Level 3 Unit 9 Present perfect vs present perfect progressive (or continuous) Exceptions: There are two verbs where the present perfect and the present perfect progressive can both be used: "To live" : "I've been living in this flat for six months now." and "I've lived in this flat for six months now." These are almost indistinguishable - probably because the idea of "live" isn't really an action so the usual difference isn't relevant. "To work" With this verb, the usual distiction is OK if we are talking about an action: "John has been working on your car for three hours now." is clearly an unfinished action and distinguishable from "He has already worked on the car for a total of three hours this week." where John may or may not be currently working on the car. But the other sense of "To work" is "to be employed by" and here both tenses can be used - "How long have you worked for the company?" and "How long have you been working for the company?" are virtually indistinguishable because in this sense "work" is a condition rather than an action. In terms of usage one can note that there is a tendency to use the progressive form for short periods and the present perfect for long periods. NB. In terms of usage there is, however, a tendency to favour the present perfect for longer periods and the present perfect progressive for shorter, especially temporary, situations. This is not a rule but here are some likely examples with contexts which would tend to favour a specific tense: "We've been living with my parents while the flat is being redecorated." "The Gerard family has lived in this castle since it was built in 1100." "Mary's only been working here for a fortnight so she doesn't know much about the business yet." "If you want to know anything, ask Peter; he's worked in the department longer than anyone else." Because of the above there are no examples of these two verbs in the exercise you are doing. Close this window to continue.