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  1. Since then I have specialised in this work.
  2. Since then I have been specialising in this work.

Is my thinking right that the first case means I may not now necessarily specialise only in this work, but in the second, I am still specialising in it?

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To me, the sentences are similar enough in meaning that they could be interchangeable. The meaning I glean from them is that "since then, I have" practiced almost exclusively in "this work."

That being said, the second sentence may be slightly ambiguous. It could mean "I have been developing my specialty in this work since then." In other words, the exclusivity of my work in this area has been increasing "since then." If that's not what you mean, I'd advise going with sentence 1, which is less wordy in any case.

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Let's consider a different pair of examples here:

  1. Since then, I have written a novel. - have written (present perfect tense) >> meaning, I've finished writing a novel.

  2. Since then, I've been writing a novel. - have been writing (present perfect continuous) >> I'm in the process of writing a novel. I haven't finished it yet.

Your sentences:

  1. "Since then I have specialised in this work." = I'm done with my specialization work.

  2. "Since then I have been specialising in this work." = I still continue with my work.

To me, your first sentence doesn't mean, as you believe, "may not now necessarily specialise only in this work".

N.B: "specialize", with a "z".

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