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have verb+ed or have been verb+ing What is the different between 2 sentenses: I have lived in Kiev for 10 years. - Present Perfect I have been living in Kiev for 10 years. - Present Perfect Continuous Do they have identical sense?
Mar 1, 2017 5:26 PM
Answers · 4
Yes, they have exactly the same meaning. For one or two verbs - in particular 'live' and 'work' - there is no difference at all between the use of the present perfect simple and the present perfect continuous. For all other verbs, there is a difference.
March 1, 2017
Depending on the context, the first sentence can suggest that something happened, but is no longer happening. It's easier to see with different verbs: "I have eaten an apple" = Eating an apple is something I did in the past. "I have been eating an apple" = Eating an apple is something I was doing, and am still doing. Of course, adding the time component ("for 10 years") heavily suggests that we're talking about something in the present, but it doesn't guarantee that meaning. For example: "I have lived in London for 10 years - 5 years in 1995, then 5 years in 2005" is a valid sentence. So, in general, the sentences are almost always the same. In most cases they would be interpreted the same. But there is a very small range of constructions where they mean different things.
March 1, 2017
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