# Have you been riding your bike?



## old woman

What have you been doing during lock down? Have you been riding your bike or have you been going for walks? 

Does this mean someone has ridden their bike multiple times or not necessarily? Or is the present perfect continuous used because the answer echoes the question and it just focusses on the activity of bike riding? I understand that going for walks means on multiple walks.


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## lingobingo

It certainly implies an activity carried out more than once over a period of time (continually rather than continuously) – but this is context, logic. The simple aspect, “Have you ridden your bike?”, would be a question more about the use of the bike than about how the person had been filling his or her time.


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## Chasint

> ... Have you been riding your bike ...?
> Does this mean someone has ridden their bike multiple times or not necessarily?



It doesn't mean _anything_ about the other person because you are asking a question, not making a statement.  It would be perfectly normal to ask, e.g.

"Have you been riding your bike during lockdown?" and for the other person to answer "Well, I went for one bike ride last Thursday but that's all."

What happens in reality is that you ask what you imagine to be most likely outcome. The other person can say Yes or No, or they can qualify their answer if the assumption is incorrect.

Having said that, the question "have you been riding?" offers the most likely possibility that either they have been riding multiple times or that they haven't been riding at all.


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> It certainly implies an activity carried out more than once over a period of time (continually rather than continuously) – but this is context, logic. The simple aspect, “Have you ridden your bike?”, would be a question more about the use of the bike than about how the person had been filling his or her time.


But if I ask: "Have you been riding your bike today?" it does not imply multiple activities, correct?



Chasint said:


> It doesn't mean _anything_ about the other person because you are asking a question, not making a statement.  It would be perfectly normal to ask, e.g.
> 
> "Have you been riding your bike during lockdown?" and for the other person to answer "Well, I went for one bike ride last Thursday but that's all."
> 
> What happens in reality is that you ask what you imagine to be most likely outcome. The other person can say Yes or No, or they can qualify their answer if the assumption is incorrect.
> 
> Having said that, the question "have you been riding?" offers the possibility that either they have been riding multiple times or that they haven't been riding at all.


"Have you been riding your bike during lockdown?" and for the other person to answer "Well, I went for one bike ride last Thursday but that's all."  So, it could mean just once?


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## Hermione Golightly

The question does not mean 'just once'. It implies some sort of regular, frequent bike-riding_ in the mind of the questioner._


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## old woman

Hermione Golightly said:


> The question does not mean 'just once'. It implies some sort of regular, frequent bike-riding_ in the mind of the questioner._


How do you ask if someone has ridden their bike just once? Did you ride your bike?



lingobingo said:


> It certainly implies an activity carried out more than once over a period of time (continually rather than continuously) – but this is context, logic. The simple aspect, “Have you ridden your bike?”, would be a question more about the use of the bike than about how the person had been filling his or her time.


Could you explain what you mean by "a question about the use of the bike"?


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## Chasint

old woman said:


> How do you ask if someone has ridden their bike just once? Did you ride your bike?



UK:  Have you ridden your bike during lockdown?

US: Did you ride your bike during lockdown?


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## lingobingo

old woman said:


> Could you explain what you mean by "a question about the use of the bike"?


I mean that a question such as “have you ridden your bike?” can come across as asking “has your bike been used?” – with the emphasis on the bike rather than on how you’ve been filling your time.

But basically, you’re trying to be too pedantic about this. The context, and whether or not you add a time adverbial such as “during lockdown” or “today”, affects which verb form works. In practice, most of them do, so long as you say it idiomatically.


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> I mean that a question such as “have you ridden your bike?” can come across as asking “has your bike been used?” – with the emphasis on the bike rather than on how you’ve been filling your time.
> 
> But basically, you’re trying to be too pedantic about this. The context, and whether or not you add a time adverbial such as “during lockdown” or “today”, affects which verb form works. In practice, most of them do, so long as you say it idiomatically.


But does "Have you been riding your bike today" imply multiple times today?


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## lingobingo

Only if that’s what the person asking the question assumes. The words themselves don’t specify that. English is much more about context than grammar.


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> Only if that’s what the person asking the question assumes. The words themselves don’t specify that. English is much more about context than grammar.


What do the words specify? "Have you spent part of today riding your bike?"


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## lingobingo

I can’t answer that. Again it’s a question, not a statement, in which the words indicate exactly what they say. There’s no ambiguity, and no further question is raised. It’s a closed question, demanding a yes or no answer.


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> I can’t answer that. Again it’s a question, not a statement, in which the words indicate exactly what they say. There’s no ambiguity, and no further question is raised. It’s a closed question, demanding a yes or no answer.


But what do the words indicate, that is what I don't understand. Can I ask the question if I assume the person went for a single ride today? Or do I have to use past simple?


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## lingobingo

How can you say you don’t understand your own sentence? 

If you specify today, the question can only be asked today.

Did you spend part of today riding your bike? ​PAST TENSE, asking whether a specific fact is true (with whatever nuance the actual context might suggest). ​​Have you spent part of today riding your bike? ​PRESENT TENSE, asking the question from a slightly different perspective, relating it to the *period* from the beginning of the specified duration (today) up to right now.​


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> How can you say you don’t understand your own sentence?
> 
> If you specify today, the question can only be asked today.
> 
> Did you spend part of today riding your bike? ​PAST TENSE, asking whether a specific fact is true (with whatever nuance the actual context might suggest). ​​Have you spent part of today riding your bike? ​PRESENT TENSE, asking the question from a slightly different perspective, relating it to the *period* from the beginning of the specified duration (today) up to right now.​


My question is if "Have you been riding your bike today?" can be used instead of "Have you ridden your bike today?" or "did you ride your bike today?" without any difference in meaning.


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## se16teddy

The present perfect continuous tense places the activity in a past time-frame that continued to the present period.
The activity can be *continuous *or it can be *continual/recurrent/habitual*.
1. _The earth has been orbiting the sun since at least last Thursday. (from the context, we are likely to understand this as continuous)_
2._ I have been shopping at Sainsbury's since last Thursday, because last Thursday someone shouted at me for not wearing a face-mask in the shop where I usually go. (from the context, we likely to understand this as continual, recurrent or habitual)_
In case 2, the speaker may possibly have only visited Sainsbury's once, and may mean that this is now where (s)he *habitually* does his shopping.
3. _I have been riding my bike this morning. _
I would tend to interpret this as "continuous" from the context. The cycling continued to the present period. But in principle nothing but logic prevents the cycling from being intermittent.


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## old woman

The present perfect continuous tense places the activity in a past time-frame that continued to the present period.
The activity can be *continuous or continual*.
1. The earth has been orbiting the sun since at least last Thursday. (continuous)
2. I have been shopping at Sainsbury's since last Thursday, because last Thursday someone shouted at me for not wearing a face-mask in the shop where I usually go. (we are more likely to understand this as continual)
By "continual" we understand that it probably happened more than once within the period.
[/QUOTE]
Yes, but I can say "I have been riding my bike today" when I have ridden my bike only once today and I am no longer riding my bike, as long as it is still today, correct?


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## lingobingo

old woman said:


> Yes, but I can say "I have been riding my bike today" when I am no longer riding my bike, as long as it is still today, correct?


Yes, of course. In fact, you’d need a very specific context for it to make sense to say that while you were still in the process of riding your bike, because the activity would not yet have been completed so the _perfect_ aspect would not apply.


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## old woman

se16teddy said:


> The present perfect continuous tense places the activity in a past time-frame that continued to the present period.
> The activity can be *continuous *or it can be *continual/recurrent/habitual*.
> 1. _The earth has been orbiting the sun since at least last Thursday. (from the context, we are likely to understand this as continuous)_
> 2._ I have been shopping at Sainsbury's since last Thursday, because last Thursday someone shouted at me for not wearing a face-mask in the shop where I usually go. (from the context, we likely to understand this as continual, recurrent or habitual)_
> In case 2, the speaker may possibly have only visited Sainsbury's once, and may mean that this is now where (s)he *habitually* does his shopping.
> 3. _I have been riding my bike this morning. _
> I would tend to interpret this as "continuous" from the context. The cycling continued to the present period. But in principle nothing but logic prevents the cycling from being intermittent.
> [/QUOTE I thought the present perfect continuous can be used for a recently finished activity, so "I have been cycling today"can be said shortly after you have finished, correct?


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> Yes, of course. In fact, you’d need a very specific context for it to make sense to say that while you were still in the process of riding your bike, because the activity would not yet have been completed so the _perfect_ aspect would not apply.


And I can still say " I have been riding my bike today" when I have ridden my bike only once today?


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## lingobingo

Yes. Provided it works in the particular context in which you’re saying it. You can’t keep ignoring the importance of context. 

No verb form expresses frequency.


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> Yes. Provided it works in the particular context in which you’re saying it. You can’t keep ignoring the importance of context.
> 
> No verb form expresses frequency.
> 
> My question is if "Have you been riding your bike today?" can be used instead of "Have you ridden your bike today?" or "did you ride your bike today?" without any difference in meaning.


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## MagEditor

To it, it would sound more natural to ask (near the end of the day), "Did you ride your bike today?"

And if asked that question, I would answer, "Yeah, I rode my bike this morning," etc. 

Neither the question nor the answer necessarily implies riding only once, but in normal conversation, a person who had ridden more than once that day would say, "Yeah, I rode my bike twice -- before and after work," etc.

Whereas if I wanted to emphasize the notion of just one bike ride, I would ask, "So did you do a bike ride today?" 

Of course, a person who'd been on two bike rides could still say, "Yes" without elaborating, but it would be more natural to say, "Not just one bike ride, but two!"


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## old woman

MagEditor said:


> To it, it would sound more natural to ask (near the end of the day), "Did you ride your bike today?"
> 
> And if asked that question, I would answer, "Yeah, I rode my bike this morning," etc.
> 
> Neither the question nor the answer necessarily implies riding only once, but in normal conversation, a person who had ridden more than once that day would say, "Yeah, I rode my bike twice -- before and after work," etc.
> 
> Whereas if I wanted to emphasize the notion of just one bike ride, I would ask, "So did you do a bike ride today?"
> 
> Of course, a person who'd been on two bike rides could still say, "Yes" without elaborating, but it would be more natural to say, "Not just one bike ride, but two!"


(near the end of the day), "Did you ride your bike today?"
What would you ask in the middle of the day?


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> Yes. Provided it works in the particular context in which you’re saying it. You can’t keep ignoring the importance of context.
> 
> No verb form expresses frequency.


Well, the present perfect continuous can express duration or repetition.


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## Hermione Golightly

> ... the present perfect continuous can express duration or repetition.


The word used was_ frequency._


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## MagEditor

old woman said:


> (near the end of the day), "Did you ride your bike today?"
> What would you ask in the middle of the day?


Well, that's up to the person asking -- maybe they're wondering if they can interest the person in a bike ride later that day.

But that's not mine to deduce. I'm just here to suggest ways of asking whether the person has ridden their bike only once that day.


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## old woman

MagEditor said:


> Well, that's up to the person asking -- maybe they're wondering if they can interest the person in a bike ride later that day.
> 
> But that's not mine to deduce. I'm just here to suggest ways of asking whether the person has ridden their bike only once that day.


So "Have you ridden your bike today?" could be asked in the middle of the day to find out if the person has ridden their bike once that day?


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## lingobingo

Yes. Or, more idiomatically: Have you been out on your bike yet today? But it doesn’t mean “once”. It means “at all”. In other words, the answer might be yes, or no, or something like “Yes, three times, in fact!”.


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> Yes. Or, more idiomatically: Have you been out on your bike yet today? But it doesn’t mean “once”. It means “at all”. In other words, the answer might be yes, or no, or something like “Yes, three times, in fact!”.


Can "Have you been riding your bike today?" be asked in the same way, meaning "have you been out on your bike today at all"?


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## lingobingo

Yes. 

But the simple/unmarked aspect is now replaced by the progressive one, which shifts the perceived emphasis from “have you done this [particular thing] yet today?” (yes/no answer required) to “what have you been doing so far today?”, “how have you been filling your time?” (a slightly more open question). It’s a subtle nuance, but it’s always there.


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> Yes.
> 
> But the simple/unmarked aspect is now replaced by the progressive one, which shifts the perceived emphasis from “have you done this [particular thing] yet today?” (yes/no answer required) to “what have you been doing so far today?”, “how have you been filling your time?” (a slightly more open question). It’s a subtle nuance, but it’s always there.


Does "Have you ridden your bike today" have a feeling of "you are supposed to ride your bike today"?


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## lingobingo

It could. But that’s a matter of context. It would be much more likely to mean that in a different situation, such as “Have you brushed your teeth?” or “Have you done your homework?”.


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> But the simple/unmarked aspect is now replaced by the progressive one, which shifts the perceived emphasis from “have you done this [particular thing] yet today?” (yes/no answer required) to “what have you been doing so far today?”, “how have you been filling your time?” (a slightly more open question). It’s a subtle nuance, but it’s always there.


That is my problem, I don't feel that nuance. I don't understand the difference.


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## MagEditor

For me, it would help if I knew what meaning you are hoping to convey. 

Are you looking for a way to ask if the person has gone on exactly *one *bike ride that day? Or are you just trying to understand the various shades of meaning among similarly worded sentences?


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## lingobingo

Nuance is something that’s difficult to explain and even more difficult to understand intuitively in a foreign language. Especially because, when learning a language, people tend, understandably, to approach everything from the viewpoint of which words to use, rather than prioritising the situation described by those words.


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## old woman

MagEditor said:


> For me, it would help if I knew what meaning you are hoping to convey.
> 
> Are you looking for a way to ask if the person has gone on exactly *one *bike ride that day? Or are you just trying to understand the various shades of meaning among similarly worded sentences?


I want to know if someone has ridden their bike that day, if the activity of riding their bike has occurred that day and I want to know how to ask this. If there is a difference in this context between "Have you ridden your bike today" or "Have you been riding your bike today".


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## MagEditor

OK, if the number of bike rides on that particular day is irrelevant, then "Have you ridden your bike today?" would certainly suffice. 

Sorry if I complicated the issue by telling you more than you wanted to know.


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> Yes.
> 
> But the simple/unmarked aspect is now replaced by the progressive one, which shifts the perceived emphasis from “have you done this [particular thing] yet today?” (yes/no answer required) to “what have you been doing so far today?”, “how have you been filling your time?” (a slightly more open question). It’s a subtle nuance, but it’s always there.


You have added the word "yet".I didn't use that word in my example.


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## old woman

MagEditor said:


> OK, if the number of bike rides on that particular day is irrelevant, then "Have you ridden your bike today?" would certainly suffice.
> 
> Sorry if I complicated the issue by telling you more than you wanted to know.


What is the difference between "Have you ridden your bike today" and "Have you been riding your bike today" in your opinion? why not use "have you been riding your bike today"?


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## MagEditor

There's not a lot of difference if you simply want to know whether the person has ridden a bike that day or not.

In certain contexts, "ridden" has a slightly greater implication of the activity being completed, whereas "been riding" suggests that the person has engaged in the activity in a more ongoing fashion.

It might be clearer to think of a yes answer to the question "Have you driven your new car today?" (You drove it and might not drive it again today) vs. "Have you been driving your new car today?" (You've been enjoying the opportunity to drive around in it and might drive it again later today.) Both activities could have occurred only once that day, and could occur again that day, but "been driving" carries a greater sense of casual enjoyment of the activity vs. simply completing a goal or task.

Conversely, if you wanted to know whether your daughter had finished her homework that day, you would ask, "Have you done your homework?" or "Did you do your homework?" (completing a task) but never "Have you been doing your homework?" (engaging in ongoing activity).


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## old woman

MagEditor said:


> "Have you been doing your homework?" engaging in an ongoing activity. "Have you been driving your new car today?"
> 
> You could ask this when the person is no longer driving their car and she is no longer doing her homework, correct? Shortly after they have ceased the activity? It is not necessary for the activity to be ongoing at this moment.


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## MagEditor

Right, "been doing/driving/riding" carries more of a sense of *being engaged in it* or *doing it on and off* as opposed to *having done it* *once that day*. But as you noted, it is not necessary for the activity to be ongoing at the moment, and you could ask when the person is not engaged in it.

For instance:
"What have you been doing all day?"
"I've been watching a lot of TV."

Again, there's no absolute rule -- a person could say, "I've been watching a lot of TV" after doing it only once that day, but it usually conveys a sense of doing an activity often over a period of time, and not all at once.


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## old woman

MagEditor said:


> Right, "been doing/driving/riding" carries more of a sense of *being engaged in it* or *doing it on and off* as opposed to *having done it* *once that day*. But as you noted, it is not necessary for the activity to be ongoing at the moment, and you could ask when the person is not engaged in it.
> 
> For instance:
> "What have you been doing all day?"
> "I've been watching a lot of TV."
> 
> Again, there's no absolute rule -- a person could say, "I've been watching a lot of TV" after doing it only once that day, but it usually conveys a sense of doing an activity often over a period of time, and not all at once.


"a period of time" could mean hours?


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## MagEditor

Sure. If I've *been driving my new car today*, I might have taken it out for a spin, as the saying goes, in the morning just for the fun of driving it ... or perhaps for an hour or so after dropping off my child at school. 

Then I might have driven it again to meet a friend for lunch, then perhaps taken a roundabout way home or even headed to a friend's house to show off my new vehicle. 

And so it goes ...


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## old woman

MagEditor said:


> Sure. If I've *been driving my new car today*, I might have taken it out for a spin, as the saying goes, in the morning just for the fun of driving it ... or perhaps for an hour or so after dropping off my child at school.
> 
> Then I might have driven it again to meet a friend for lunch, then perhaps taken a roundabout way home or even headed to a friend's house to show off my new vehicle.
> 
> And so it goes ...


So for I one drive that took a few hours you wouldn't use the continuous?


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## MagEditor

No, that would be OK also.

It's more a sense of engaging in an activity casually and without set goals and parameters as opposed to adhering to a regular regimen.

That's why, "Did you ride your bike today?" sounds more appropriate if the bike rider regularly pedals, say, 5 miles in the morning as part of a training or medically recommended routine ... and why "Have you been riding your bike today?" conveys more of a relaxed, casual and/or even aimless spirit.


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## old woman

se16teddy said:


> The present perfect continuous tense places the activity in a past time-frame that continued to the present period.
> The activity can be *continuous *or it can be *continual/recurrent/habitual*.
> 1. _The earth has been orbiting the sun since at least last Thursday. (from the context, we are likely to understand this as continuous)_
> 2._ I have been shopping at Sainsbury's since last Thursday, because last Thursday someone shouted at me for not wearing a face-mask in the shop where I usually go. (from the context, we likely to understand this as continual, recurrent or habitual)_
> In case 2, the speaker may possibly have only visited Sainsbury's once, and may mean that this is now where (s)he *habitually* does his shopping.
> 3. _I have been riding my bike this morning. _
> I would tend to interpret this as "continuous" from the context. The cycling continued to the present period. But in principle nothing but logic prevents the cycling from being intermittent.


"But in principle nothing but logic prevents the cycling from being intermittent." Teddy, I don't understand what you mean by this sentence. could you please clarify?


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## se16teddy

The present perfect tense does not specify whether an action is continual or continuous, persistent or intermittent.


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## old woman

se16teddy said:


> The present perfect tense does not specify whether an action is continual or continuous, persistent or intermittent.


Do you mean the present perfect continuous? So, you have to rely on context to know what is meant?


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## Hermione Golightly

*Context is of supreme importance* (as has been mentioned numerous times in this thread), and very often the speaker's attitude and intention plays a role too. For example if a child has been forbidden to play on their bike but the parent suspects they have disobeyed, the parent might chose the present perfect continuous. If the parent felt like it.
There would be no frequency or duration implied although logic leads us to assume that the child got on the bike and rode around on it for some length of time.
The question "Have you been riding your bike?" might be asked the following day.


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## se16teddy

old woman said:


> Do you mean the present perfect continuous?


“The present perfect tense does not specify whether an action is continual or continuous, persistent or intermittent.”

This is true of both present perfect simple and present perfect continuous.
- My heart has beaten for 60 years
- My heart has been beating for 60 years.
- I have gone to Spain for my holidays for 40 years.
- I have been going to Spain for my holidays for 40 years


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## old woman

Hermione Golightly said:


> *Context is of supreme importance* (as has been mentioned numerous times in this thread), and very often the speaker's attitude and intention plays a role too. For example if a child has been forbidden to play on their bike but the parent suspects they have disobeyed, the parent might chose the present perfect continuous. If the parent felt like it.
> There would be no frequency or duration implied although logic leads us to assume that the child got on the bike and rode around on it for some length of time.
> The question "Have you been riding your bike?" might be asked the following day.


"I can't imagine saying _I've been doing something _several days after the activity finished or even the next day."
This is what you said in a previous thread. Why can "have you been riding your bike?" be asked the following day?"


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## Hermione Golightly

I might if I felt like it, for some reason. I just feel I'm more likely to say "I rode my bike yesterday". _It depends on the context._
I don't think my spending my time to think of good contexts is going to help you in your quest for the impossible.

Why don't you provide contexts?


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## old woman

Hermione Golightly said:


> I might if I felt like it, for some reason. I just feel I'm more likely to say "I rode my bike yesterday". _It depends on the context._
> I don't think my spending my time to think of good contexts is going to help you in your quest for the impossible.
> 
> Why don't you provide contexts?


I thought the present perfect continuous can only be used the same day, because of the "recency" aspect. That the next day is not recent enough.


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## Hermione Golightly

If you still think that after all this discussion, there's nothing left to say.


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## old woman

Hermione Golightly said:


> If you still think that after all this discussion, there's nothing left to say.


Like I said, in a previous thread you stated: "I can't imagine saying _I've been doing something _several days after the activity finished or even the next day." That is what I mean, "even the next day". So I'm thinking the continous should be used the same day. That is not that odd, surely?


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## se16teddy

I put it this way: of the functions of the the present perfect tense is to indicate that the action happened continuously or continually or repeatedly over a period of past time that continued to the *present period*.

The “present period” is a flexible concept, all in the mind of the speaker, and dependent on context. For example, if the duration of the action is long, the “present period” stretches further back into the past.


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## old woman

se16teddy said:


> I put it this way: of the functions of the the present perfect tense is to indicate that the action happened continuously or continually or repeatedly over a period of past time that continued to the *present period*.
> 
> The “present period” is a flexible concept, all in the mind of the speaker, and dependent on context. For example, if the duration of the action is long, the “present period” stretches further back into the past.


So it is possible to ask: "have you been riding your bike?" when the riding happened yesterday and it is something the child shouldn't have been doing? Without the word "yesterday"of course. Yesterday is still part of the present period?


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## se16teddy

Don’t ask me. Ask the *speaker *whether the riding continued to the present period or ended the past. Verbal aspect is a *subjective* thing.


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## old woman

se16teddy said:


> Don’t ask me. Ask the *speaker *whether the riding continued to the present period or ended the past. Verbal aspect is a *subjective* thing.


I'm asking if yesterday can be part of the present period, if an action that happened yesterday is important to me now, today. Can yesterday be considered recent? Or is that subjective too?


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## se16teddy

old woman said:


> Can yesterday be considered recent? Or is that subjective too?


Yes, it is subjective and relative. For example, if the action lasted a million years, yesterday is probably recent/present.
_He has been riding that bike for 50 years but yesterday he gave it away. _


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## old woman

Hermione Golightly said:


> The question does not mean 'just once'. It implies some sort of regular, frequent bike-riding_ in the mind of the questioner._


Why is that, because lockdown lasted for quite a long period, so it is logical to assume that the bike-riding was frequent during that period?


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## Hermione Golightly

I am sorry to see you back again, going on and on about this topic which has already been fully explained several times in  this thread.
I don't know why you quote me and, apparently, question what I wrote when we seem to be in agreement.


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## old woman

Hermione Golightly said:


> Hermione Golightly said:
> 
> 
> 
> I am sorry to see you back again, going on and on about this topic which has already been fully explained several times in  this thread.
> I don't know why you quote me and, apparently, question what I wrote when we seem to be in agreement.
> 
> 
> 
> So, the answer to my question is "yes"?
Click to expand...


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## old woman

lingobingo said:


> I can’t answer that. Again it’s a question, not a statement, in which the words indicate exactly what they say. There’s no ambiguity, and no further question is raised. It’s a closed question, demanding a yes or no answer.


"I can’t answer that" I don't understand, why can't you answer that? What do you mean, could you please clarify?


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