Olive file 673 Posted 6 years ago
Grammar

Can the present perfect continuous be used for something that I am angry about, that happened once?

One of the uses of the present perfect is to express a complain or criticism. It is also used if something has been happening regularly. The present perfect is used if something has happened once or a number of times.

My question is: If something happened once, but I am angry about it, can I use the present perfect continuous? For example: someone has urinated in my garden when drunk at a party. Can I say: "Have you been urinating in my garden?".

I have a feeling that if I use the present perfect simple, it doesn't sound as irritated or cross.

  
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3 Answers
0

You would absolutely say "have you been urinating in my garden" When you use the continuous tense you are concentrating on the action and not the result of the action (which is what the present perfect simple concentrates on). Here you are annoyed about the action which isn't happening at the moment but before now. So it is absolutely logical to use the present perfect continuous. It describes