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539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

Past time | 617

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Sometimes there is little difference between the two forms:

He

’s lived/been living there for years and years.

I

’ve felt/been feeling better since I started taking those tablets.

The only difference here is that the simple form may suggest the possibility of

permanence, while the progressive form may suggest a more temporary state of affairs.

When the frequency of a repeated action or event is stated, the simple form is

preferred:

That

’s happened to Lydia several times this morning.

(That’s been happening to Lydia several times this morning.)

Û

342 to compare the present simple