 Re: Present Perfect simple vs continuous
Thank you.
I thought the difference between simple and continuous also had (or 'was'… which is the most common?) to do with a result in the present which is the purpose of the action (simple) opposed to a 'result' in the present which is only a side effect, so 'Someone has been cutting out a picture' because the 'result' I can see (my paper ruined) is the side effect of the action certainly not its purpose. Whereas 'Someone has cut a picture' would imply somehow that I can see that picture next to the paper, that I know what the purpose of the action was: getting that one picture. It does not work very well here, but it does in (I see someone with grease on their hands): "What have you been doing?" "I have been repairing my motorbike." Getting grease on your hands is a 'result', an effect of trying to repair a motorbike, but it is not the purpose, not what repairing is for. As opposed to: "Shall I take you downtown? I have repaired my motorbike." |