1

May you explain me with some clear examples, what is the difference between using "I have been talking" vs "I was talking"?

I heard this sentence during an interview when he was talking about his past, but couldn't get his mean:

"I have been questioning my mom ...."

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

The speaker's meaning was that he has recently spent time asking his mother questions, maybe on more than one occasion.

I've been talking to my friends about what we want to do when we leave school. (There have probably been several conversations on the subject.)

I was talking to John yesterday and he told me something I didn't know. (Refers to one particular conversation.)

Improve this answer
2

I have been talking - the present perfect continuous tense

We use the present perfect continuous tense for an action over a period of time up to now. (We can talk about repeated actions)

I was talking - the past continuous tense

We use the past continuous tense to say that we were in the middle of an action in the past.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .