Timeline for present perfect- has been living/has lived for a specific example
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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| Feb 10, 2022 at 20:06 | comment | added | Annabeth Yeung | @JoannaRedman To clarify, “am marrying” is an example of present continuous used to describe the future, in which the tense can be interpreted as “having decided on something right now (in the present) that will apply to the future.” | |
| Feb 10, 2022 at 20:04 | comment | added | Annabeth Yeung | @JoannaRedman “Marrying” is only continuous in the present participle; that is, as a gerund, it indicates that something is happening RIGHT NOW. For instance, you can say “She is dying” but not that “she has been dying for 5 years” (well, you could, it just wouldn’t make a lot of sense). It doesn’t work for continuous timeframes that span a combination of past/present/future. | |
| Feb 9, 2022 at 19:13 | comment | added | Jo R | Thank you for that answer. But "marry" can be continuous right, "I am marrying you tomorrow" for example. But we don't use it continuously in the examples "She has been living...." "she has been marrying", right.... Is the example "I am marrying you tomorrow" an outlier example and usually this verb can't be used in a continuous way? | |
| Feb 8, 2022 at 23:55 | comment | added | Annabeth Yeung | @JoannaRedman This is because “married” here is used to describe her state of being, instead of being used as a past tense verb. “Marry” is a one-time, non-continuous verb that does not make sense in continuous time frames. You cannot say “She married for 5 years” as that implies that the wedding took 5 years. Thus, “has married for 5 years” is also incorrect; you need the “been” to clarify that “has been” is the verb phrase, and “married” is the adjective. However, “live” is a continuous verb that really only makes sense in continuous timeframes, and so “has lived” is correct. | |
| Feb 8, 2022 at 18:16 | comment | added | Jo R | Thank you for the answers. I have another question related to this. For the sentence "She has lived in the UK all her life" you use the -ed form of the verb. But for the example "She has been married for most of her life" we need "been"-- why is that? Thank you! | |
| Feb 3, 2022 at 6:37 | history | edited | Annabeth Yeung | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Feb 3, 2022 at 0:56 | comment | added | Vegawatcher | I should add that either usage is okay, but showing the dynamics of the situation can be subtly better. Consider: "This tree has been shading this park for a hundred years. Why would they cut it down now?" and "This tree has shaded this park for a hundred years....." The first emphasis the persistence and dynamic aspect and the possibility of change. The second emphasizes the lack of change and the permanence that has been true so far. | |
| Feb 3, 2022 at 0:50 | comment | added | Vegawatcher | I like the answer and mostly agree; however, by saying "she has been living there all her life" you are emphasizing the possibility that the situation might change for some reason. It makes the situation dynamic. | |
| Feb 2, 2022 at 23:33 | history | answered | Annabeth Yeung | CC BY-SA 4.0 |