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Buskila began his hunger strike on Wednesday, and since then has been camped outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem. Ministers and Knesset members have been been to visit Buskila, but have yet to find a solution to the town's crisis.
More:Sderot mayor launches 4th day of hunger strike - Israel News, Ynetnews
I think that present perfect continuous 'have been visiting' is perfectly suitable, isn't it?
Yes, it is, but the original is fine too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Odessa Dawn
What tense would that be? Why is it "....have been been to visit..." not "...have been to ..." or "have been on a visit..."?
I think the original is a typo which bhai (and the original editors) didn't pick up. There is no tense "have been been ..."Quote:
Originally Posted by ostap77
I've been googling it and there are examples on COCAE where "have been been" is used that would be too many for a typo.
Google, COCA or otherwise, "have been been" does not form part of any tense in English.Quote:
Originally Posted by ostap77
In my opinion, it should have said "... have been to visit ..." and there was an accidental word repetition, or just perhaps "... have been seen to visit ..." with a typo at the beginning of the word "seen". It think the latter is less likely.
Yes, I did miss the other "been". I claim age and failing sight as an excuse.;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Raymott
Oh, OK. So, you're saying it's correct then? Or do you have a third explanation?Quote:
Originally Posted by ostap77
In my experience, perseverating like this in writing is quite common. Rather than assuming it's too common to be an error, why not postulate that it's a common error, such as writing two haves or hads in a row? Actually it's not strictly a typographical mistake; it's a psychological phenomenon.
In any case, the structure "have been pp" is possible, "I have been seen/killed/..." But it's transitive. Someone can see me, or kill me, but they can't 'be' me.
"I have been gone for three days" is possible. This is intransitive.
Still, if "have been been" can't be an error, I'd be interested to hear your explanation.