implies they are shouting right now at the doctor.
- Incorrect (b): Basic grammar error. Incorrect verb form.
16 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): Working without breaks is a continuous process that causes carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Incorrect (a): Common mistake. Does not express the duration of the bad habit.
- Incorrect (b): Basic grammar error. Missing “been” and “-ing”.
17 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): The bad cholesterol test result is the proof that the patient has recently resumed a bad diet.
- Incorrect (b): Common mistake. Present Continuous implies they are eating it at this exact moment.
- Incorrect (a): Basic grammar error. Grammar is invalid.
18 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): Staying indoors continuously for a month perfectly explains the low vitamin D test.
- Incorrect (b): Common mistake. Present Simple states a permanent fact, missing the “past month” emphasis.
- Incorrect (c): Basic grammar error. Missing “been” and “-ing”.
19 (c)
Explanation:
- Correct (c): The trembling hands lead the doctor to suspect an ongoing failure to take medication.
- Incorrect (a): Common mistake. Asks if they are taking it right this second.
- Incorrect (b): Basic grammar error. Requires “been taking”.
20 (a)
Explanation:
- Correct (a): Straining the voice is a continuous, repeated bad habit leading to visible physical damage.
- Incorrect (b): Common mistake. Present Continuous loses the past-to-present timeframe of “lately”.
- Incorrect (c): Basic grammar error. Missing “been” and the “-ing” ending.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
Present Perfect Continuous (have/has been + V-ing) in Medical Contexts
- Discussing Recent Unhealthy Habits: We use this tense to talk about actions that started recently, have been repeating, and are causing a problem now. It is the perfect grammar structure to warn someone about a bad lifestyle choice.
- Example: You have been eating too much sugar lately. (A recently developed bad habit).
- Connecting Evidence to Actions:
Doctors frequently use this tense because a symptom or a test result is the present evidence of a recent continuous action. - Example: Your eyes are red. Have you been looking at your phone all night?
- Key Time Markers for Bad Habits:
When discussing these habits, you will almost always see these words to emphasize the duration of the negative behavior: - lately / recently
- these days
- over the past few weeks
- all morning / all day
- Why NOT Present Continuous? (The Common Mistake)
Many learners say “Are you eating too much salt lately?”. This is incorrect in English. Present Continuous (“are eating”) is for things happening right exactly now. When you add “lately”, you stretch the timeline into the past, so you MUST switch to Present Perfect Continuous (“have been eating”).