GIVE ANSWERS - English

79% GOOD (285 votes)AtsakytaLanguage Question
Which is correct? ”I’ve been living here for 5 years” OR ”I’ve lived here for 5 years”?

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  • AussieInBg profile picture AussieInBgFebruary 2023
    @sureshbabupula your answer is highly incomplete and doesn’t really explain it.

    Both forms can be used but I don’t think you quite understand the difference between the two in your examples.

    It’s not difficult:

    Both tenses of course talk about an event beginning in the past which is somehow relevant to the present point in time.

    Present perfect simple: interested in the event as a start + completion, not what happens in-between.

    Present perfect continuous: what’s happening between the event’s start and end is interesting in the context.

    There are counter-examples to yours next message above...
  • AussieInBg profile picture AussieInBgFebruary 2023
    @mac2210

    Could you please name the ”grammar books” you are referring to which state that present perfect continuous and present perfect simple mean the same thing? And where their advice about ”where both options are possible, use Present perfect continuous.” comes from.

    I want to call out this poorly formulated garbage. It’s clearly evident that the authors of these grammar books are clueless about the basics - even the difference between simple and continuous tense forms.

    I’ve actually lectured and taught students in academic and technical writing courses at universities. Some students have problems with basic verb tense forms when trying to produce them in writing and for very obvious reasons. No, they don’t ”mean the same thing”...
  • AussieInBg profile picture AussieInBgFebruary 2023
    @gabby1209 @Garence @mac2210 @londial They definitely don’t have the same meaning.

    Hint: consider the difference between present simple and present simple continuous and try to understand that first.

    If you don’t understand and feel the difference between present simple and present simple continuous verbs, then I seriously doubt you would understand how present perfect simple and present perfect continuous differ. There are more than one or two native speakers who don’t - even native speakers who label themselves as ”English teachers”.
  • Weylin profile picture WeylinNovember 2021
    ”I’ve lived here for five years”, means that you won’t necessarily continue to live here, but it does not mean that you will necessarily move.