(a) Rita and John are talking on the phone. They have been talking on the phone for twenty minutes
The Present Perfect Progressive expresses the duration of present activities that are in progress, using action verb as in (a).
Present Perfect
(b) Rita has talked to John on the phone many times (before now)
(c) Incorrect: Rita has been talking to John on the phone many times
(d) Rita has known John for two years
(e) Incorrect: Rita has been knowing John for two years
The present perfect expresses:
1. Repeated activities that occur at unspecified times in the past, as in (b) or
2. The duration of present situation as in (d), using non-action verb
(f) I have been living here for six months or
(g) I have lived here for six months
(h) Al has been wearing glasses since he was ten or Al has worn glasses since he was ten,
(i) I’ve been going to school ever since I was five years old or I’ve gone to school ever since I was five years old.
For some (not at all) verbs, duration can be expressed by either the present perfect or the present perfect progressive. (f) and (g) have essentially the same meaning, and both are correct.
Often either tense can be used with verbs that express the duration of usual or habitual activities/situations (things that happen daily or regularly), e.g., live, work, teach, smoke, wear glasses, play chess, go to school, read the same newspaper every morning etc.
English Grammar On Android - Click Here
No comments:
Post a Comment