How long were these vegetables cooked for? (state of being cooked (ready)/process of getting cooked)

[EngLearner]

Suppose Sarah has cooked dinner for John. She says to him from the kitchen: "The dinner's ready, John." Then John goes to the kitchen and says this:

Wow! these vegetables look delicious. How long have they been/were they cooked?

Which tense is appropriate in this particular context?

 

[emsr2d2]

Neither is the natural question. We know Sarah cooked dinner and that John is now asking a question to the person who cooked. A BrE speaker would ask "How long did you cook them for?"

 

[EngLearner]

So, if the vegetables are ready, in what context can this sentence be used:

How long have you cooked them for?

 

[emsr2d2]

I can't think of a natural scenario for that question. If the cooking is finished, ask "How long did you cook them for?"

 

[teechar]

The apparent disagreement is that emsr2d2 has said that the sentence How long have these vegetables been cooked? would be asked if the cooking is finished.

I hope that she will agree with me that it is likely to be true but not necessarily true that the cooking is finished.

I think most native speakers would take "have been cooked for" to mean that the cooking has stopped.

 

[teechar]

How long have you cooked them for?

That works for me. If the vegetables are still hot/warm, I can't see why the present perfect is inappropriate.

 

[EngLearner]

How long have you cooked them for?

That works for me. If the vegetables are still hot/warm, I can't see why the present perfect is inappropriate.

Which of the versions below would be appropriate in reply to that question:

A. I've cooked them for 20 minutes.
B. I cooked them for 20 minutes.

 

[teechar]

Either. I would use the present perfect.

 

[emsr2d2]

Grammatically speaking, I'd copy the tense in the question.

How long have you cooked them for?
I've cooked them for twenty minutes.

How long did you cook them for?
I cooked them for twenty minutes.

In reality, as is almost always the case in standard everyday English, I wouldn't repeat any part of the question.

How long did you cook/have you cooked them for?
Twenty minutes.

 

[EngLearner]

1. How long have you cooked them for?
2. How long did you cook them for?

If the vegetables have just been taken out of the oven, and they are still hot/warm, then both #1 and #2 can be used.

If some time has passed since then (for example, they've been taken out of the fridge and put on the table), then only #2 is appropriate.

Is my understanding correct?

 

[teechar]

Yes.

 

[Marika33]

1. How long have they been cooked?
2. How long were they cooked?

You'd use #1 when you're talking about the vegetables' present state of cookedness.

Very interesting!

But earlier you said that this sentence is appropriate if the vegetables are still being cooked. So my understanding is that this sentence could be used in both scenarios, is it correct?

Can I ask the same (using the simple, not the continuous tense) if the person is still cooking?

How long have these vegetables been cooked for? (She/He is still cooking them)

Yes, you can.

And then:

Do I understand it correctly that both of these are possible if the vegetables are still being cooked?
1. How long have these vegetables been cooked (for)? (without "being")
2. How long have they been cooking (for)?

Yes, both are 'possible', but it won't help you much to know that. The difference is the aspect, which is the way that the speaker views the action in relation to the time frame in which it happens. This is what I believe you need to understand better, and what you should be asking us about.

 

[Marika33]

1. How long have you cooked them for?
2. How long did you cook them for?

If the vegetables have just been taken out of the oven, and they are still hot/warm, then both #1 and #2 can be used.

If some time has passed since then (for example, they've been taken out of the fridge and put on the table), then only #2 is appropriate.

Is my understanding correct?

Yes.

And I'd also like to ask about "How long have you cooked them for?". Can this sentence be used only when the the vegetables have just been taken out of the oven, and they are still hot/warm, or also when the vegetables are still being cooked?

[The vegetables have just been taken out of the oven, and they are still hot/warm] How long have you cooked them for? []
[The vegetables are still being cooked] How long have you cooked them for? []

 

[teechar]

[The vegetables are still being cooked] How long have you cooked them for? []

Yes, that's possible. I would say:
"How long have they been cooking (for)?"

 

[Marika33]

Yes, that's possible.

Thanks! So I assume that any of these would work (in a situation where the vegetables are still being cooked).

How long have you been cooking them?
How long have you cooked them? #34
How long have they been cooking? #9, #34
How long have they been cooked? #9

 

[Tarheel]

Bob: How long have they been cooking?
Sally: Are you getting impatient?
Bob: Maybe a little.
Sally: Don't worry about it. They'll be done when they're done.
Bob: OK.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks! So I assume that any of these would work (in a situation where the vegetables are still being cooked).

1. How long have you been cooking them?
2. How long have you cooked them? #34
3. How long have they been cooking? #9, #34
4. How long have they been cooked? #9

I wouldn't use 2 or 4 (if you had helpfully numbered them) if the veg was still cooking. I think you can see from the length of this thread that there isn't universal agreement on this topic!
If the veg was still cooking, 2 and 4 would work with the addition of "so far" at the end.

 

[jutfrank]

But earlier you said that this sentence is appropriate if the vegetables are still being cooked. So my understanding is that this sentence could be used in both scenarios, is it correct?

Yes, that's correct. There's nothing in the grammar that tells us whether the vegetables are still being cooked.

I assume that any of these would work (in a situation where the vegetables are still being cooked).

How long have you been cooking them?
How long have you cooked them? #34
How long have they been cooking? #9, #34
How long have they been cooked? #9

Right.