She has been shopping for an hour Hello, could you help me please with it When I say. 1) Sara in the shop. She has been shopping for an hour. (It means she still there in the shop and she is shopping

Artur

She has been shopping for an hour Hello, could you help me please with it When I say. 1) Sara in the shop. She has been shopping for an hour. (It means she still there in the shop and she is shopping right now and maybe she will be there for some time) Present Perfect Continuous. 2) If I met she at the exit of the store or the Parking lot outside the store I would can say: She has been shopping for an hour. Or she could told me : I've been shopping for an hour. (Action has recentlly finished. SHE has just finished shopping - we know she is not shopping at the moment ) Present Perfect Continuous. It's variant possible? Or as in this case should we say point 2) if this phrase is occupied to indicate point 1) ? Can I say "She has been shopping for an hour" or "I've been shopping for an hour" in the context of point 2) ? If it's possible for both points say the same sentence it means that one this sentence have TWO meanings depending on the context and situation?

Jan 31, 2016 5:29 PM

Answers · 8

I'm not 100% clear about what you are asking, but Sara could say 'I've been shopping for an hour' both inside the store, while she's still shopping, or outside the store when she has only just stopped. And yes, the meaning is different, but the construction is the same. The context will tell you which meaning is intended. By the way, I don't normally answer questions 'on demand', but I've made an exception this time because your profile image is so cute and clever :)

January 31, 2016

Thanks Jean but could you tell me if we have 2 sentences. (Sara went to the supermarket an hour ago. She has been shopping for an hour.) Do you know where is Sara now? ( inside the store, she's still shopping or outside the store when she has only just stopped.) Or need more the context to determine where is Sara now?

February 1, 2016

We use the Present Perfect Continuous tense to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. It may continue from now until a future time as in your first sentene, or it may end now as in your second sentence.

February 1, 2016

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