How long have you (been) … ?

How long have you (been) … ? How long + Present Perfect.

Present Perfect : uses:

We use the present perfect to tell something that has started in the past, and still continues NOW.
Example: How long have you lived here? => I‘ve lived here for five years.

Present Perfect : Timescale:

Past -> Action start > Action -> Now > ——->Future
———I’ve been—>———–>I am————–>
—– You’ve known–>——>You know———>
-He has been waiting->—->He is waiting——>

Imagine a meeting at 14:00.
it’s 14.00: present: I’m just arriving, I’m waiting for you! (action is NOW). 
it’s 14.30: present perfect: I’ve been waiting since 2pm (action started at 14:00). 

With « How long », usually, we use the continuous form.

How long have you been married?
How long have I been teaching? Since I’m 23.
How long have you been working in this company? I’ve been working since 2003.
How long has he been studying english? He’s been studying english for 6 months.
How long have they been doing the strike? They’ve been doing the strike for 10 days.

With LIFE and WORK EXPERIENCE, both forms are correct :

How long have you been: 
I’ve lived in NYC for a long time. / I’ve been living in NYC for a long time.
I’ve worked a lot these last days. / I’ve been working a lot theses last days.

With non continuous form verbs, it’s the simple form: (with know, like, believe …)

How long have you known your girlfriend? -> I’ve known her for 6 months.
With always: simple Form: I‘ve always done sports when I was young.
With since/for: simple Form: (here, since/for + something in the past).
I haven’t seen Peter since the last summer.
I haven’t studied english since the University.
He hasn’t done any sport since his accident.
We haven’t seen them for many years.
You haven’t been on holidays for last 5 years?
They haven’t paid their taxes for last 3 years.

 

REMEMBER:

How much, how many, how many times + simple form:

How many letters have you written this morning?

How long + continuous form: (it’s still happening).

How long have you been watching TV?
How long have you been playing video games?

ENGLISH TIME EXPRESSIONS :