I have lived in New York for 15 years.

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Alice Chu

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Oct 14, 2019
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English Teacher
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Chinese
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Taiwan
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Taiwan
Hello, dear teachers.
Could you please tell me if my understanding is correct? Thank you very much.

Some writers say present perfect tense used with for or since could mean a permanent action or state, and present perfect continuous tense used with for or since could mean a temporary action.

1. I have lived in New York for 15 years. I like the modern convenient city a lot.
Some writers think the words “have livedindicate a permanent action, but I don’t think so because “have been living” can be used in this sentence, too. Could you please tell me your opinion about this?

2. I live in Paris, but I have been living with my parents in London since last year. I like both cities very much.
Could you please tell me if the words “have been living” indicate a temporary action?

3. I have been jogging a lot recently because I need to lose weight.
Could you please tell me if the words “have been jogging” indicate a temporary action?
 
Re: Could present perfect tense used with for or since mean a permanent action?

2. I live in Paris, but I have been living with my parents in London since last year.
The two statements are contradictory. You can add words or change a verb to fix this:

I normally/usually/used to live in Paris, but I've been living with my parents in London since last year.

I live in Paris, but I've been staying with my parents in London since last year.
 
Alice, please note that I have changed your thread title.

'Thread titles should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.'
 
I would be more likely to use have been living for fifteen years if I were going to move somewhere else. Fifteen years is a lot of temporary. ;-)
 
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