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An English learner in a website wrote:

I am studying abroad in the United State from this summer.

Another person corrected it as :

I have been studying in the United State since this summer.

But I feel "study" is not something that we continuously do that. Am I right? if yes, how do you correct the sentence?

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  • Your first version would normally only be used if you were speaking before this [coming] summer. The word since wouldn't normally be included in the second version, but there's nothing syntactically wrong with it being there. Whether it is or not, the statement would normally only be made after summer (but again, it wouldn't be syntactically invalid even if you made the statement during this summer, just somewhat "non-idiomatic" for many native speakers).
    – FumbleFingers
    Sep 22, 2016 at 17:06
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    Note that the "continuously do that" business isn't really relevant. The "continuous" aspect relates to the fact that the particular verb form have been XXX-ing implies doing XXX both in the past and now (continuity from the past into the present, not continuously = non-stop, without any breaks whatsoever).
    – FumbleFingers
    Sep 22, 2016 at 17:12
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    have been studying is perfectly idiomatic and in this context it means "have been enrolled as a student", not "I have had my nose in a book"
    – TimR
    Sep 22, 2016 at 19:05
  • @tromano LOL, right ! However I think for recurring activities like going to school you usually say I go to school not I am going to scool
    – Ahmad
    Sep 22, 2016 at 19:57
  • @tromano by the way could you please check ell.stackexchange.com/questions/104295/…
    – Ahmad
    Sep 22, 2016 at 19:58

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Both sentences are grammatical, but mean slightly different things.

I am studying abroad in the United State from this summer.

This means you will start studying in the future ("this summer").

I have been studying in the United State since this summer.

This means you started studying this summer and are currently studying

In English, the progressive or continuous forms don't only mean a specific action in progress (e.g. "I am walking to school"). They can be used for broader recurring activities, sorta like viewing an action over a longer time frame.

I am reading a long novel

This could either mean a) the speaker is currently reading now or b) the speaker is in the middle of the process of reading the novel (i.e. started it but hasn't finished) even if they are not currently reading at this moment.

Verbs relating to activities can often be used that way, including studying

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  • Is abroad necessary?
    – Ahmad
    Sep 22, 2016 at 20:02
  • Abroad is probably not necessary. It's likely understood from context that you don't live in the United States normally. However, "studying abroad" is used as a fixed phrase in some forms of English, so it still could be included.
    – eques
    Sep 22, 2016 at 20:34

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