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Let's say an elderly person is asked if they have been doing any physical exercise that day and they answer: "yes, I've been walking around the house, pottering in the garden and climbing the stairs".

Does "I've been climbing the stairs mean they have repeatedly climbed the stairs that day or could it be just once and they are mentioning it as one of the activities they have been doing?

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Generally, that would suggest repeated actions. But in the context, which is "an elderly person for whom "walking around the house" is exercise, it could well mean only once.

I'm using general knowledge and the information given to build a picture, rather than following grammatical rules.

Of course, in that situation, it would be easy to ask "How many times did you climb the stairs?" if it was important to know.

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  • why would it suggest repeated action, because climbing the stairs is a short action?
    – anouk
    Commented Jan 23, 2021 at 11:10
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    Yes it is short in comparison to the length of time required for exercise, and because for most fit people, exercising by climing stairs would require repetitions.
    – James K
    Commented Jan 23, 2021 at 11:13
  • would you consider climbing stairs a shorter action than washing dishes?
    – anouk
    Commented Jan 23, 2021 at 11:16
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    Yes..........................................................
    – James K
    Commented Jan 23, 2021 at 11:19
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    Arguably it is repeated. You wash one dish, then you wash another, then another, and when you have washed all the dishes, you have been washing dishes. But the implication is that the the activity was extended in time and temporary. But how much it needs to be extended is completly context driven. Hence if the context is "exercise" that suggest repetition, unless it is "old man exercise"... and so on.
    – James K
    Commented Jan 23, 2021 at 11:30

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