Present Perfect Simple or Continuous?
Compare the PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE and THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS.
I’ve read a book on UFOs this week.
I’ve been reading a book on UFOs this week.
Which sentence shows…
an activity which is still happening?
an activity that has finished?
Yet the present perfect continuous and the present perfect simple can both be used to describe
situations which started in the past and are still going on, or about past actions which have present
results. The important difference is that the present perfect continuous focuses on the action itself, but
the present perfect simple focuses on the completion or result of the action.
I’ve been playing a lot of football this week.
Monday
10.00 - 14.30
Tuesday
15.00 – 18.00
Thursday
8.30 – 11.00
Friday
13.00 – 16.15
I’ve played three matches. (focus on completion, especially with
numbers)
We always use the present perfect simple when we say how much or
how many.
