Hello. I am studying English grammar, and I don't know the difference between the 1st sentence and the 2nd sentense. Could you help me? Thank you very much for reading. My English grammar book called "English Grammar in Use" says 1) expression is more natural, but I don't know why. Could you help me if you don't mind?
<font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">1)You look tired. Have you been working hard?</font>
<font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">2)You look tired. Have you worked hard?</font>
I'm going to try to put my couple of words here.
We use Present Perfect when we focus on the result of an action.
Example: I have painted the fence. (we have the result: the fence is painted, completed action)
We use Present Perfect Continuous when we focus on the duration of an action.
Example: I have been painting the fence. (we have the duration: I have been painting, but I'm taking rest now and I'm going to continue painting after a while. So, the fence is likely painted not completely.)
Thank you so much for all the support. I took note to learn the difference. With your help, I can make progress and move on. Thank you very much. (bow) I don't know how many times I have to say "Thank you" to you. (bow)
from keiko
1) "have you been verb+ing...?"
2."have you verb+ed...?"
1) is asking if you were doing the verb immediately before the present (or at least close to immediately before the present).
2.) is asking if you have ever done the verb, as in, "have you ever worked hard in your life?"
Note: depending on the verb, you might not add "ed". It will be the past participle, since you are using "have"
Another example is:
3) "Have you been eating Japanese food?"
4) "Have you eaten Japanese food?
If I go to my friend's house and see chopsticks and rice I might ask 3).
If my friend wanted to know if I had ever eaten Japanese food before, he would say 4).
I hope this helps!
