What's the difference between these sentences?
What's the difference between "I have lived here for 22 years" and "I have been living here for 22 years"? Do both sentences mean the same thing? I know the first one is written using the Present Perfect and the second one, the Present Perfect Continuous, but I don't know when I should use one or another.
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Answers · 8
2
Hello, I've found this explanation in a book, I hope you find it useful!
Present Perfect Simple & Present Perfect
Continuous
We use the Present Perfect Simple to talk about
something we have done or achieved, or an action
that is complete. It is also used to say how many times
something happened.
e.g. We have watched that documentary five times in the last
month.
We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about how
long something has been happening. It is not important
whether or not it has finished.
e.g.The tropical storm has been going on for days.
1
I think it is also about context and what you want to emphasize. The first is the present perfect tense which usually emphasises the result. The second - 'I have been living here' is the present perfect continuous - where you are interested in the process as well as the result. Subtle differences - but both would be OK in most cases. Hope that helps?
0
Thank you for the link!
0
This previous italki answer was pretty good. It explains that the first sentence has a more finality to it. https://www.italki.com/question/104535?hl=en-us
0
I think the second one is just the emphatic form of the first. The first is definitely more common.
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