Simple vs continuous - present & past perfect (meanings)

Question

Hi,we had an argument about meanings of the following sentences with the teacher. S is me and T is teacher. 1. a) I have been living here for 2 years.    b) I have lived here for 2 years.T: a) and b) are the same, they mean that you still live there.S: a) means that you live there and you plan to live there in the future (you don't think about moving else where). b) means that you live there and you don't know (don't think about) if you go on living there in the future or not. So There is difference, if you say a) to somebody, they know that you will probably move somewhere else.2. a) I have been cutting onions.    b) I have cut onions.T: a) does not mean that you go on cutting the onions. It means that you have just stopped.S: a) means that you have been cutting and you continue with cuting. It's the same as 1 a).Example:Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?No I have been cutting onions.I read in New English FIle Intemediate book: "With live_ and _work_ you can use the present perfect or continuous with _for_ and _since". I think it's not correct. Please, could you write right meaning as you feel it (colloquial form) and grammatically correct?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

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Anonymous · Answer

Sorry, I hope that now it is better: Hi,
we had an argument about meanings of the following sentences with the teacher. S is me and T is teacher.

1. a) I have been living here for 2 years.
b) I have lived here for 2 years.

T: a) and b) are the same, they mean that you still live there.
S: a) means that you live there and you plan to live there in the future (you don't think about moving else where).
b) means that you live there and you don't know (don't think about) if you go on living there in the future or not. So There is difference, if you say a) to somebody, they know that you will probably move somewhere else.

2. a) I have been cutting onions.
b) I have cut onions.

T: a) does not mean that you go on cutting the onions. It means that you have just stopped.
S: a) means that you have been cutting and you continue with cuting. It's the same as 1 a).

Example:
Your eyes are red. Have you been crying? No I have been cutting onions. I read in New English FIle Intemediate book: "With live_ and _work_ you can use the present perfect or continuous with _for_ and _since". I think it's not correct.

Please, could you write right meaning as you feel it (colloquial form) and grammatically correct?

Mister Micawber · Answer

1. T is basically right. S's arguments are far more imaginative than the sentence structures actually represent. 'For two years' tells me that the action is not complete with the present perfect (simple or continuous).

2. a) I have been cutting onions.-- This does not indicate whether you will continue to cut them; you may or may not.
b) I have cut onions.-- This is not a natural-sounding sentence, but the cutting would seem to have finished.

I read in New English FIle Intemediate book: "With live_ and _work_ you can use the present perfect or continuous with _for_ and _since". I think it's not correct.-- It is correct.

English_valet · Answer

Allow me to share my opinion on the first two sentences.

I have been living here for 2 years.
I have lived here for 2 years.

>> I agree that both mean that you still live there. However,in my opinion the usage of perfect tenses implies different meaning. And the meaning lies on what the speaker is trying to emphasize in a sentence.

I have been living here for 2 year.( Had been Living is in Present Perfect Progressive Tense form. Present Perfect Progressive Tense indicates an action which began in the past and still going on.)
- Perhaps the speaker is trying to convey that he have been living there for 2 years and he
doesn't want to move somewhere else.

I have lived here for 2 years. ( Have lived is in Present Perfect Tense form.It indicates continous action from some past to the present. The emphasis is on the lenght of time introduces by "for".)
- Probably the speaker is trying to explain that he have lived in that specific location for two years and didn't live somewhere else.

Seattleguy · Answer

I do not know what your native language might be, but I agree with your teacher in #1 -- English speakers usually do not make a distinction. Most people say "I've lived here for two years" no matter what plans they may or may not have.

"I have cut* (the) onions" would mean to mean to me that you have completed that part of the work for a meal, and have other things to do as well, such as chopping garlic, etc. If you are explaining why your eyes are red

, then you can say either "I have been chopping onions" or "I was chopping onions"; it does not matter whether you have more cutting to do, or that task is completely finished.

* One either chops, slices, or dices, onions- it doesn't sound right (native) to say "cutting" them (in most cases).

Anonymous · Answer

In reply to your question,I want to mention an extract from a populer book of grammar named.
"A practical English Grammar"
here it is.
comparison of the present perfect and continuous.
An action which began in the past and is still continuing or has only just finished can,
with certain verbs, be expressed by either the present perfect simple or the present perfect continuous. verbs which can be used in this way include expect,hope,learn,teach,lie, live, look, rain, sleep, stay, sit, snow, stand, wait, , work..
For example,
How long 've you learnt English?
How long 've you been learning English?
He has slept for ten hours.
He has been sleeping for ten hours.
It has snowed for a long.
It has been snowing for a long time.

Simple vs continuous - present & past perfect (meanings)

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