He's been coming for forty minutes.

[Marika33]

Recently I heard this phrase in a movie, "It has been a long time coming".
My question is, does it mean the same thing as "It's been coming for a long time"? If so, can I use the follwing sentence (below) to talk about an amount of time somebody has been on his way to(has been going/coming) somewhere?

e.g.
[A friend of mine is coming to visit me. He left his place forty minutes ago and he is still on his way.]
He's been coming for forty minutes.

 

[teechar]

My question is, does it mean the same thing as "It's been coming for a long time"?

No. It's a set phrase that is used to talk about something which should have happened a long time ago but hasn't happened yet.

Urban Dictionary: long time coming

1. Something that's long overdue. 2. Something that should've happened a long time ago.

www.urbandictionary.com

 

[SoothingDave]

No, there is a sexual meaning to what you have written that you really want to avoid.

 

[Tarheel]

A phrase that is used cannot mean the same thing as a phrase that isn't used.

 

[Marika33]

No. It's a set phrase that is used to talk about something which should have happened a long time ago but hasn't happened yet.

Thanks.

What then should I say if I want to talk about an amount of time somebody has been going/coming/driving/walking/riding somewhere?

1. For example, a friend of mine is coming to visit me. He left his place forty minutes ago and he still hasn't come.
Can I say either of these, "He's been coming/going for forty minutes"? No? What should I say then?

2. Or in the past: a friend of mine decided to come to visit me. He left his place at 3:10 and got to my house at 3:50. Can I say either of these, "He was coming/going for forty minutes" or "He came/went for forty minutes"?

I guess the latter two options (in the past simple) are not good at all (mildly saying).
But I think I could use the past simple with "walk", "drive" and "ride", like "He drove/walked for forty minutes" or "He's been driving/walking for forty minutes now" if he's still going, but what if I don't want to specify exactly how he travels?
What should I say in 1 and 2?

 

[SoothingDave]

He's been on his way here for 40 minutes.

It took him 40 minutes to get here.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks.

What then should I say if I want to talk about an amount of time somebody has been going/coming/driving/walking/riding somewhere?

1. For example, A friend of mine is coming to visit me. He left his place forty minutes ago and he still hasn't come arrived.
Can I say either of these the following?
"He's been coming/going for forty minutes"? No? What should I say then?

2. Or In the past, a friend of mine decided to come to visit me. He left his place at 3:10 and got to my house at 3:50. Can I say either of these? i. "He was coming/going for forty minutes." or
ii. "He came/went for forty minutes."

I guess the latter two options (in the past simple) are not good at all (mildly saying) (to put it mildly).
But I think I could use the past simple with "walk", "drive" and "ride", like such as "He drove/walked for forty minutes" or "He's been driving/walking for forty minutes now" if he's still going, but what if I don't want to specify exactly how he travels?
What should I say in 1 and 2?

Note my changes above.

Your examples for "walk", "drive" and "ride" are OK.

You've answered your own final question. Say "He's been travelling for forty minutes".

 

[tedmc]

He's been on his way here for 40 minutes.

It took him 40 minutes to get here.

I think the second sentence is not what OP meant. After 40 minutes, he's still on his way.

 

[Marika33]

He's been on his way here for 40 minutes.

It took him 40 minutes to get here.

I think the second sentence is not what OP meant. After 40 minutes, he's still on his way.

The first sentence answers my first question, the second sentence answers my second question. Thanks, SoothingDave.

So, if I got something wrong, please, correct me.
1. A friend of mine is coming to visit me. He left his place thirty minutes ago and he still hasn't arrived.

• He's been coming/going (here/to my house) for thirty minutes. (But "He's been walking/driving/riding (here/to my house) for thirty minutes" are fine).
• He's been travelling (here/to my house) for thirty minutes
• He's been on his way (here/to my house) for thirty minutes.

2. In the past, a friend of mine decided to come to visit me. He left his place at 3:10 and got to my house at 3:50.

• He was coming/going (here/to my house) for forty minutes.
• He came/went (here/to my house) for forty minutes. (But "He walked/drove/rode (here/to my house) for forty minutes" are fine).
• He traveled (here/to my house) for forty minutes.
• He was on his way (here/to my house) for forty minutes.
• It took him forty minutes to get here/to my house.

Are there any more options? And what about these sentences (below)? Which of them are fine?

• He spent forty minutes going/coming/traveling/getting/walking/driving/riding here/to my house.
• He spent forty minutes to go/come/travel/get/walk/drive/ride here/to my house.
• It took him forty minutes to go/come/travel/walk/drive/ride here/to my house.

 

[Tarheel]

It took him 40 minutes to get here.
It took him 40 minutes to walk here.
It took him 40 minutes to drive here.
It took an 40 minutes to get to my house.
It took him 40 minutes to walk to my house.
It took him 40 minutes to drive to my house.

 

[Marika33]

Thank you, @Tarheel! Could you please tell me if my other sentences are fine (#9)?

 

[Tarheel]

Definitely don't use "coming" there. Also, you could I guess you the -ing form, but not all of them work for me. I guess you could say he spent 20 minutes walking or driving or whatever, but those don't appeal to me much.

 

[Marika33]

He's been on his way here for 40 minutes.

It took him 40 minutes to get here.

Are you sure you can't use "I was going to [some place] for [an amount of time]" in the meaning of "I was on my way to [some place] for [an amount of time]", "I took me [an amount of time] to get to [some place]"?

I've heard native speakers say this:
A: Where are you?! I need help!
B: I'm going, I'm going, I'm going.

As I understand, "I'm going" here in this dialogue means "I'm on my way", so why not use "I was going to [some place] for [an amount of time]" in the meaning of "I was on my way to [some place] for [an amount of time]", "I took me [an amount of time] to get to [some place]"?

In my native language, we can use all the three, but the first one, "I was going to [some place] for [an amount of time]" is the most common.

 

[Tarheel]

I was going for ten minutes. NO

I was on my way for ten minutes. NO

It took me ten minutes to get there. YES

 

[Marika33]

I was going for ten minutes. NO

I was on my way for ten minutes. NO

It took me ten minutes to get there. YES

I'm sorry, why are the first two "NO"?

 

[jutfrank]

I've heard native speakers say this:
A: Where are you?! I need help!
B: I'm going, I'm going, I'm going.

This sounds very strange to any native speaker reading this. If person B is going to the location of person A, it would be inappropriate to use the verb 'go' at all. It should be I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming.

 

[Piscean]

Are you sure you can't use "I was going to [some place] for [an amount of time]" in the meaning of "I was on my way to [some place] for [an amount of time]", "I took me [an amount of time] to get to [some place]"?

I am sure.

I've heard native speakers say this:
A: Where are you?! I need help!
B: I'm going, I'm going, I'm going.

I haven't.

The following two work, but your example sounds most unnatural to me;

A: Where are you?! I need help!
B; i'm coming, i'm coming,

a; Why are you still here? you should have left half an hour ago.
B: I'm going, I'm going.

(Crossposted)

 

[Marika33]

This sounds very strange to any native speaker reading this. If person B is going to the location of person A, it would be inappropriate to use the verb 'go' at all. It should be I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming.

I thought the same, too. But here's where I heard it.

your example sounds most unnatural to me

It's not mine.

 

[jutfrank]

I thought the same, too. But here's where I heard it.

Ah, now it makes sense. In this context, I'm going means 'I'm leaving (this place)' or 'I'm getting out of here'. It doesn't mean 'I'm coming (to you)', as in your example.

 

[Marika33]

It doesn't mean 'I'm coming (to you)', as in your example.

How is my example any different from what's going on in the video?
The boy has asked for help, and the girl says, "I'm going, I'm going, I'm going".