Unit 11 How long have you (been)

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Question English Answer English
We use the present perfect to talk about something that
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began in the past and still continues now.
Amy is in hospital.
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She has been in hospital since Monday. (not ‘Amy is in hospital since Monday’)
We know each other very well.
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We have known each other for a long time. (not ‘we know’)
Are you waiting for somebody?
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How long have you been waiting?
I have been doing something (present perfect continuous)= ‘I started doing something in the past and I am still doing it (or have just stopped).
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I’ve been learning English for a long time (not ‘I am learning’) sorry I’m late. Have you been waiting long? It’s been raining since I got up this morning.
The action can be a repeated action:
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How long have you been driving? Since I was 17.
The continuous is more usual with how long, since and for
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I’ve been learning English for a long time. (not usually’ I’ve learnt’)
You can normally use either the continuous or simple with live and work.
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John has been living/has lived in London for a long time. How long have you been working/have you worked here?
But we use the present perfect simple with always
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John has always lived in London (not ‘has always been living’)
You can use the continuous or the simple for actions repeated over a long period:
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I’ve been collecting/I’ve collected stamps since I was a child.
Use the present perfect simple in negative sentences like these:
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I haven’t seen Tom since Monday. (=Monday was the last time I saw him) Jane hasn’t phoned me for two weeks. (the last time she phoned was two weeks ago)

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