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Vladimir
what's the difference?
what's the difference between "I have lived here for 2 years" and "I have been living for 2 years"? I basically understand that when you say it in Present Perfect, you emphasize the result but... I love doing everything meticulously, so I want to know the difference from people who know English a lot better than me. thanks in advance.
Jan 6, 2019 6:39 AM
Answers · 3
2
I have lived here means that you lived there for some time and you are not living there anymore. And i have been living here means that you continue living there or you have moved JUST at this moment.
January 6, 2019
2
Hello Vladmir! Both sentences have the same meaning. The present perfect connects the past to now, so “I have lived here for 2 years” means that you moved to the city 2 years ago and that you still live there. If you said “I lived here for 2 years,” that means that you don’t live in the city anymore.
The confusing thing about these two sentences comes from the fact that the verb “to live” is an exception. Normally we only use verbs of action (for example, run, jump, talk) in progressive tenses. Verbs of state (understand, believe) normally can’t be used in progressive tenses. “To live” doesn’t fit neatly into either category, so it can be used in both the present perfect and the present perfect progressive.
The present perfect progressive can be rather confusing because it can indicate (a) a situation that started in the past and continues until now, or (b) a situation that started in the past and has just stopped. You have to figure out which it is from context. Both (a) and (b) are only possible with verbs that are clearly verbs of action. In the case of “to live”, only (a) is possible.
January 6, 2019
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Vladimir
Language Skills
English, Russian
Learning Language
English
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