past tense or present perfect or present perfect continuous?

Question

What should I say between these sentences?

(1) I have eaten three bowls of noodles this morning.

Or

(2) I have been eating three bowls of noodles this morning.

Or

(3) I ate three bowls of noodles this morning.

I think that (1) & (2) talk about the unfinished action and we are still in the morning. Moreover, (1) means that we ate three bowls of noodles already and we are not eating when we speak whereas (2) indicates that we ate three bowls of noodles and we're still eating another bowl. And (3) talks about the finished action in the morning and we are in the afternoon.

Are my ideas correct? Please help me figure out the wrong things.

Thanks so much!

Answer 1

You are correct in your basic interpretation of the sentences, but I will add a few comments.

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I have eaten three bowls of noodles this morning.

This may or may not mean that there is an ongoing process. Normally, that's the sense that it would be used in. If it weren't meant to imply an ongoing process, the use of the verb tense would be unusual—so hearing the tense does lead to that interpretation.

However, it sounds a little strange without a modification:

I have already eaten three bowls of noodles this morning.

This more clearly implies that you are still eating. You are most likely starting to eat a fourth bowl.

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I have been eating three bowls of noodles this morning.

This kind of construction would normally imply that you had laid out three bowls of noodles all at the same time, and have been engaged in eating all three. It wouldn't normally imply that you had finished any of them or that you were about to start a fourth.

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And (3) talks about the finished action in the morning and we are in the afternoon.

The time at which the sentence is given need not be that afternoon; it could also be that night. However, you're right that the implication is that it's sometime past morning but not yet the next day.