Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead, they have been painting pictures of Christmas trees onto large sheets of paper, to be hung around the house.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2022
Students returning to classes at Santa Barbara City College over the past few weeks have been painting a mural on campus celebrating diversity.
From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2022
Since February, the members of the Crosswalk Collective have been painting crosswalks at intersections in residential neighborhoods around Los Angeles.
From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2022
“This is the most recent in a long series of discoveries made by Cassini that have been painting Enceladus as a potentially habitable water-world,” ESA said.
From Reuters ● Jun. 27, 2018
My spare room is all in disorder just now, dearie, we have been painting its floor.
From Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1905 to 1906 by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery
