Tenses (Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Continuous)

Question

Hello beloved teachers,

Are both of the following sentences correct grammatically, and do they have the same meaning, please?

Here're the sentences:

1). I am feeling very sleepy. I haven't slept for two days.

2). I am feeling very sleepy. I haven't been sleeping for two days.

I think we could use both 'Present Perfect Simple" and "Present Perfect Continuous" for things that start in the past and continue up to, and probably after, the moment or point of speaking.

Thank you all.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Laborious1). I am feeling very sleepy. I haven't slept for two days. 2). I am feeling very sleepy. I haven't been sleeping for two days.

This is my reaction.

1) I'd say "I haven't slept in two days". I imagine the speaker is trying to finish an important project and has to stay awake in order to accomplish his goal. He hasn't slept because he doesn't want to. It takes time away from what he wants to do.

2) I'd say "I haven't been sleeping well lately". I imagine the speaker is hinting that his health is not what it should be, or he may be very stressed about something in his life. He is not able to sleep after several (or many) attempts to do so. He wants to sleep.

I don't know if my impressions apply to other verbs, but these are my observations for "sleep".

CJ

Edit: I just thought. "eat" would work in a very similar way.

Laborious · Answer

Thanks, teacher CJ, for your helpful response. But are you suggesting that "I haven't slept FOR two days" and "I haven't been sleeping for two days" are incorrect English? Isn't it possible to use the verb "sleep" as I have used in those examples, please?

Can't they mean that the situation of me not sleeping began in the past (two days ago) and is still continuing? Because I haven't yet slept at the moment I say either of them.

Fivejedjon · Answer

"I haven't slept for two days" is fine and natural in BrE. It means that you have not had any periods of sleep in that time. The progressive form might seem to suggest the odd idea that you had expected to be asleep for the whole time.

"I haven't been sleeping for two days" might also be used as a contradiction to the claim "You have been sleeping for two days".

CalifJim · Answer

LaboriousBut are you suggesting that "I haven't slept FOR two days" and "I haven't been sleeping for two days" are incorrect English?

No, but "in" sounds better than "for" to my ear in the negative sentences. Specifying a period in the second sounds a bit unidiomatic to my ear.

LaboriousIsn't it possible to use the verb "sleep" as I have used in those examples, please?

It is possible, but as I said, a bit unidiomatic to my ear.

LaboriousCan't they mean that the situation of me not sleeping began in the past (two days ago) and is still continuing? Because I haven't yet slept at the moment I say either of them.

Yes. They can mean that. Nevertheless, since the sleep cycle naturally consists of the repetition of episodes of sleeping alternating with episodes of being awake, "haven't slept" suggests one unbroken episode of not sleeping better than "haven't been sleeping". The reason is that the latter ("haven't been sleeping") suggests that the normal cycle of sleep and wakefulness has been (repeatedly) interrupted, contrary to the wishes of the speaker.
_____________

As I mentioned previously, the same applies to the verb "eat", another activity that is normally repeated. "haven't eaten" (e.g., since Saturday) suggests a willful cessation of the eating activity. "haven't been eating" suggests repeated failures to complete the eating cycle, possibly due to an upset stomach or some other on-going health problem.

I suppose any other cyclic activities might carry the same implications in the negative present perfect. Anyway, if you're going to say how long an activity has not been going on, it usually sounds better to put it in the non-continuous form. In these cases the continuous form seems to cover a more recent period of time.

Similarly,

I haven't shopped at that store for years. [not shopping "all the way through those years" (as if "once")]
Jake hasn't written to his mother in years. [not writing "all the way through those years" (as if "once")]
Susan hasn't called me for months. [not calling "all the way through those years" (as if "once")]

But,

I haven't been shopping at that store lately. [not shopping at any opportunity, i.e., "again and again"]
Jake hasn't been writing to his mother lately. [not writing at any opportunity, i.e., "again and again"]
Susan hasn't been calling me lately. [not calling at any opportunity, i.e., "again and again"]

CJ

Tenjing · Answer

How nice explanations, CJ. The sentence 'I haven't been sleeping for two days' is completely wrong. It's because it sounds like I am supposed to have been sleeping for two day, and by using my common sense NOBODY sleeps for two days.

Tenjing · Answer

But if I say, "He has not been working well ever since he started working here', it makes sense to me. It could mean, "He is supposed to have been working well". This is my understanding. I hope it correct and helpful.

Fivejedjon · Answer

This is not natural either.

The main problem is that the present perfect progressive normally suggests an action that has continued up to the present time point/period. If the action has not continued up to the present time point/period, then we generally consider it as completed, and use the non-progressive form. It is not easy to find natural sentences with a negative progressive present perfect form, except as a contradiction.

Compare:
I haven't eaten a thing since breakfast yesterday.
I have been eating since I got up.
X I haven't been eating since breakfast yesterday / since I got up.X

Tenses (Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Continuous)

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