Present perfect (continuous)?

2009-12-15 5:01 am
Hi guys, thanks for those who have just answered the question on the differences between present perfect continuous and present perfect. However, I still have something unsolved.

I read the sentence below:

I have lived in this town all my life

Why present perfect is used here instead of present perfect continuous tense? Some say present perfect continuous tense should be used to emphasize some actions have started in the past and still been going on now. If what I said is right, then why present perfect continuous tense is not used in the aforementioned sentence to show the reader that I am still living in that town?

Thanks in advance

回答 (4)

2009-12-15 1:46 pm
✔ 最佳答案
[I have lived in this town all my life] definitely includes the meaning that I am still living in this town now. Actually, it is quite common for people to say "I have been living in this town all my life" to mean the same thing.

Both the present perfect tense and the present perfect continuous tense give the indication that I am still living in this town, but neither give any indication whether I will continue to live in this town after I have made this statement.
Consider the following sentences, in the context of somebody boarding a train to leave town:
(1) I have lived in this town all my life, I will definitely miss it.
(2) I have been living in this town all my life, I will definitely miss it.
The first part of both sentences indicates the fact that I have lived in this town from the past to now, but does not say anything about the future, which is hinted only in the second part of the sentence.

Now, consider the following sentences, in the context of somebody turning down an offer to work in another town:
(1) I have lived in this town all my life, I have no intention of living elsewhere.
(2) I have been living in this town all my life, I have no intention of living elsewhere.

Therefore, both present perfect tense and present perfect continuous tense themselves do not make any reference to the [future].

The reason, I think, for saying [I have lived in this town] rather than [I have been living in this town] is because the second part of the sentence is [all my life] , which already means living non-stop, so it is not necessary to use present perfect continuous tense.

However, present perfect tense without the wording of [since, for, or all my life etc.] may only indicate that a single action has completed up to now, whereas the present perfect continuous tense indicates that it has been happening non-stop, and is still happening now.

參考: myself
2009-12-15 7:07 am
我覺得兩句都ok..只係continous tense有強調個行為會繼續咁解。

其實要視乎講呢句說話既人既心態。
2009-12-15 5:57 am
我沒有一個文法上的答案,因為你對present perfect cont tense的理解冇錯,但我想因為你選了一個獨特例子(或者exception又或者係因為英文除了文法外還有習慣語)。

我試用英文人諗嘢方法來解答你:

Generally speaking, you're correct, I should have been living in this town all my life; but living is not for me to hold, I won't know if I am going to live the next moment. So I can only tell you up to the minute I say this sentence, I have lived in this town all my life.

If it is something that I am doing and continue to be working on after I tell you, then, I can say I have been thinking about you since yesterday...

你英文都應該幾好,應該唔使翻譯吧。
2009-12-15 5:54 am
The present perfect tense is a perfect tense used to express action that has been completed with respect to the present."I have finished" is an example of the present perfect.The present perfect is a compound tense in English,meaning that it is formed by combining an auxiliary verb with the main verb.

In English, the present perfect has perfect aspect, which means that it is used to refer to a subject's past actions or states while keeping the subject in a present state of reference or in a present state of mind. Therefore, in English, the following logic helps to understand the tense: Think of the words in the construction separately: "have" is in the present, and the past participle is in the past. For example, "I have gone to the cinema" implies that the subject has completed a certain action,but that the subject is, in a sense, "holding" or "possessing" that completed action in the present tim.In other words, the subject is in a current state,and a past action that the subject has done or a past state that the subject has been in, is being referred to from the current state of the subject, which is the present time. This differs from the simple past tense.

I hope I can help you!
參考: My english knowledge


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