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Olive file 673 Posted 8 years ago
Grammar

Present perfect or present perfect continuous

If I meet a friend and she is carrying a lot of shopping bags and I want to ask in a friendly way what she has bought, should I say : "what have you bought?"or could I just as well ask "what have you been buying ?" without any difference in meaning.

Similarly, if I want to know if my husband has ordered something from the internet in a neutral way can I ask What have you ordered/ what have you been ordering?

I would like to know if the continuous conveys some sort of annoyance in these cases.

thank you

  

Top answer

" without any difference in meaning. Both of those are OK, and they mean about the same. There is just a slight difference in "feel".

— GPY

  • " without any difference in meaning.
  • Both of those are OK, and they mean about the same.
  • There is just a slight difference in "feel".
  • olive file 673 Similarly, if I want to know if my husband has ordered something from the internet in a neutral way can I ask What have you ordered/ what have you been ordering?
  • Same answer.
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1 Answers
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olive file 673If I meet a friend and she is carrying a lot of shopping bags and I want to ask in a friendly way what she has bought, should I say : "what have you bought?"or could I just as well ask "what have you been buying ?" without any difference in meaning.

Both of those are OK, and they mean about the same. There is just a slight difference in "feel"

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