Can I use present perfect instead of progressive in my sentence?
"I have driven (instead of "I have been driving) for 60 years, but I think it's time for me to stop. I won't be renewing my driving licence."
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1 Answer
Can I use present perfect instead of progressive in my sentence?
Yes.
Both of your example-sentence versions
I have been driving for 60 years.
and
I have driven for 60 years.
have essentially the same meaning.
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The question: Can "I have ___ for 60 years" use both "been driving" and "driven" and result in sentences with the same meaning? The answer is Yes. The tenses are not the same, but one verb form (one tense) can function as multiple tenses. If I say "You navigate Dead Man's Curve with a flat tire, you are done" and the verb in "you are done" has the form of the present tense but it functions as the future tense ("you will be done"). Just so, the different forms (different tenses) "have been driving" and "have driven" can serve the same function.– J. BerryCommented Aug 5, 2021 at 11:28
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I doubt this logic. Present simple perfect tense and present progressive are used in different situations. You are right that I have been driving for 60 years, and I have driven for 60 years have the same meaning. But if the person has not stopped driving the former is used as in the case of the OP's sentence. Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 16:42
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1Doubt if you will. In English, one verb tense's form can function as another, different tense. This mechanism allows the forms "have been driving" and "have driven" to function as the same tense in certain syntactical contexts. Please imagine these two versions of dialogue: "I have been driving for 60 years and I'll drive for another 20 years before I stop" and "I have driven for 60 years and I'll drive for another 20 years before I stop". Does either version seem to not follow? They are equally comprehensible and both carry the same meaning.– J. BerryCommented Aug 7, 2021 at 19:32