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Diamondrg Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Present Perfect versus Present Perfect Continuous

In his 'English Grammar in Use' Raymond Murphy says:

(1) Ann's clothes are covered in paint. She has been painting the ceiling.

"Has been painting is the present perfect continuous. We are interested in the activity. It does not matter whether something has been finished or not. In this example, the activity (painting the ceiling) has not been finished."



(2) The ceiling was white. Now it is blue. She has painted the ceiling.

"Has painted is the present perfect simple. Here, the important thing is that something has been finished. 'Has painted' is a completed action. We are interested in the result of the activity (the painted ceiling), not in the activity itself."

Well, Ann's clothes being covered in paint is also a result of her painting. How can one distinguish between them? Would it be wrong if it were 'Ann's clothes are covered in paint. He has painted the ceiling'?

or

You are out breath. Have you run? (Instead of 'have you been running')
  

Top answer

Search (top right Search box) with Present Perfect Continuous and you will find many related threads. Read several of them first. The previous activity is described by the continuous, and this is the concern here.

— Marius Hancu

  • Search (top right Search box) with Present Perfect Continuous and you will find many related threads.
  • Read several of them first.
  • The previous activity is described by the continuous, and this is the concern here.
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10 Answers
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Search (top right Search box)
with
Present Perfect Continuous
and you will find many related threads. Read several of them first.

The previous activity is described by the continuous, and this is the concern here.
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Diamondrg
Would it be wrong if it were 'Ann's clothes are covered in paint. He has painted the ceiling'?

or

You are out breath. Have you run? (Instead of 'have you been running')
Some ideas from a non-native speaker:

Yes, it would be wrong. Neither is correct.
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it would be out of breath. a typo.

You are out of breath. Have you been running?

Is he still running?
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DiamondrgYou are out of breath. Have you been running?

Is he still running?
No, because then the question doesn't make sense: you see the person in front of you (as you see he's out of breath), thus you know if he's still running or not.
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Marius Hancu
Diamondrg
You are out of breath. Have you been running?

Is he still running?

No, because then the question doesn't make sense: you see the person in front of you (as you see he's out of breath), thus you know if he's still running or not.
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Marius Hancu
DiamondrgYou are out of breath. Have you been running?

Is he still running?
No, because then the question doesn't make sense: you see the person in front of you (as you see he's out of breath), thus you know if he's still running or not.
I realize now the quest
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Diamondrg
Marius Hancu
DiamondrgYou are out of breath. Have you been running?

Is he still running?
No, because then the question doesn't make sense: you see the person in front of you (as you see he's out of breath), thus you know if he's still running or not.
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Would it be wrong if it were 'Ann's clothes are covered in paint. [She] has painted the ceiling'?
No, not wrong, but the sentences seem less related to one another now, compared to the other choice. In the quoted version above, I imagine Ann's clothes in a heap in a corner, ready to be laundered. Ann herself may be miles away.

In the other version (has
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Thank you, Jim. This really qualifies for an answer.
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