Each nationality has its own personal set of pitfalls when speaking another language. Americans sound different than British when speaking French - or German. And Germans have their own difficulties with English.
One of those difficulties is the present perfect continuous- such as: I have been working on this article now for about 10 minutes.
I have been - sounds like the past tense to the German ear.
Here are some examples of present tense sentences that sound like a past tense for Germans:
- "I have believed on God since I was a child."
- "We have known each other for 10 years."
- "We have been practicing our new dance routine for over an hour"
But the otherway around can be misleading:
"We don't work on this project"
when they mean
"We haven't been working on this project."
This can lead to some real confusion. One might think that the speaker doesn't work on projects like this out of principle.
Another example which sounds odd in English:
"We are married for 1 year."
This sounds a little bit like there is a one year limit on the marriage - and somehow after one year it's over.
But saying
"We have been married for 1 year." sounds like the past - but this is actually present.
Most people would probably be able to figure out what you really mean. But what about this:
"We live in this house one year."
Why only one year? Then what? Is that a law? The beginning of an if-clause.
"We live here." All good. No confusion. That's a fact.
"We are living here." Okay. It's a temporary thing... or maybe not.
"We have been living here one year." makes it clear. They live there now and they started living there a year ago.
Want to know more? Give me a call.
If you would like to participate in one of my Zoom classes, I offer flexible packages! Any combination of ZoomRoom sessions and in office sessions to construct the perfect package to fit your needs!
info@trish-davis.com
Comments