Actions in progress throughout a period

We use the present perfect progressive when we wish to emphasize

that an activity has been in progress throughout a period, often with

consequences now. Depending on context, this activity may or may

not still be in progress at the present time. This use often occurs with

all + time references: e.g. all day [compare > 9.20.1]:

She is very tired She's been typing letters all day (Depending on

context, she is still typing or has recently stopped.)

The past perfect progressive, in the same way, is used for activities in

progress during an earlier past, often with consequences then:

She was very tired She had been typing letters all day (Depending

on context, she was still typing or had recently stopped.)

Some verbs like learn, lie, live, rain, sit, sleep stand, study wait, work naturally suggest continuity and often occur with perfect progressives with since or for [> 7.31-32, 9.25.2] and also in questions beginning with How long?[> 10.13.5]:

I've been working for Exxon for 15 years (Depending on context, I am still now, or I may have recently changed jobs or retired.) When I first met Ann, she had been working for Exxon for 15 years (Depending on context, Ann was still working for Exxon then or she had recently changed jobs or retired.)

With 'continuity verbs', simple and progressive forms are often interchangeable, so in the above examples 'I've worked' and 'she had worked' could be used. The only difference is that the progressive puts more emphasis on continuity.

The present/past perfect progressive for repeated actions

The perfect progressive forms are often used to show that an action

is (or was) frequently repeated:

Jim has been phoning Jenny every night for the past week Jenny was annoyed Jim had been phoning her every night for a whole week

The present/past perfect progressive for drawing conclusions

We use the progressive (seldom the simple) forms to show that we

have come to a conclusion based on direct or indirect evidence:

Your eyes are red You've been crying

Her eyes were red It was obvious she had been crying

The present perfect progressive often occurs in complaints:

This room stinks Someone's been smoking in here

The present/past perfect simple and progressive compared

The difference between an activity still in progress and one that has definitely been completed is marked by context and by the verbs we use. The simple and progressive forms are not interchangeable here:

a I've been painting this room I've painted this room

In the first example, the activity is uncompleted. In the second example, the job is definitely finished.