0

Can I say "I have been living there since 2001 but I don't live there now."?

Improve this question
5
  • 1
    No; 'I have been living there since ...' demands you still be there. 'I was living there from 2001 (to 2012), but I don't live there now.'
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Dec 28, 2019 at 17:54
  • 1
    Or "I had been living there" (past perfect).
    – Spencer
    Commented Dec 28, 2019 at 17:59
  • Note: "I had been living there until 2001" means you moved out of there in 2001. "I had been living there since 2001" means you moved in there in 2001.
    – jimm101
    Commented Dec 28, 2019 at 18:39
  • 1
    You would simply say that you lived there from 2001 to 2009. No continuous at all.]
    – tchrist
    Commented Dec 28, 2019 at 18:41
  • Does this answer your question? lived; have lived; have been living
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Dec 28, 2019 at 19:14

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

The first clause contradicts the second. The first implies that I am still living there. The second explicitly contradicts the first. So there is no grammar error, but there is an inconsistency. You need to use a past tense to express a past state.:

I was living there from 2001 to 2012...

I had been living there since 2001 ...

I lived there between 2001 and 2012...

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.