Current period of time: Continuous vs Perfect Continuous

Pavel TaroutsActually, I feel that 'have been' variant is the right one,

It is 7 pm. Since 9 am, 120 people called and asked about Sam. They called throughout the day.
Sam comes in.

I say, "Sam, people have been calling all day!"

The present tense makes no sense, because I am speaking about the past 12 hours (day) or so.

I

Thank you for your answer. So 'have been' is ok for the situation.

But could you tell more about the 'people are inquiring' variant.

Here is a sample from my textbook:

Sometimes the action is not happening at the time of speaking. For example:

Steve is talking to a friend on the phone. He says:
I'm reading a really good book at the moment.
It's a

Pavel TaroutsSo what's the key difference between the examples above and 'people are inquiring about you all day'?

1. The nature of the verbs.
Work, play, sleep, read, etc. are verbs of continuous activity.
"Inquire" is a verb indicating a singular event.

2. The meaning of "all day" which is a period of time looking back from the end of the

1. The nature of the verbs.
Work, play, sleep, read, etc. are verbs of continuous activity.
"Inquire" is a verb indicating a singular event.

Then I guess 'People are inquiring about you today' must be incorrect as well.

2. The meaning of "all day" which is a period of time looking back from the end of the day to a time earlier in the day.

Pavel TaroutsAnd 'I'm working hard all day' is incorrect.

Right. When you use an adverb indicating past time, the verb must agree temporally.

I've been working hard all day. I deserve a break.
I'm working hard today. I'll take an extra break at 3 pm.

Pavel TaroutsWhy doesn't the nature of the verb 'inquire' (singular event

Because the inquiry events occurred many times throughout the course of the day. You are not speaking of one activity, but many. There was a continuous sequence of these events.

John inquired at 8:30, Shawn inquired at 8:54, Peter inquired at 9:05, Joe inquired at 9:23, Susan inquired at 9:47 ...

But what about 'People are inquiring about you today', doe

Pavel TaroutsBut what about 'People are inquiring about you today'

It is grammatical, but I cannot imagine a context in which anyone would say it.

I am working hard today. = I know that the level of my work will continue at this pace for the rest of the day.

People are inquiring about you today. = I am prescient and am absolutely certain th

AlpheccaStarsBut what about 'People are inquiring about you today'
It is grammatical, but I cannot imagine a context in which anyone would say it.

What about if news about "you" has gotten around. People have found out that you were getting married. They keep calling the office to congratulate you. Or people have found out that you were in a car acciden

Thanks for your help, guys

CalifJim"People are inquiring about you today.""People have been inquiring about you today."

I agree that the first is possible in the contexts you have outlined, though I think I'd be more likely to use the second.