Lisa has cleaned the house for three hours. Now it is tidy and looks nice.

[Alice Chu]

Please tell me if my understanding is correct.
1. Present perfect tense cannot mean something is happening at the moment of speaking.
2. From the context, we can know whether present perfect continuous tense means something is happening at the moment of speaking.

1) After Lisa cleaned the house for three hours, it was tidy and looked nice.
It means “cleaning” lasted for three hours and ended in the past and has nothing to do with the present.

2) Lisa has cleaned the house for three hours. Now it is tidy and looks nice.
It means “cleaning” lasted for three hours and ended in the past and has a result or effect in the present.

3) Lisa is sitting on the sofa and feels tired because she has been cleaning the house for three hours.
It means “cleaning” lasted for three hours and ended not long before now and has a result or effect in the present.

4) Lisa is cleaning the house. She has been cleaning it for three hours, but it is still in a mess.
It means “cleaning” started three hours ago and has continued until the present without a break, and it is happening at the moment of speaking.

5) Joe is playing golf with his friends. He has been playing golf for two years/twice a week for two years. He likes the sport very much.
It means “playing golf” happens repeatedly or regularly in a long period of two years, and it is happening at the moment of speaking.
Is “twice a week” necessary here?
We cannot use “has played” here, can we?

6) Joe and his friends are at the restaurant.
Joe said to his friends, “I have played/have been playing golf for two years/twice a week for two years. I like the sport very much.”
It means “playing golf” happens repeatedly or regularly in a long period of two years, and it is not happening at the moment of speaking.
Is “twice a week” necessary here?
We can use “have been playing” here, can’t we?

 

[5jj]

1. Present perfect tense cannot mean something is happening at the moment of speaking.

Not true.

2. From the context, we can know whether present perfect continuous tense means something is happening at the moment of speaking.

Not always.

1) After Lisa cleaned the house for three hours, it was tidy and looked nice.
It means “cleaning” lasted for three hours and ended in the past and has nothing to do with the present.

Probably.

2) Lisa has cleaned the house for three hours. Now it is tidy and looks nice.
It means “cleaning” lasted for three hours and ended in the past and has a result or effect in the present.

The first sentence is not very natural.

3) Lisa is sitting on the sofa and feels tired because she has been cleaning the house for three hours.
It means “cleaning” lasted for three hours and ended not long before now and has a result or effect in the present.

As much as the tense/aspect, the words tell us this.

4) Lisa is cleaning the house. She has been cleaning it for three hours, but it is still in a mess.
It means “cleaning” started three hours ago and has continued until the present without a break, and it is happening at the moment of speaking.

As much as the tense/aspect, the words tell us this.

5) Joe is playing golf with his friends. He has been playing golf for two years/twice a week for two years. He likes the sport very much.
It means “playing golf” happens repeatedly or regularly in a long period of two years, and it is happening at the moment of speaking.
Is “twice a week” necessary here?

Yes, if you want to tell us the frequency.

We cannot use “has played” here, can we?

We can

6) Joe and his friends are at the restaurant.
Joe said to his friends, “I have played/have been playing golf for two years/twice a week for two years. I like the sport very much.”
It means “playing golf” happens repeatedly or regularly in a long period of two years, and it is not happening at the moment of speaking.

As much as the tense/aspect, the words and the context tell us this.

Is “twice a week” necessary here?

Yes, if you want to tell us the frequency.

We can use “have been playing” here, can’t we?

We can.

 

[5jj]

In future, Alice, please ask about one sentence at a time. This thread is likely to become very confused and confusing if individual members respond to different prts of your first post.

 

[5jj]

As I am sure you have been told before, you are trying to pin too precise a meaning on the use of a particular tense or aspect. When the full context is known to both speaker and listener. one form (past or present perfect, continuous or non-continuous) rather than the other is likely to be used, but there are not many situations in which only one is correct, natural and obligatory.

 

[Maybo]

You may find the quizzes helpful in the following link.
https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/#Present-Perfect

 

[Alice Chu]

Originally Posted by Alice Chu
1. Present perfect tense cannot mean something is happening at the moment of speaking.
Not true.

Both present perfect and present perfect continuous can mean something happens repeatedly or regularly in a long period of time, and the action could be happening at the moment of speaking or not.
We can use present perfect continuous to mean an action lasts for a short period of time without a break until the present, except the verbs “live, work, teach and study”, and the action is usually temporary.
1) Sam is studying English now. He has studied/has been studying English for an hour/for three years.
2) Amy is teaching English now. She has taught/has been teaching English for twenty minutes/for six years.
3) Tom is working in the factory now. He has worked/has been working there for two hours/for over ten years.
4) Joe is living in London now. He has lived/has been living there for an hour/for ten years.
5) Jack is playing basketball now. He has been playing basketball for an hour.
We don’t use “has played” here. Am I right?
6) Lily is having dinner now. She has been having dinner for over an hour.
We don’t use “has had” here. Am I right?
7) Tina is cleaning the kitchen now. She has been cleaning the kitchen for two hours.
We don’t use “has cleaned” here. Am I right?

2) Lisa has cleaned the house for three hours. Now it is tidy and looks nice.
It means “cleaning” lasted for three hours and ended in the past and has a result or effect in the present.
The first sentence is not very natural.

Are the following sentences natural? Is my understanding correct?
1. Lisa has cleaned the house. Now it is tidy and looks nice.
It means “cleaning” was finished before now, but it has a result in the present.

2. Lisa has been cleaning the house for two hours. Now it is tidy and looks nice.
It means “cleaning” lasted for two hours and was finished not long before now, and it has a result in the present.
We cannot use “has played” here, can we?

5) Joe is playing golf with his friends. He has been playing golf for two years/twice a week for two years. He likes the sport very much.
It means “playing golf” happens repeatedly or regularly in a long period of two years, and it is happening at the moment of speaking.

We cannot use “has played” here, can we?
We can.

Both “has played” and “has been playing” in the sentence mean the action is happening right now. Except the tense/aspect, there is no difference between them. Am I right?

6) Joe and his friends are at the restaurant.
Joe said to his friends, “I have played/have been playing golf for two years/twice a week for two years. I like the sport very much.”
It means “playing golf” happens repeatedly or regularly in a long period of two years, and it is not happening at the moment of speaking.
We can use “have been playing” here, can’t we?
We can.

Both “have played” and “have been playing” in the sentence mean the action is not happening right now. Except the tense/aspect, there is no difference between them. Am I right?

​

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[Alice Chu]

Not true.
Both present perfect and present perfect continuous can mean something happens repeatedly or regularly in a long period of time, and the action could be happening at the moment of speaking or not.
We can use present perfect continuous to mean an action lasts for a short period of time without a break until the present, except the verbs “live, work, teach and study”, and the action is usually temporary.
1) Sam is studying English now. He has studied/has been studying English for an hour/for three years.
2) Amy is teaching English now. She has taught/has been teaching English for twenty minutes/for six years.
3) Tom is working in the factory now. He has worked/has been working there for two hours/for over ten years.
4) Joe is living in London now. He has lived/has been living there for an hour/for ten years.
5) Jack is playing basketball now. He has been playing basketball for an hour.
We don’t use “has played” here. Am I right?
6) Lily is having dinner now. She has been having dinner for over an hour.
We don’t use “has had” here. Am I right?
7) Tina is cleaning the kitchen now. She has been cleaning the kitchen for two hours.
We don’t use “has cleaned” here. Am I right?


The first sentence is not very natural.

Are the following sentences natural? Is my understanding correct?
1. Lisa has cleaned the house. Now it is tidy and looks nice.
It means “cleaning” was finished before now, but it has a result in the present.

2. Lisa has been cleaning the house for two hours. Now it is tidy and looks nice.
It means “cleaning” lasted for two hours and was finished not long before now, and it has a result in the present.

We can

Both “has played” and “has been playing” in the sentence mean the action is happening right now. Except the tense/aspect, there is no difference between them. Am I right?

We can.

Both “have played” and “have been playing” in the sentence mean the action is not happening right now. Except the tense/aspect, there is no difference between them. Am I right?

 

[Alice Chu]

To: 5jj
I am very sorry to reply to your answers twice because I don't know how to quote or delete the message.
Please help me with my problems. Thank you very much.

 

[5jj]

Just post one sentence and one question, Alice. We'll do our best to deal with that.