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HungryHippo1234 Posted 6 years ago
Grammar

Usually VS Always (in contexts)

Let's say someone has been consistently been consistently doing (starting and finishing) their homework straight after school. However, one day, the person decides to watch a movie instead. His mom confronts him.

To be correct & truthful, would the person say:

A: "Give me a break, I have been always doing my homework after school."

A: "Give me a break, I always do my homework after school."

A: "Give me a break, I have been usually doing my homework after school."

A: "Give me a break, I usually do my homework after school."

In my opinion #1 and #4 are truthful and correct. This is because number #1 indicates before that event, the person has been always doing his homework after school, and in #4, the person is saying that the he usually does his homework after school (because there is no "have been", it indicates that the person is including this event?). I'm not sure if I'm correct on the "have been" thingy, so any help is appreciated.

  

Top answer

" The Present Perfect Continuous suggests a temporary activity. This doesn't fit with 'always'. " usually is not the same as always .

— Clive

  • " The Present Perfect Continuous suggests a temporary activity.
  • This doesn't fit with 'always'.
  • " usually is not the same as always .
  • In addition, the Present Perfect Continuous suggests a temporary activity.
  • This doesn't fit with 'always'.
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2 Answers
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To be correct & truthful, would the person say:

A: "Give me a break, I have always been been always doing my homework after school." The Present Perfect Continuous suggests a temporary activity. This doesn't fit with 'always'.


A: "Give me a break, I always do my homework after school."<<<<<<< Yes


A: "Give me a b

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You have a point, but let 's explore this a bit further.

For how many consecutive days before watching the movie instead has the person done their homework straight after school? 5? 50? 100?

What I'm getting at is what we mean by always and usually when we talk like this. eg If the person watched one movie 2 years ago, can they never again say 'always'?

Clive

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