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Working from anywhere: the present perfect continuous for activities up to now

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches the present perfect continuous through remote work and Tulsa Remote, a program that helps remote workers move to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Grammar
Have or has + been + -ing for an activity that is still going on (I've been working from home since March.) or just stopped with a result (I've been painting.).
Topic
Tulsa, the old “Oil Capital of the World,” and its program for remote workers, with words such as coworking space, newcomer, employer and deadline.
Activities
Episode notes to read, a video call with a remote worker and a listener's message to hear, five self-checking drills, a chat between friends and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: Work from anywhere?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: working from anywhereVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Episode notes: Tulsa wants you

    • Look at the photo: Tulsa by the riverPictureUnlock
    • Read the episode notes: Tulsa wants youArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Listen: Is that a cat on your keyboard?

    • Listen to Riley and IvanListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Listener's Take: TeresaListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: I've been working from the couch!

    • Study the scheme: have / has been + -ingGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with have / has been + -ingFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: positive, negative, questionFill in the tableUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: where have you been working?

    • Choose the right replies: where have you been working?ChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: how long have you been…?Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Match the words and the sentencesMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with have / has been + -ing: how long?Fill in the gapsUnlock
    • Sort the time words: for or since?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Ivan answers your questionsChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the hosts answer TeresaDrag and dropUnlock

32 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • coworking space
  • home office
  • newcomer
  • grant
  • employer
  • potluck
  • deadline
  • Art Deco
  • okra

Grammar: present perfect continuous

The present perfect continuous, have or has + been + -ing, looks at an activity from its start up to now: I've been working from home since March. It also explains a result that you can see: I've been painting, so my hands are blue. With remote work in Tulsa, learners build the form for every person, ask How long…? and keep state verbs out of it.

I've been working from home since March

have / has been + verb-ing: it started in the past and is still going on, or it just stopped and you can see the result.

Have / has + been + -ing

The form has three parts after the subject: have or has, then been, then the verb + -ing. He, she and it take has: Ivan has been living in Tulsa since last spring. The negative adds not: I haven't been working.

have / has + been + verb-ing

subjecthave / hasbeenverb + -ing

I've been working from home since March.

Ivan has been living in Tulsa since last spring.

Have you been waiting long?

Every person

WhoPositive ✅Short formNegative ❌
II have been workingI've been workingI haven't been working
youYou have been workingYou've been workingYou haven't been working
heHe has been workingHe's been workingHe hasn't been working
sheShe has been workingShe's been workingShe hasn't been working
itIt has been rainingIt's been rainingIt hasn't been raining
weWe have been workingWe've been workingWe haven't been working
theyThey have been workingThey've been workingThey haven't been working

Still going on, or a result you can see

First, an activity that is still going on: Ivan has been working for his company for four years. Second, an activity that just stopped and left a result: The street is wet. It's been raining. You're out of breath! Have you been running?

Still going on now (since, for, How long…?)

  • I've been working remotely since 2023.
  • Ivan has been working for his company for four years.
  • How long have you been living in Tulsa?

It just stopped: you can see the result

  • I've been painting: that's why my hands are blue.
  • The street is wet. It's been raining.
  • You're out of breath! Have you been running?

How long…? with for and since

How long comes first, then have or has, the subject, been and the -ing form: How long have you been living in Tulsa? Answer with since or for: Since last spring. For a year. Short answers: Yes, he has. No, I haven't.

Questions and short answers

QuestionShort answer
Have I / you / we / they been working?Yes, … have. / No, … haven't.
Has he / she / it been working?Yes, … has. / No, … hasn't.
Have you been waiting long?No, I haven't. Just a minute.
Has Ivan been cooking?Yes, he has. Fried okra!
How long have you been living in Tulsa?Since last spring.
How long has she been working from home?For a year.

since, for and How long…?

Use since + the start: since 2023, since March, since last spring, since nine o'clock. Use for + a length of time: for an hour, for four years, for a long time. Ask with How long have / has … been + -ing? How long have you been working here? – Since May. / For two years.

Spelling the -ing form

Most verbs just add -ing: working, going. A silent e drops before -ing: move → moving, settle in → settling in. Some short verbs double the last letter: get → getting, sit → sitting.

Spelling: verb + -ing

Most verbs just add -ing: work → working, go → going. A silent e goes: move → moving, live → living, settle in → settling in. Some short verbs double the last letter: get → getting, run → running, sit → sitting.

Not with state verbs

Verbs for states, not activities, such as know, like, want and have (= own), don't usually take been + -ing. Use the present perfect simple with them: I've known her since 2020, not I've been knowing her. Lesson 7 compares the two forms.

Not with every verb

Some verbs are about states, not activities: know, have (= own), like, love, want. They don't usually take been + -ing. Say: I've known her since 2020. I've had this laptop for years. Not: I've been knowing her.

Common mistakes

  • I'm working here since 2023.

    I've been working here since 2023.

    with since, for and How long: have / has been + -ing

  • How long are you living here?

    How long have you been living here?

    How long + have / has + been + -ing

  • He have been working all day.

    He has been working all day.

    he, she, it: has been

  • I've being work here for a year.

    I've been working here for a year.

    been (not being), then verb + -ing

More lessons on this grammar: Present perfect continuous lessons and exercises

Try the present perfect continuous exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 6 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • talk about an activity that started in the past and is still going on: Ivan has been living in Tulsa since last spring.
  • ask and answer How long have you been…? with for and since: How long has Teresa been working from home? – For a year.
  • explain a result you can see now: My hands are blue because I've been painting. The street is wet. It's been raining.
  • make negatives and questions for every person: Jade hasn't been sleeping well. Has Footnote been sleeping on your laptop? – Yes, she has.
  • avoid I'm working here since 2023 and I've being working: it's I've been working here since 2023

Lesson 6 is the second lesson of Dream jobs, new jobs, unit 2 of English B1.1 · Stories That Travel. It builds on lessons 1 and 2, where the present perfect and for and since covered time up to now, and adds been + -ing for activities. Lesson 7 sets the simple and continuous forms side by side. A move to a new city for remote work is full of things in progress, so How long have you been…? comes up again and again.

Students spin a wheel of questions about work and home, then learn twelve words, from move and settle in to potluck and okra, with pictures and audio. They read the show's episode notes on Tulsa and its program for remote workers, with true-or-false statements and a quiz, then hear Riley's video call with Ivan, who moved from Dallas, and a voice message from Teresa, who works from home; both are AI-voiced. Five self-checking drills follow the scheme, among them a table of positives, negatives and questions. Students then compare where they've been working in a chat with a friend and open boxes of How long have you been…? questions.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a word gap-fill and a memory game, then a choice of forms, How long…? questions to build, a for or since sort, sentences to put in order, Ivan's answers to listeners' questions and the hosts' answer to Teresa.

Grammar:
present perfect continuous · How long have you been…? · for and since · short answers
Topic:
remote work · Tulsa · Oklahoma · Tulsa Remote · coworking spaces · time zones · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Act out a result and let the class guess: come in out of breath, or with paint on your hands, and ask What have I been doing? Students answer You've been running! or You've been painting!
  • Before the notes, ask why a city wants newcomers. Students guess, then read to find out what Tulsa Remote gives and what it doesn't: a grant and help settling in, but no job.
  • Draw two clocks for the video call, one for Tulsa and one for Los Angeles, and ask why Ivan's mornings are free. Then play the call again for every been + -ing sentence.
  • Run a How long…? survey after the chat: each student asks three classmates How long have you been learning English? or How long have you been living here? and reports one answer to the class.

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The whole course: English B1.1 · Stories That Travel

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, each built around a true story. Riley, Jade and Darius make a podcast in Kansas City about true American stories, and each lesson tells one, from a seaplane airport in Alaska to the Marfa Lights of West Texas. Learners compare the present perfect with the past simple, use future forms, modals and quantifiers, and give their own opinions. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Travel smart

    the present perfect vs the past simple, for and since, indirect questions, be used to and get used to

    1. Lesson 1Would you visit an airport just for fun?Present perfect vs past simple
    2. Lesson 2Would you sleep in a 300-year-old inn?For and since with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 3My suitcase has gone to Honolulu!Indirect questions for polite requests
    4. Lesson 4Can you practice a flight?Be used to and get used to

  2. Unit 2 Dream jobs, new jobs

    will have to and won't be allowed to, the present perfect continuous, simple vs continuous, would vs used to

    1. Lesson 5Would you jump off a moving boat for a job?Will have to, will be able to and will be allowed to
    2. Lesson 6 · you're hereWorking from anywherePresent perfect continuous
    3. Lesson 7Could you be a camp counselor?Present perfect simple vs continuous
    4. Lesson 8Would you live in a lighthouse?Would vs used to for the past

  3. Unit 3 Space and discovery

    it's + adjective + to, What's it like to…?, future forms compared, future time clauses, too and enough + to

    1. Lesson 9What's it like to work in space?It's + adjective + to and What's it like to…?
    2. Lesson 10Who will walk on the Moon next?Future forms compared by meaning
    3. Lesson 11A message for the starsFuture time clauses
    4. Lesson 12A helicopter on Mars?Too and enough + to-infinitive

  4. Unit 4 Life online

    the more…, the more…, be supposed to, ought to and had better, let, make and allow

    1. Lesson 13The internet's first word was “LO”Comparative and comparative; the more…, the more…
    2. Lesson 14Who sent the first spam?Be supposed to for rules, expectations and plans
    3. Lesson 15Is your password really safe?Ought to and had better for advice and warnings
    4. Lesson 16Who writes Wikipedia?Let, make and allow + someone

  5. Unit 5 Screen and page

    -ed and -ing adjectives, gradable and extreme adjectives, present tenses for a plot, articles for things in general

    1. Lesson 17Why do readers still love Nancy Drew?-ed and -ing adjectives for feelings
    2. Lesson 18Movie night in your carGradable and extreme adjectives
    3. Lesson 19Would you review a book on TV?Present tenses to tell a plot
    4. Lesson 20Where are the books about girls like me?Articles for things in general and specific things

  6. Unit 6 Green living

    few and a few, little and a little, all, most, some and none, each and every, fewer and less

    1. Lesson 21A year's trash in one jar?Few, a few, little and a little
    2. Lesson 22No food in the trash!All, most, some and none (of)
    3. Lesson 23A farm in the middle of DetroitEach and every
    4. Lesson 24A trash collector with googly eyesFewer and less

  7. Unit 7 Sporting moments

    could, was able to and managed to, for, during and while, present tenses for live commentary, question tags

    1. Lesson 25From a leg brace to three goldsCould, was able to and managed to
    2. Lesson 26A doctor and an Olympic champion?For, during and while
    3. Lesson 27Who's that runner coming from behind?Present simple and continuous for live commentary
    4. Lesson 28Why do high jumpers go backward?Question tags

  8. Unit 8 Mysteries and lost worlds

    both… and, either… or and neither… nor, uncountable nouns, how sure we are about the future, unless, as long as and in case

    1. Lesson 29A calendar made of posts?Both… and, either… or, neither… nor
    2. Lesson 30What was the Great House for?Uncountable abstract nouns
    3. Lesson 31What does Newspaper Rock say?Certainty about the future
    4. Lesson 32What are the Marfa Lights?Unless, as long as and in case

Questions about this lesson

What is the present perfect continuous?
The present perfect continuous is have or has + been + -ing, used for activities from the past up to now: I've been working from home since March. It can also explain a result you see now: My hands are blue because I've been painting. The B1 lesson Working from anywhere on edio.ai teaches it through remote work in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
How do you form the present perfect continuous?
Start with the subject, then have or has, been and the verb + -ing: They have been moving boxes all day. He has been going to a coworking space. For the negative, add not: She hasn't been working from home. For a question, put have or has first: Have you been waiting long? – No, I haven't. A table in Working from anywhere drills all three.
What's the difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous?
The continuous puts the activity in focus, the simple the result or a state: I've been painting is about the activity, which may not be finished, while I've painted my room says it's done. State verbs such as know and have (= own) stay simple: I've known her since 2020. Working from anywhere on edio.ai keeps to the continuous, and the next lesson in the course compares the two.
Is it "I'm working here since 2023" or "I've been working here since 2023"?
It's I've been working here since 2023: with since, for and How long, an activity up to now needs a present perfect form, not the present continuous. Questions follow the same rule: How long have you been living here?, not How long are you living here? Two form slips are common too: He have been working for He has been working, and I've being working for I've been working.
What are some examples of the present perfect continuous?
These come from Working from anywhere, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Ivan has been living in Tulsa since last spring. Ivan has been going to a coworking space downtown. Teresa has been working from home for a year. Footnote has been sleeping on Riley's laptop since 9 a.m. One more explains a result: The street is wet. It's been raining.
What is Tulsa Remote?
Tulsa Remote is a program for people who already have a remote job and move to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The George Kaiser Family Foundation, a Tulsa charity, opened applications on November 13, 2018. It gives members a grant, help with the housing search, a coworking membership and community events, but no job, and members must live inside the city limits. The foundation planned for 20 newcomers in the first year; about 10,000 applied, Tulsa Remote said later.
Why did Tulsa start Tulsa Remote?
Tulsa, on the Arkansas River, was known for much of the 1900s as the “Oil Capital of the World.” In late 2015, a fall in oil prices hurt its economy, and the city wanted to attract new talent. A remote job can be done from anywhere, so the foundation set out to bring remote workers to Tulsa. News reports say the first group, about 70 people, moved there in 2019.
How do I teach the present perfect continuous to B1 students?
Anchor it in what students are doing these days: a course, a new job, a home they moved to. Ask How long have you been…? and draw each answer as a line from its start to now. Then add results they can see, such as wet hair or paint on a shirt. Working from anywhere on edio.ai moves from a video call about a move to Tulsa to the scheme and five drills.
What's a good game for practicing the present perfect continuous?
A guess-the-activity mime works well: a student acts tired, wet or out of breath, and the class asks Have you been running? or Have you been swimming? until someone gets it. The open boxes in Working from anywhere include the same idea, along with Interview your partner: ask three How long have you been…? questions.
What's good homework for the present perfect continuous?
Good homework pairs the form with the time words: How long…? questions to build from prompts, a sort of for and since phrases, and a short text in which every answer needs been + -ing. In Working from anywhere on edio.ai, all ten homework tasks check themselves, from a word match to Ivan's answers to listeners and the hosts' reply to Teresa.
How do you practice the present perfect continuous one-to-one?
Run a two-way interview about the student's week: work, studies, hobbies and home, each with How long have you been…? Then switch to results: show a photo of a messy kitchen or a muddy dog and ask what has been happening. The chat in Working from anywhere, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, needs no partner: a friend asks where the student has been working, and each reply has one right form.
Are there interactive present perfect continuous exercises?
Yes. This page plays three parts of Working from anywhere, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, without an account: Riley's video call with Ivan in Tulsa, a gap-fill of have / has been + -ing, and a chat with a friend about where you've been working. Every answer is marked straight away. You'll need an account for the rest.
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