has been breaking

USAGE SUMMARY

"has been breaking" is a correct and usable construction in written English.
It is the present perfect progressive tense, which expresses an action that started in the past and is still continuing in the present. Example: The old car has been breaking down frequently, causing me a lot of stress and inconvenience.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Breaking down barriers Niger's Government has been breaking down barriers to health care.

Unicef

But that has been breaking down.

The New York Times

Bibhuti has been breaking records since 1998.

The Guardian

But online citizen journalism has been breaking the silence.

Columbia University

More recently Bloomberg has been breaking into the equity markets.

The New York Times

But this year, the system has been breaking down.

The New York Times

And AT&T has been breaking itself into four companies.

The New York Times

The political control of the state has been breaking down.

The Guardian - Opinion

Lately, however, the simple, concrete system has been breaking down.

The New York Times - Magazine

The Arctic has been breaking records all year.

The Guardian

"The broad public commitment to telling the truth under oath has been breaking down".

The New Yorker

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "has been breaking" to describe actions that started in the past and are still in progress, especially when emphasizing the duration or continuity of the action.

Common error

Avoid using "has been breaking" when you want to describe a completed action in the past. Use "has broken" instead.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "has been breaking" functions as the present perfect progressive tense, indicating an action that began in the past and continues into the present. Ludwig examples demonstrate its usage in diverse contexts, from describing record-breaking events to the breakdown of systems.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

72%

Formal & Business

15%

Academia

13%

Less common in

Science

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "has been breaking" is a grammatically sound and frequently used construction in English, as confirmed by Ludwig AI. It serves as the present perfect progressive tense, denoting an action that commenced in the past and persists into the present. Predominantly found in News & Media contexts, but also present in Formal & Business and Academic settings, this phrase is versatile and suitable for various writing styles. To ensure accurate usage, it's important to differentiate it from "has broken", which indicates a completed action. The best practice is to utilize "has been breaking" to emphasize duration or continuity, while avoiding it for describing finished actions.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

has broken

Similar meaning, but without emphasizing the continuous aspect of the action.

is breaking

Presents the action as happening now, without reference to a past starting point.

has started to break

Focuses on the beginning of the action rather than its continuous nature.

is in the process of breaking

Emphasizes that the action is currently underway.

continues to break

Highlights the continuation of the action over time.

has consistently broken

Implies a repeated or habitual action.

has a history of breaking

Focuses on past instances of breaking, rather than a continuous action.

demonstrates a pattern of breaking

Highlights a recurring pattern of breaking something.

exhibits ongoing breakage

Uses a more formal tone to describe the continual act of breaking.

the process of breaking has been ongoing

Rephrases the sentence to put emphasis on 'the process'.

FAQs

How can I use "has been breaking" in a sentence?

Use "has been breaking" to describe an action that started in the past and is still continuing, such as "The weather "has been breaking" records all summer."

What's the difference between "has been breaking" and "has broken"?

"Has been breaking" indicates a continuous action that started in the past and is still ongoing. "Has broken" indicates a completed action with a result in the present.

What are some alternatives to using "has been breaking"?

Depending on the context, you could use alternatives like "is breaking" if the action is currently happening, or "has broken" if the action is completed.

Is "has been breaking" formal or informal?

"Has been breaking" is suitable for both formal and informal contexts, depending on the overall tone and subject matter.