tenses

[Hanka]

Hi,

can you please explain the difference between these sentences:

1) Our business relations have been developing since our first meeting in 2001
2) Our business relations have developed since our first meeting in 2001

Thank you very much.

Hanka

[Raguilli]

Hi, Hanka
To begin with, I need to tell you that we are both walking on a slippery ground: grammar.
In fact, you want to know the difference between the present perfect progressive (our business relations have been developing) and the present perfect simple (our business relations have developed). As an English teacher, I always tell my students that the present perfct progressive is used when the activity is imporatnt and the present perfect, when the action is complete and the final result is important.
In sentence 1, "Our business relations have been developing since our first meeting in 2001", the speaker is interested in the activity, on how they are performing.
Sentence 2, "Our business relations have developed since our first meeting in 2001", focuses on the final achievement. The result is important for them.