The present continuous tense is used to describe repeated, habitual actions that begin before a specific point in time (not necessarily the time of speaking) and finish after it. This point can be expressed with a time expression or a clause with a verb in the present simple tense:
The present continuous is used to express repeated or habitual actions in the present that are temporary and may or may not actually be happening at the time of speaking:
Lucy is taking piano lessons these days. Are you still seeing that guy from the hiking club?
The present perfect continuous tense is used to refer to continuous events that started in the past and have just finished but have a result in or an effect on the present moment. A time expression is not necessary:
The present perfect continuous is used to express repeated or habitual actions happening in an incomplete period of time. A time expression is usually necessary:
She has been getting up at 6 for the last two weeks.
I've been coughing all day.
The question words how long? and since when?, and the prepositions for and since are used with the present perfect continuous tense to express events that started in the past and are still in progress in the present.
State verbs express states or conditions which are relatively static. They include verbs of perception, cognition, the senses, emotion and state of being:
In contrast with the past perfect simple tense, which emphasises the result of a completed action, the past perfect continuous focuses on the duration or the activity itself:
