H. Present Perfect Continuous: We are interested in the activity. It does not matter whether something has been finished or not. (e.g. My hangs are very dirty. I've been repairing the car)
a. Present Perfect Simple: We are interested in the result (not activity itself). The important thing is that something has been finished. (e.g. The car is OK again now. I've repaired it)
H1. use the Continuous to say how long (for an activity that is still happening) (e.g. How long have you been reading that book?)
a. use the Simple to say how much, how many or how many times (for completed actions) (e.g. How much of that book have you read?)
H2. not normally used in the continuous: know/ like/ believe (e.g. I've known about it for a long time. (not I've been knowing))
a. can use want and mean in the Present Perfect Continuous, but not in the Present Continuous. (e.g. I've been meaning to phone Jane, but I keep forgetting)
Idiom 365
Cut to the Chase: to get to the point without wasting time
Example: We didn't have enough time to talk so I cut to the chase and asked whether he was still refused.