I have lived/I have been living

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Etern1ty

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Hello
Could you explain, is there a big difference between:
1. I've been living here for 4 years
2. I've libed here for 4 years

I know that present perfect continuous implies duration of something. But in this case I guess both sentences are correct?

And one more. For example, I'm a employer. And I have been/was looking for a man like you. The question is, have been or was ? I think "I've been looking for a man like you", because we use past continuous more like narrative tense, like "It was raining when something happend", right?

Thank you
 

emsr2d2

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Hello
Could you explain, is there a big difference between:
1. I've been living here for 4 years
2. I've lived here for 4 years

I know that present perfect continuous implies duration of something. But in this case I guess both sentences are correct? I agree that in this context, they mean the same thing.

And one more. For example, I'm a employer. And I have been/was looking for a man like you. The question is, have been or was ? I think "I've been looking for a man like you", because we use past continuous more like narrative tense, like "It was raining when something happend", right?

If you say "I was looking for a man like you" it sounds as if you were looking in the past but not more recently. However, if you say "I've been looking for a man like you", it's clear that it started in the past and runs up to the present.

Thank you


See above.
 

Nightmare85

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***Neither a teacher nor a native speaker.***

1) I've been living in Germany for 24 years.
2) I've lived in Germany for 24 years.


1) I'm still living in Germany.
2) Currently - while saying that - I'm not in Germany, but I will return to Germany soon. (Let's say I'm on vacation.)

I'm not sure if you can use "here":
I've lived here for X years.
Maybe you had better say there.

Cheers!
 

Tullia

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I'm not sure if you can use "here":
I've lived here for X years.
Maybe you had better say there.

If you are actually in the country/city/district/pub you are talking about, use here.
If you are somewhere else, use there.

It's an easy rule :) There are times you could use things differently for emphasis, maybe, but if you stick to that you will never be wrong.

Examples:

You are in a pub called The Red Lion.
A man comes up to you and says:
"Hi, I haven't seen you before, do you come here often?"
You reply:
"No, I have never been here before, but it seems very nice!"

You are at a party at a friend's house.
A man comes up to you and says:
"We're all going to the Golden Dragon restaurant for some food. Would you like to come? Have you been there before?"
You reply:
"Yes, I've been there many times and the food is great! I'd love to come."
 

Nightmare85

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Tullia, I'm aware of the use of here and there, but thanks anyway.
What I was trying to say is:
I've been living here.
You're still here.

I've lived here.
You are not here anymore, so it makes no sense to use here.
In my opinion only there fits here
You can't say here when you are on a different place.

All your examples are different in their structure.
I've been there many times.
Of course it's correct, what else can you say?
Probably "I was there many times", but I agree with your version.

Cheers!
 

Shawnock

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Hello
Could you explain, is there a big difference between:
1. I've been living here for 4 years [It means I started living here 4 years back, and I am still living here.]
2. I've li[STRIKE]b[/STRIKE]ved here for 4 years [It means I stayed here for 4 years. I do not stay here any more.]

I know that present perfect continuous implies duration of something. But in this case I guess both sentences are correct?

And one more. For example, I'm a employer. And I have been/was looking for a man like you. The question is, have been or was ? I think "I've been looking for a man like you", because we use past continuous more like narrative tense, like "It was raining when something happend", right?
[I'm an employer. And I have been looking for a man like you. In this sentence, the employer means that he/she is still searching for an employee.]

[I'm an employer. And was looking for a man like you. In this sentence, the employer means that he/she did search for an employee in the past. The employer got one and now he/she in no longer searching for an employee.]

Green insertions.
 

TheParser

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Hello
Could you explain, is there a big difference between:
1. I've been living here for 4 years
2. I've libed here for 4 years

I know that present perfect continuous implies duration of something. But in this case I guess both sentences are correct?

And one more. For example, I'm a employer. And I have been/was looking for a man like you. The question is, have been or was ? I think "I've been looking for a man like you", because we use past continuous more like narrative tense, like "It was raining when something happend", right?

Thank you

********** NOT a teacher **********

Hello, Eternity.

(1) I think that some people feel that the present perfect is often

more appropriate for a permanent situation and the present perfect

progressive more appropriate for a temporary situation.

(a) For example, I have lived in my city since the 1940's. (That is

true. I am an old man.)

(b) If you came to my city to study English and plan to return to your

country, you might say:

I have been living here for a year and plan to return to X next year.

THANK YOU
 

Tullia

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Tullia, I'm aware of the use of here and there, but thanks anyway.
What I was trying to say is:
I've been living here.
You're still here.

I've lived here.
You are not here anymore, so it makes no sense to use here.
In my opinion only there fits here
You can't say here when you are on a different place.


I think you have two problems.

1> "Here/there" relates to where you are when you are speaking, and it is perfectly possible to be somewhere, even if you no longer live there, so you can say "I've lived here" - as long as you are, in the moment of speaking, wherever "here" is.

2> You misunderstand the use of the tense in the phrase "I've lived here".
The usage of it is not as restricted as you think.



If you say "I've been living here."
  • You MUST still be living in the place.
  • You CANNOT have left to live elsewhere.
  • You MUST be in the place you are talking about at the time.
If you say "I've been living there."
  • You MUST still be living in the place.
  • You CANNOT have left to live elsewhere.
  • You CANNOT currently be in the place you are talking about at the time - e.g. you might be visiting another city or on a holiday, but you are still living in the place being talked about.
If you say "I've lived here"
  • You CAN still be living in the place, it is not necessary that you no longer do.
  • You CAN also no longer be living in the place. It depends on context.
  • You must BE in the place you are talking about though, even if you no longer live there - you might be there visiting family or friends, for example.
If you say "I've lived there"
  • You CAN still be living in the place, it is not necessary that you no longer do.
  • You CAN also no longer be living in the place. It depends on context.
  • You CANNOT be in the place you are talking about though, you must be somewhere else.
Let me think of some examples.


OK, first situation:
  • You live in London.
  • You have lived there for five years, and still live there now.
If you are in London while you are talking, you can say:
"I've been living here (in London) for five years."
OR
"I've lived here (in London) for five years."


If you are in Manchester while you are talking, you can say:
"I've been living there (in London) for five years."
OR
"I've lived there (in London) for five years."



Second situation:
  • You used to live in London, but now you live in Manchester.
If you are in London while you are talking, you can say:
"I've lived here (in London), so I know the city well."
OR
"I lived here (in London), so I know the city well."

If you are in Manchester while you are talking, you can say:
"I've lived there (in London), so I know the city well."
OR
"I lived there (in London), so I know the city well."


Does this help?
 

Nightmare85

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OK, first situation:
  • You live in London.
  • You have lived there for five years, and still live there now.
If you are in London while you are talking, you can say:
"I've been living here (in London) for five years." - agreed
OR
"I've lived here (in London) for five years." - disagreed
You're still in London and you're still living here.



If you are in Manchester while you are talking, you can say:
"I've been living there (in London) for five years."
OR
"I've lived there (in London) for five years." - agreed



Second situation:
  • You used to live in London, but now you live in Manchester.
If you are in London while you are talking, you can say:
"I've lived here (in London), so I know the city well." - disagreed
You are not living here anymore, you only used to live there.

OR
"I lived here (in London), so I know the city well." - agreed

If you are in Manchester while you are talking, you can say:
"I've lived there (in London), so I know the city well." - disagreed
same reason

OR
"I lived there (in London), so I know the city well." - agreed

N
 

bhaisahab

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Originally Posted by Tullia
OK, first situation:
  • You live in London.
  • You have lived there for five years, and still live there now.
If you are in London while you are talking, you can say:
"I've been living here (in London) for five years." - agreed
OR
"I've lived here (in London) for five years." - disagreed
You're still in London and you're still living here.
That's exactly what it is saying, Q "How long have you been living in London?" A "I've lived here for five years".


If you are in Manchester while you are talking, you can say:
"I've been living there (in London) for five years."
OR
"I've lived there (in London) for five years." - agreed



Second situation:
  • You used to live in London, but now you live in Manchester.
If you are in London while you are talking, you can say:
"I've lived here (in London), so I know the city well." - disagreed
You are not living here anymore, you only used to live there.
You arrive in London with a friend, you say "Do you know London very well?" Your friend says " I've lived here so I know the city well".
OR
"I lived here (in London), so I know the city well." - agreed

If you are in Manchester while you are talking, you can say:
"I've lived there (in London), so I know the city well." - disagreed
same reason
Wrong, same reason.
OR
"I lived there (in London), so I know the city well." - agreed

B.
 
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