Difference in usage of tenses

Question

What is the difference among following sentences?I have liked you since childhoodI have been liking you since childhoodI had liked you since childhoodI had been liking you since childhood

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

sajan kumar
What is the difference among following sentences?
I have liked you since childhood.
I have been liking you since childhood.
I had liked you since childhood.
I had been liking you since childhood.

'like' is a non-progressive verb, so the second and fourth sentences are wrong. You can't use a non-progressive verb in continuous tenses.

The first has the present perfect tense, so it says that my liking you started in childhood and has continued until now.

The third has the past perfect tense, so it says that my liking you started in childhood and continued until some time in the past which is not mentioned in the sentence. To use the past perfect tense properly you must establish a reference point in the past. That requires additional information in the text before the sentence with the past perfect. You don't have any additional information, so this sentence is hard to understand completely.

In brief, only the first sentence is a really good sentence.

You need a period at the end of every one of your sentences, as shown in red.

CJ

Difference in usage of tenses

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