'We have been here for a short time'

Question

Hi everybody,I would like to enquire about the correctness of the title sentence, and also I'm looking for its synonyms. The problematic part is after for (i.e. short time). I looked for it everywhere on internet but I was only able to find things like:We have been here for some timeWe have been here for months.We have been here for years.We have been here for two months.We have been here for a long time.We have been here for ages.and so on but I didn't find sentences like:We have been here for a short time..We have been here for a while.We have been here for a little whileI would like to express a short period of time without the indication its length (e.g. - in my case - months is too exact to me). I also would like to get a confirmation about the correctness of my last three sentences (i.e. a short time, a while, a little while).Additionally if you have time for me, please correct my mistakes in my post.Thanks for your help in advance

Dave_anon · Accepted Answer

Hi

In the UK, 'while' is popular and is flexible in meaning:

If you have been waiting for a friend to show up ...
- Sorry I'm late
- That's OK, I've only been here a little while

If you have been waiting for an interview at your bank ...
- Will I be able to see the manager soon? I've been waiting for a while

Hope this helps

Dave

Hole One a New See · Answer

Hi Dave,

Thanks for replying. The situation is the following:

I teach English to a Hungarian girl and this problem turned up while we were talking to each other in English. Of course, she knows the risks, she knows that I'm not an English teacher. And the situation was:

She moved to XY country. It happened not so long ago. So she wanted to express this 'not so long ago' part. If I'm right, 'present perfect' tense and 'present perfect continuous' tenses are also good to express this.

And I thought that the sentences:

'We have been here for a short time'
'We have been here for a while'
'We have been here for a little while'

could be good. The indication of 'live' is not so important, I think that is only just a transformation in the sentence. I would like to be sure, these three sentences exist and aren't bad ones.

I quote you and ask:

"I've only been here a little while" -> Is it good without 'for'?
"I've been waiting for a while" -> Why is it better to use present perfect continuous than present perfect?

Dave_anon · Answer

Hi

I think the three sentences you suggest are fine. If the person has actually moved to live in the new place - and is not, say, visiting as a tourist - then, as natural alternatives, I would think of ...

'We have only lived here for a short time'
'We have only lived here for a while'
'We have only lived here for a little while'

You can certainly use 'for' in my sentence. It is optional ...

- I have only been here a little while
- I have only been here for a little while

I used the continuous, I think, because it emphasises something that has being going on and on. You can certainly say:

- Can I see the manager soon? I have waited for a while

If I was starting to feel annoyed, I would say:

- Can I see the manager soon? I have been waiting for ages!

Hope this helps

Dave

Hole One a New See · Answer

Thank you very much Dave, Still I wait for a confirmation of those three sentences. We only practise the language but also try to correct each other (based on what we understood) and I don't want to say a not 100% certain thing.

CalifJim · Answer

Hole One a New Seeand so on but I didn't find sentences like:We have been here for a short time..We have been here for a while.We have been here for a little while

Google hits:

We have been here for a short time 107,000,000
We have been here for a while 148,000,000
We have been here for a little while 65,900,000

I'm puzzled as to why you couldn't find these on the internet.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

Hole One a New See"I've only been here a little while" -> Is it good without 'for'?

Yes. 'for' is optional.

Hole One a New See"I've been waiting for a while" -> Why is it better to use present perfect continuous than present perfect?

To indicate the continuity of the action of waiting. There is no time during a waiting period in which we are not waiting, of course!

I have waited means you have had the experience of waiting.

I have waited for my brother to pick me up after school every day this week. (I had the same experience of waiting again and again. NOT I kept waiting continuously for a whole week.)

I have waited for a while sounds a little incomplete. To me it could mean that I have had the experience of waiting for a while, possibly several times, but it doesn't specify when these waiting periods happened.

CJ

Hole One a New See · Answer

I wasn't exact enough. I wanted to refer to grammar pages only (pages which deal with English grammar and give examples to sentences in 'present perfect').

I would like to ask you whether these three sentences are good or not? You are better than google.

I mean these three (in the above mentioned situation):

We have been here for a short time..
We have been here for a while.
We have been here for a little while,

CalifJim · Answer

Hole One a New Seewhether these three sentences are good or not?

They're good.

If you want to emphasize 'not too long', add 'only':

We have only been here [for a short time / for a (little) while].

CJ

(Have to go now so no more posts for a while. I'll check later if you have more questions.)

Hole One a New See · Answer

Um, thank you very much. I think I understand you but still I have to digest the information

I know, I'm not an easy case, sorry for that

Hole One a New See · Answer

Thank you very much <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

'We have been here for a short time'

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