Is there any difference between Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous?

Question

I have studied "present perfect" and "present perfect continuous" for a week. I know forms, verb and helping verb I should use when I write them.

For me, they have nearly same definition because I can use them interchangeably in Thai language. (My native language)

For example, the sentences

• I have learned English language in the past few weeks.
• I have been learning English language in the past few weeks.

have no difference in meaning to me. They both mean "I began learning the English language in the past and I am still learning it"

Can I use them interchangeably in English? Or is there any difference between them? For example, when should I use present perfect but not present perfect continuous?

Answer 1

This is a difficult area of English for foreign learners, and I’m afraid you’re not going to understand it fully from a few answers here. Very briefly, you use the present perfect continuous form to talk about events in the recent past, particularly activities that have not been completed. The form is often found with the prepositions ‘for’ and ‘since’, as in ‘He’s been speaking for a very long time’ or ‘I’ve been working non-stop since this morning’.

Here are a few examples contrasting the present perfect with the present perfect continuous:

'I’ve done my homework' (it’s finished) / 'I’ve been doing my homework' (it’s not finished)

‘I’ve drunk my coffee' (it’s all gone) / ‘I’ve been drinking my coffee’ (there’s some left)

‘It’s rained every day since the weekend’ (repeated rain) / ‘It’s been raining all day’ (continuous rain)

Your own examples don’t really illustrate the use very well. You wouldn’t say ‘I have learned English language in the past few weeks’, because that suggests you’ve finished your studies and you don’t need to do any more. That’s unrealistic. No one learns English in a few weeks. I think these two examples might show the difference more clearly:

‘I have been studying English for two years’ (I’m still studying it)

'I have studied English, but I don’t speak it very well' (I studied it at some time in the past, but am not studying it any more)

Answer 2

"I have learned the English language in the past few weeks" implies that you have completed learning it. "I have been learning the English language" doesn't imply it.

This isn't true in all cases. "I have been eating blueberries for the past few weeks" means nearly the same thing as "I have eaten blueberries for the past few weeks."

On the other hand, "I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox" means that they are all gone, while "I have been eating the plums that were in the icebox" does not. The difference here is that "the plums that were in the icebox" is much more specific than "blueberries". As Barrie says in his answer, this is a fairly tricky area of English to learn.

Answer 3

"I have learned English language in the past few weeks" and "I have been learning English language in the past few weeks" have only a slight difference in meaning, and, even then, some might not pick up on that difference unless the two statements were put together, side-by-side.

"I have learned" implies a sense of finality (as though maybe the learning is now over), while "I have been learning" implies that the activity is not necessarily over yet, and may continue.

So, a choir member might say "We have practiced our song over the past two weeks" on the eve of a show, but opt for "We have been practicing our song for a whole week" when they still have a week of practice remaining.

This difference is very subtle, though, and there are many cases where using one in place of the other wouldn't confuse a native speaker or listener.

That said, "I have learned" can also refer to something was taught a long time ago: "I have learned the difference between right and wrong" could be said by a penitent criminal who has learned a very recent lesson, or by an aged man who learned the difference long ago. "I have been learning" wouldn't normally be used for such long-ago learning (although there may be some exceptions; this community has a way of finding them!)

Answer 4

Sometimes the two tenses are interchangeable, as in the OP's example. But sometimes they are not. Essentially, it depends on whether the action denoted by the verb is regarded by the speaker as completable or not. By this definition, living and learning, for example, are not completable, in which case both tenses are possible:

• I've been living in London since 2001.
• I've lived in London since 2001.

Conversely, if the verb is completable then the present perfect is used to indicate that the action has indeed been completed, whereas the continuous form implies only that the action was carried out, but with no indication if it was completed. For example:

• I've read the book.

means I've finished reading it. Whereas:

• I've been reading the book.

means only that I was in the process of reading it. It carries no implication that the reading is complete. Indeed, it tends to imply that the reading is not complete. There's a similar difference in meaning between:

• I have been learning the irregular verbs.
• I have learned the irregular verbs.

In this case the verb learn is conceived by the speaker as completable.

Answer 5

The following examples could help you understanding the difference in meaning:

"I have done ballet for years." : I did ballet in the past and up to and including the present, but I may getting bored with it.

"I have been doing ballet for years." : I did ballet in the past and have continued until the present time and probably will continue in the future. I haven't finished with it yet. Ballet is here for the duration.

As we can understand, the difference in meaning is not so slight.

It is simply to create a parallelism between the above examples and (your) "I have learned ..."/"I have been learning ... ."

Note that tenses put actions into the past, present and future, the 'may-yet-be' or the 'might-have-been'.

Answer 6

I can relate to English having verb tenses not present in your native language. I struggled for a while with the two different forms of "to be" in Spanish. What helped me were clear rules distinguishing them.

The short answer is I have learned English language in the past few weeks means that you have completely learned English and have nothing left to learn (or have at least learned enough that you do not need to learn any more), while I have been learning English language in the past few weeks means that you have been engaging in a process of learning that is not finished.

(By the way, the idiom, or customary way to phrase it, would be either "learned the English language" or just "learned English". In the U.S. I most often hear "learned English" or even more often "studied English".)

The important thing to remember is that the word "perfect", when used in grammar to describe English verb tenses, generally means "completed" rather than "free from flaws" (the most common usage of "perfect" outside of grammar). Thus the future perfect, present perfect, and past perfect all refer to actions that will have been/have been/were completed, while the continuous forms all refer to actions that will be/are/were ongoing. This should help you with the majority of cases.

Of course, nothing is so simple with English grammar. The perfect tense also refers to an habitual action that began in the past. (I don't know why.) This causes immense confusion.

Now you're probably wondering, "If something has been completed, how could it be in the present?" Also, you may ask, how can you speak of something that has not been started yet as being completed (in the future perfect)? The answer is that the perfect tense is used to show which of two events happened first, whether they both happend in the past or the future. You use the perfect tense for something that completed before something else referred to in the same sentence. The time you use (past, present, or future) corresponds to the time of that something else. If you don't know when it happened, then you use the present.

Present perfect (completed):

I have run 5 miles by now.

Present perfect (habitual):

I have run 5 miles every day for weeks now.

So what does this mean for "present perfect continuous". It means English grammar is cruel, because how could something possibly be both completed and ongoing. I think it comes from the idea that repetitive actions are completed and then repeated so they are both finished and ongoing at the same time. In any case, "continuous" dominates in this tense, and present perfect continuous means something is ongoing, it has not stopped, while "perfect" means it started some time in the past.

"Wait," you say, "if it's ongoing, doesn't that mean it must have already started?" Well, yes, actually. I said English is cruel. The present perfect continuous is used to indicate that something started further in the past than what you might consider "now". A friend greets me at a park:

Friend: What is that kid doing?

Me: She is running. (Present continuous)

Friend: She is pretty sweaty.

Me: Yes, she has been running since I got here. (Present perfect continuous)

Friend: She seems to know her way around the park.

Me: Yes, you can tell she has run around here before. (Present perfect)

For more information, I like the verb tense descriptions (and examples) at EnglishPage.com. However, do not get hung up on their tests. While their correct answers are correct, they reject plenty of acceptable incorrect answers in the name of drilling in whatever it is they are testing.

Answer 7

Well I really like @Barrie's answer most as always. He is sharp as always, put it simple and clear. Although I want to add some more information. You have pointed out the difference that Past Perfect Simple wants result and the Past Perfect Continues imply on continuous activity with unclear result. That is really important and all the people that have done it clear are rewarded +1 from me. What they have missed are the corner example and exceptions. So I want to make it clear- there are a list of verbs that do not have continues (Progressive) form.

Mental and Emotional States believe, dislike, doubt, imagine, know, like, love, hate, prefer, realize, recognize, remember, suppose.

Sense appear, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste.

Communication agree, astonish, deny, disagree, impress, mean, please, promise, satisfy, surprise .

Other States be, belong, concern, consist, contain, cost, depend, deserve, fit, include, involve, lack, matter, need, owe, own, possess.

Example:

Sam has been having his car for two years. (Not Correct)

Sam has had his car for two years. (Correct)

Although some of them can be used in Continues tense with different meaning.

Non-Continuous Meanings

feel = 'have an opinion' - He feels he should get a second chance.

see = 'understand' - I see what you mean.

think = 'have an opinion' - I think we should leave immediately.

appear = 'look like' - That appears to be stale.

look = 'seem' - It looks impossible!

taste = 'have a taste' - That tastes yummy!

Continuous Meanings

feel = 'feel physically' - I'm feeling awful this afternoon.

see = 'visit' - She's seeing a doctor this morning.

think = 'use the brain' - He's thinking hard about the problem.

appear = 'be on stage / perform' - Jack Daniels is performing at the Paramount tonight.

look = 'stare at' - I'm looking at that strange man.

taste = 'use the mouth' - The cook is tasting the sauce!

IMPORTANT

Remember that the Present Perfect Continuous has the meaning of "lately" or "recently." If you use the Present Perfect Continuous in a question such as "Have you been feeling alright?", it can suggest that the person looks sick or unhealthy. A question such as "Have you been smoking?" can suggest that you smell the smoke on the person. Using this tense in a question suggests you can see, smell, hear or feel the results of the action. It is possible to insult someone by using this tense incorrectly.

I am not quite sure, but I think that already, by the time, ever, never can be used only with Past Perfect Simple, because they are asking for result.

Answer 8

Preface
This is an answer I posted some time ago. I'm well aware that the sentences are different from the OP's examples, but it does mention the difference between present perfect, present continuous and the simple past. It also includes an excerpt from Michael Swan's book, which I have always found helpful.

---

• In my lifetime I've lived in many different countries. I've lived in England, Ireland, Spain and in Italy.

• I lived in England when I was a young girl, and in Ireland for one year.

• For the last ten years I have been living in northern Italy.

  1. I could in the future live in a different country. Actually, I'm thinking of moving to Boston in the USA in the near future. Hence I used the present perfect tense in the first sentence.

  2. I don't live in England or in Ireland now, therefore I used the past simple tense.

  3. I now live in Italy, it's a temporary situation, I might move to Boston but I'm still thinking about it. Using the present perfect continuous tense emphasizes the temporality of my situation. If I had written, I have lived in Italy for the last ten years the meaning would be the same, the listener/reader would understand that I am living in Italy now.

---

Michael Swan in Practical English Usage has this to say:

Present perfect: actions and situations continuing up to the present (details) Use of the present perfect

When we want to talk about actions or situations which started in the past and have continued up to the present, we often use the present perfect to show the connection between past and present. Note that we never use a present tense when we say how long a situation has been going on.

i) I've been waiting for three quarters of an hour.
ii) We have had this flat since 1955.
iii) I have always liked English people.
iv) I've studied human nature all my life.

The present perfect is also used for long actions and situations which started in the past and went on until very recently.

vi) I've painted two rooms since lunchtime.
vii) "You look hot." — "yes, I've been running."
viii) I've been reading some of your poetry. It's not bad.

[...]

Present perfect simple and progressive

The present perfect progressive is used especially for more temporary actions and situations; when we talk about more permanent situations, we prefer the present perfect simple. Compare:

• I've been living in Sally's flat for the last month.
• My parents have lived in Bristol all their lives.
• I haven't been working very well recently.
• He hasn't worked for years.

The present perfect simple is often used to express the idea of completion: to say that an action has just finished, or to talk about its results. The present perfect progressive emphasizes the continuation of the activity. Compare:

• I've been reading your book. (= I haven't finished it.)

• I've read your book. (= I've finished it.)

• I've been learning irregular verbs all afternoon.

• I've learnt my irregular verbs. (= I know them.)

• Sorry about the mess — I've been painting the house.

• I've painted two rooms since lunchtime.