# Present progressive/present perfect progressive



## Phoebe1200

Selfmade_._

_"*I'm riding a bike to get to work because my car is broken"*.
_
Is present progressive correct in the highlighted part?
Should it be present perfect progressive _"I've been riding...."_?


Gratefully.


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## Glenfarclas

Phoebe1200 said:


> Should it be present perfect progressive _"I've been riding...."_?



Not necessarily.  The choice of tense depends on the context.


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## Phoebe1200

So present progressive is correct because it is a temporary action, right? 

And also could you please put the OP sentense in present perfect progressive by using it in the right context or adding what is necessary šo I could understand it better?


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## Glenfarclas

Q1. How *are* you getting to work* these days*?
A1. *I'm riding* my bike.

Q2. How *have* you been getting to work *recently*?
A2. *I've been* riding my bike.


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## Phoebe1200

Thank you for your examples.
By the way, I was wondering about the phrase *"these days"*. Does it always take *present progressive* tense?


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## Glenfarclas

Phoebe1200 said:


> By the way, I was wondering about the phrase *"these days"*. Does it always take *present progressive* tense?



No, not necessarily.  Depending on the context, you might also use the present tense.


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## Phoebe1200

And what about *present perfect*? 
Can I say this:_ It's been very cold these days._


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## Glenfarclas

Phoebe1200 said:


> And what about *present perfect*?
> Can I say this:_ It's been very cold these days._



People would understand you, but it's probably not the most natural way to express that.  "It's been very cold these last days"; "It's been very cold these past few days."


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## Phoebe1200

Glenfarclas said:


> Depending on the context, you might also use the present tense.


Could you give an example for this, please?


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## Glenfarclas

"I used to get worried about every little thing that happened, but these days I'm a lot more relaxed."


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## Phoebe1200

Glenfarclas said:


> "I used to get worried about every little thing that happened, but these days I'm a lot more relaxed."


Thank you. Great example.

Is this OK?
Q1. How *are* you getting to work? (he knows about his car situation)
A1. *I've been riding* my bike.


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## Glenfarclas

Phoebe1200 said:


> Thank you. Great example.
> 
> Is this OK?
> Q1. How *are* you getting to work? (he knows about his car situation)
> A1. *I've been riding* my bike.



Yes, that's fine.


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## Phoebe1200

Glenfarclas said:


> Yes, that's fine.


Really? I thought you'd say that using present perfect like that would be wrong without the words "recently" or "lately",  and the fact that I ask the question with present progressive and answer with present perfect.


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## Glenfarclas

Phoebe1200 said:


> Really? I thought you'd say that using present perfect like that would be wrong without the words "recently" or "lately",  and the fact that I ask the question with present progressive and answer with present perfect.



There is no need for a speaker to answer using exactly the same tense as in the question.


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## Phoebe1200

In that case, could you please tell me the difference between answering with present progressive and present perfect progressive here? 

Q: How *are* you *getting* to work?
A: *I'm riding *my bike / *I've been riding* my bike.


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## Cagey

_*I'm riding *my bike. _ This is a general answer to the question that doesn't imply any intention to change. 
_
*I've been riding* my bike._ This answers the question, but may also be used if the person plans or hopes to change this in the future.  Use this if you regard the arrangement as temporary.  However, someone may simply be answering the question. If context doesn't tell you which meaning is intended, you will have to ask.


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## Phoebe1200

Hello, Cagey.
Thank you for replying.



Cagey said:


> _*I'm riding *my bike. _ This is a general answer to the question that doesn't imply any intention to change.


But by itself "I'm riding" implies that it's a temporary situation. Am I right?

Also, did you read the whole thread from the beginning before you replied?


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## Cagey

I did. 

I'm not acquainted with any rule that the present progressive in itself implies a temporary situation. For instance, "I'm living in California" doesn't suggest that I am about to move away.   It may be that the present progressive implies a situation that could change in the future. I'm not sure.


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## Phoebe1200

Cagey said:


> I'm not acquainted with any rule that the present progressive in itself implies a temporary situation. For instance, "I'm living in California" doesn't suggest that I am about to move away.   It may be that the present progressive implies a situation that could change in the future. I'm not sure.


I didn't mean that present progressive always implies a temporary situation, but it is used for temporary actions, isn't it?
Just like in your example "I'm living in California". Otherwise you would simply say "I live in California", wouldn't you?


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## Cagey

I usually would say "_I live in California"_, but I might say_ "I am living in California"_ in any number of contexts that I can't give a rule for.  I assume that the progressive implies a possibility of change, either in the past or in the future, but other than that, I can't generalize. 

I wouldn't worry about it very much.


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## Phoebe1200

I just wanted to know if you _too_ think that this is OK.

Q1. How *are* you *getting* to work? (he knows about his car situation)
A1. *I've been riding* my bike.

Q2. How *have *you* been getting* to work? (he knows about his car situation)
A2. *I'm riding* my bike.


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## Glasguensis

Q1/A1 combination seems feasible
A2 seems an odd response to Q2.


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## Phoebe1200

Glasguensis said:


> Q1/A1 combination seems feasible
> A2 seems an odd response to Q2.


Hi, Glasguensis.
Thank you so much for replying.
I just want to ask one more question that's bugging me.


Q: How *are* you *getting* to work?
A: *I'm riding *my bike / *I've been riding* my bike.

What would the speaker have in mind when answering with present progressive or present perfect progressive?


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## Oddmania

With "_I've been riding my bike_", you seem to be making a point of telling us about what you've been doing over a past period of time. You're saying this situation has been going on for quite some time, or you've had to take your bike quite a lot of times. Maybe you're trying to complain or to sound irritated. It brings a personal feeling to the statement.


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## Phoebe1200

Oddmania said:


> With "_I've been riding my bike_", you seem to be making a point of telling us about what you've been doing over a past period of time. You're saying this situation has been going on for quite some time. Maybe you're trying to complain or to sound irritated. It brings a personal feeling to the statement.


Thank you, Oddmania.
It helps a lot. 
And what about the answer with present progressive?


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## Oddmania

It sounds much more neutral to me. "_I'm riding my bike_" is closer to the plain "_I ride my bike_", except the habit of bike-riding is probably not as deeply anchored in your everyday life as it would be with "_I ride my bike_". Maybe it's recent or you're expecting it to be temporary.


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## Phoebe1200

So with *present perfect progressive* I have several days in mind and with *present progressive* I simply state the fact that it's temporary but do not specify any time?


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## Oddmania

Yes, several days, or several occurences of the action. Maybe you've had to take your bike several times within a single day. The action can be either continuous or repeated.


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## Glasguensis

The other use of the present perfect progressive would be if you didn't want/expect the situation to continue. I've been riding my bike but my friend is lending me his car tomorrow.


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## Phoebe1200

Oddmania said:


> Yes, several days, or several occurences of the action. Maybe you've had to take your bike several times within a single day. The action can be either continuous or repeated.


Are you talking about present perfect progressive here?


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## Oddmania

Yes.


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## Phoebe1200

Thanks.
But please tell me how many days approximately would I have in mind with *present* *progressive*?

"I'm riding my bike."


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## Glasguensis

It's the same number as the number of roads a man must walk down.


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## Phoebe1200

Glasguensis said:


> It's the same number as the number of roads a man must walk down.


What exactly does this mean? I don't understand.


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## JulianStuart

Phoebe1200 said:


> Thanks.
> But please tell me* how many days *approximately would I have in mind with *present* *progressive*?





Glasguensis said:


> It's the same number as the number of roads a man must walk down.





Phoebe1200 said:


> What exactly does this mean? I don't understand.


It means that there is no specific or even approximate answer to your question. It's a reference to another unanswerable question in a famous Bob Dylan song Blowin' in the Wind - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


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## Phoebe1200

Thanks, Julian.
But would you at least say that with* present progressive* the number of days would definitely be less, whether the *present perfect progressive* would imply more days?


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## JulianStuart

Maybe 
Maybe not


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## Phoebe1200

Could you please tell me what each sentence tells you? I'd really like to know your opinion. Please.



Phoebe1200 said:


> Q: How *are* you *getting* to work?
> A: *I'm riding *my bike / *I've been riding* my bike.
> 
> What would the speaker have in mind when answering with present progressive or present perfect progressive?


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## JulianStuart

In the absence of any other context, and given the form of the question, they both tell me that the person answering uses their bike (as) their current way to get to work.

Edited to correct typo


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## Phoebe1200

JulianStuart said:


> uses their bike their current way


Sorry, what does this part mean?

Also, the context is that the guy's car is broken so he's using a bike to get to work. And his friend asks him how he's getting to work after learning that his car is broken.


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## JulianStuart

Phoebe1200 said:


> Sorry, what does this part mean?
> 
> Also, the context is that the guy's car is broken so *he's using a bike to get to work*. And his friend asks him how he's getting to work after learning that his car is broken.


I edited my post to add a word I accidentally omitted.  Your bold context says "he is using his bike (as his current way) to get to work."


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## Phoebe1200

JulianStuart said:


> I edited my post to add a word I accidentally omitted.  Your bold context says "he is using his bike (as his current way) to get to work."


Thank you. It makes it clearer.


Could you please tell me how many days would I have in mind (not an exact number of days, but what I'm trying to find out is for example, if present progressive would imply several recent days while present perfect progressive more than that, a week or so) with each of the answer now that I've used them separately?

Q1. How *are* you getting to work* these days*?
A1. *I'm riding* my bike.

Q2. How *have* you been getting to work *recently*?
A2. *I've been* riding my bike.


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## JulianStuart

Post #33 is a succinct answer.

In each of your cases, the answer appropriately follows the tense of the question.

Neither is associated with any intrinsic meaning of the duration or number of days.  That would depend on further context relating to the meaning of "recently" vs "these days".


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## Phoebe1200

Thank you very much for your replies.


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