present perfect contiunous tense vs past continuous tense
I started to read some grammar book , but find difficulty to distinguish between " present perfect contiunous tense " and " past continuous tense " . It seems that both means an action started in the past and will be continued at the the time of speaking .
For example :
I have been reading for two hours .
I was reading this morning .
I was reading since two hours ago .
Which is better ? Is there any difference in meaning between these three sentence .
Thank you for your help in advance .
Re: present perfect contiunous tense vs past continuous tense
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dkyeung
I started to read some grammar book , but find difficulty to distinguish between " present perfect contiunous tense " and " past continuous tense " . It seems that both means an action started in the past and will be continued at the the time of speaking .
For example :
I have been reading for two hours .
I was reading this morning .
I was reading since two hours ago .
Which is better ? Is there any difference in meaning between these three sentence .
Thank you for your help in advance .
I have been reading for two hours . I started reading two hours ago, I am still reading or I have just stopped.
I was reading this morning . At some point this morning I was reading, it's finished I am not reading now.
I was reading since two hours ago . This is grammatically incorrect. You could say: "I have been reading since two o'clock." We use "since" with a specific time reference.
Re: present perfect contiunous tense vs past continuous tense
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bhaisahab
I have been reading for two hours . I started reading two hours ago, I am still reading or I have just stopped.
I was reading this morning . At some point this morning I was reading, it's finished I am not reading now.
I was reading since two hours ago . This is grammatically incorrect. You could say: "I have been reading since two o'clock." We use "since" with a specific time reference.
Thanks for your comment . My English is poor and I want to clarify more . Is it possible to express the meaning of the first sentence ( I started reading two hours ago , I am still reading ) in past continuous tense . If it can , would you please show me an example . Thanks .
Re: present perfect contiunous tense vs past continuous tense
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dkyeung
Thanks for your comment . My English is poor and I want to clarify more . Is it possible to express the meaning of the first sentence ( I started reading two hours ago , I am still reading ) in past continuous tense . If it can , would you please show me an example . Thanks .
Yes,
I have been reading for two hours.= I started reading two hours ago, I am still reading or I have just stopped.
My sentence in blue gives you the meaning of your original sentence, sorry if I didn't make that clear.