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I've been studying all morning.

I've been studying all morning long.

I was studying all morning.

How are the first, and the third different in meaning?
What's the difference between the first, and the second?

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    Note that although all day long (and to a lesser extent, all week/month/year long) are idiomatically well-established, it's a relatively unusual usage for shorter periods like all morning/afternoon long.
    – FumbleFingers
    Jan 1, 2016 at 14:01

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For the first two, no difference.
long just emphasises.

The tenses are used for different purposes.
The present perfect continuous shows an action that began in the past and is still in progress. (The action is not yet finished.)

I've been studying all morning.
(I started to study at some point in the morning and I'm still studying. The morning isn't finished.)

The past continuous describes a scene in the past, or a temporary action that was in progress in the past interrupted by another action. For instance,

I was studying all morning till you arrived.

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  • "All day " is not the same as "when he came"or "at 7 o'clock",Isn't it? And with Present Perfect Continuous does it mean it's still morning?
    – V.V.
    Jan 1, 2016 at 14:05
  • @V.V. I slipped the all morning in my past continuous example. I've just edited and given more details on those.
    – Schwale
    Jan 1, 2016 at 14:13

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