Have been living/Have lived
I have been living here for 20 years.
I have lived here for 20 years.
A grammar book says these sentences are interchangeable.
I agree. In most cases they are.
I would like to check that they are not interchangeable in the following case:
Case: I am now leaving the town because I have decided to move into a new place.
Then I say, "I have lived here for 20 years."
In this case, "I have been living here for 20 years" is not suitable.
However, I am not a native speaker of English, and I would like to hear native speakers' opinion.
Top answer
Snappy In this case, "I have been living here for 20 years" is not suitable. It is fine. In fact, it seems to express the speaker's weariness with the place better if that's what you want.
- Snappy In this case, "I have been living here for 20 years" is not suitable.
- It is fine.
- In fact, it seems to express the speaker's weariness with the place better if that's what you want.
- The two sentences are as close to interchangeable as they can be.
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SnappyIn this case, "I have been living here for 20 years" is not suitable.
It is fine. In fact, it seems to express the speaker's weariness with the place better if that's what you want. The two sentences are as close to interchangeable as they can be.
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