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a) Give me 5 minutes so I can show you what I've been developing so far.
b) Give me 5 minutes so I can show you what I've developed so far.

I am bit confused which one should i use present perfect or perfect continues?

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  • Both seem fine to me, although I'd drop the "so far" from the end of option a.
    – 3N1GM4
    Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 10:21
  • @3N1GM4 so what would you use instead"so far" if possible?
    – Yogesh Raut
    Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 10:51
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    Nothing, just "Give me 5 minutes so I can show you what I've been developing." - that's how I would say it. Your original phrasing is legal though, just not how I'd phrase it as a native English speaker.
    – 3N1GM4
    Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 11:27
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    @User156538 - Since you used so far, I presume I've developed would be more proper. So far, in that context, means something you have done until that moment, so saying: I've been doing so far wouldn't be necessarilly proper, it would imply to say that you are still finishing some projects, and when you say I've done so far you mean all your projects that have been finished. Using: I've been doing so far could possibly mean something which is still in development. See: If you give me 5 minutes I will show you the project I've been working in. = It's still in development.
    – Davyd
    Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 12:37
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    For me, the "so far" implies that development is ongoing. Omitting the "so far" leave the ongoing versus completed status unspecified.
    – AdrianHHH
    Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 13:05

2 Answers 2

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I see this differently from Teacher KSHuang's answer.

"So far" means up to this point, which implies that something is not yet complete.

"Developed", past tense, implies completion, so "what I have developed" is different from "so far". "What I have developed so far" refers to the completed portion of an unfinished job.

"What I have been developing" is more ambiguous. It refers to something ongoing, but it could now be at any stage, from just getting organized and started (conceptualizing), to just finishing. So "what I've been developing so far" refers to unfinished work of ambiguous status, potentially including not actually having any portion completed.

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Short Answer: I agree with the commentators that they are the same and that I would remove "so far" for the first sentence because it's already implied by the word "developed."

Long Answer: If you're looking for something more colloquial, I would have said, "Let me show you what I've been working on."

Or if you really wanted to use the "give me five minutes" line, I would have said, "Give me five minutes and I'll knock your socks off," because if someone said to me to give them only five minutes, I would expect to be impressed, but maybe I've been watching too many infomercials.

Otherwise, your phrasing was fine.

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  • Teacher, I'm sorry to point this out and fixer1234's Answer said pretty-much all that was needed.
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Commented Nov 19, 2017 at 15:20

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