How long have you been living in london

— Alan, how long have you lived in London?
— Fifteen years.
— And do you like it here?
— Sure I like it – but London is one of those cities that you love and hate at the same time.
— So first – what do you hate?
— Oh the usual big city things – the crowds, the dirt, the traffic, and of course the Underground – it’s so expensive compared with subway in New York.
— And what do you like?
— Oh, a lot: fantastic theaters – I’m an actor so that’s important for me – great art galleries, museums, I love the Natural History Museum. Concerts, wonderful orchestras. The best of everything comes to London.
— And what’s best for you?
— For me? Oh, I just love standing on Waterloo Bridge and looking down the river at the Houses of Parliament and now, of course there’s the London Eye – I think it’s just wonderful. And I like travelling in the black cabs. Taxi drivers here are great, so friendly! They tell you their life stories and they know every street in London – not like in New York.
— And what about the people? What do you think of Londoners?
— Ah well – generally speaking, I think that they do live up to their reputation – they are reserved. It takes a while to get to know people. They won’t tell you about themselves. You say to an American “Now are you?” and you get “Oh, man! I’m just great. I got the promotion and I love working here in Dallas, Denver, Detroit or Delaware etc.” you know. Ask an Englishman “Now are you?” and you get “Er… fine, thank you”
— So the stereotype’s true?
— Yeah, they’re – they’re pretty reserved. They don’t like giving personal details, but they complain a lot about life generally. They seem much less positive about life – much more cynical than Americans. They grumble about transport and politicians and money, how much things cost, their work …
— So, we’re a miserable lot then!
— Not really. Leisure time – sorry free time – is really important to the British. I think for many Americans, work is the most important thing in their lives. Americans work much longer hours. In Britain they get more vacation time and time off …
— … and still they grumble!
— Yeah.
— You’ve been in London 15 years. Has it changed in that time?
— Oh yeah a lot – especially the shops, they stay open much longer now. They used to close every Wednesday afternoon. People in the States could never believe that. Oh and the food!
— Everyone says English food is terrible. Is it?
— Well, when I first came it was terrible. It was so hard to get good food. Nowadays it’s not hard at all. London has some great restaurants – my favourite here is the Indian food, it’s fantastic. I think we have one of the best right here on our street. Just the best!
— You live in south London. Do you like it there?
— Very much. I love the mix of cultures and nationalities in every street.
— Now long do you think you’ll stay here?
— Oh, I don’t know. Maybe five more years. Maybe forever!

How long have you been living in london

Both are correct, but you use the first one if the person is still living in London and the second one if the person lives somewhere else now.

The Language Level symbol shows a user’s proficiency in the languages they’re interested in. Setting your Language Level helps other users provide you with answers that aren’t too complex or too simple.

Has difficulty understanding even short answers in this language.

Can ask simple questions and can understand simple answers.

Can ask all types of general questions and can understand longer answers.

Can understand long, complex answers.

Solve your problems more easily with the app!

( 30,698 )

How long had he lived in London?

Student-of-English

Senior Member

Is it right or is it better to say:

1. How long did he live in London? or
2. How long was he living in London?

sunrise25

Banned

You should provide us with a larger context so that we can explain the sentence to you better.

If you want to refer to something that happened at some indefinite time in the past you may use:

The present perfect: Have/Has (depending on the subject) + past participle.

How long has he lived in London? In this case, he may not live there anymore.

But present perfect also indicates states, that is, a situation that began in the past, happens up to the present and will probably continue into the future.

For instance, How long has he lived in London? He may still live in London.

R= He has lived there for 10 years and is still living there.

R= He has lived there since 1997 and is still living there.

That´s why in the answers we must use for and since, to state that the action that started in the past, is still taking place in the present and will problably continue into the future.

If you want to use: How long had he lived in London—- You can only use this case if you´re referring to a state or an action that has happened prior to another action in the past.

For instance:
How long had he lived in London before he left?

You cannot say How long did he live in London? Because how long refers to a period of time; while past simple tenses refer to actions that happened at a definite time in the past and usually (but not always) we use adverbs of time for them.

For instance, When did you live in London?
I lived in London 5 years ago
I lived in London last year.

Why can´t you use the Past continuous or the past progressive tense?—-Because this tense refers to something that was in progress (that was taking place) when another action happened, which interrupted it.

For instance: I was eating when the phone rang
While I was living in London, I met a lot of friends

Помогите пройти тест по английскому!

В пропуски вставить правильное словосочитание
1 My hair is wet. I ________it. 1)have just washed 2)just washed

2 George has had the same job ___________20 years.1)for 2)since

3 Do you like London? B: I don’t know. I _________there. 1)was not 2)haven’t been

4 It’s a nice day today. The sun ___________, 1)is shining 2)shines

5 This evening I’m going to write _______letters.1)some 2)any

6 Mark and Liz are married. They _________married for five years,1)have been 2)are

7 We haven’t got __________luggage. 1)many 2)much

8 I want to wash my hair. Is there __________shampoo? 1)some 2)any

9 Your English is very good. You make very ________ mistakes.1)few 2)little

10 My friend is a writer. He ___________many books.1)wrote2)has written

11 It costs _________money to travel around the world.1)a lot of 2)much

12 My brother lives in Los Angeles. B: Really? How long ____________, 1)has he been living 2)did he live

13 What time ____________to bed last night? 1)did you go 2)have you gone

14 There was ________food in the fridge. 1)few 2)little

15 I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you __________ 1) mean 2)are meaning

16 David has been watching TV _______5 o’clock. 1)since 2)for

17 Sometimes _______________away at weekends.1)we’re going 2)we go

18 Martin is at work. He __________ at work since 8.30. 1) was 2)has been

19 ________________English? – Yes, a little. 1)Are you speaking 2)Do you speak

20 Have you just arrived in London? No, I’ve been here ________five days. 1) for 2)since

21 How often ____________on holiday? 1)are you going 2)do you go

22 Hello Ann! Where ____________? 1)are you going 2)do you go

23 How ________photographs did you take? 1)much 2)many

24 We always __________dinner at 6 p.m. 1)have 2)are having

25 I can do this job alone. I don’t need _______help. 1)Some 2)any

26 I _________my work at 2 o’clock.1)finished 2)have finished

27 It was a good party. I __________it. 1)was enjoying 2)enjoyed

Учебник Spotlight 8. Student’s Book. Страница 31

5. Read the sentences in the box. Then, choose the correct word in sentences 1-5. — Прочитайте предложения в рамке. Затем выберите корректное слово в предложениях 1-5.

Комментарий: Таким образом, когда мы говорим о конструкциях has gone to/has been to/has been in в Present Perfect, мы должны помнить:

6. Complete the gaps with yet, recently, how long, never, since, just, so far, ever, last, ago. — Заполните пробелы словами yet, recently, how long, never, since, just, so far, ever, last, ago.

7. Complete the gaps with a/an or the where necessary. Check in the Grammar Reference section. Correct your mistakes. — Заполните пробелы неопределенным артиклем a/an или определенным артиклем the где необходимо.

Ответ: В скобках мы обозначим конкретные причины использования или не использования того или иного артикля. С подробными правилами применения артиклей вы можете ознакомиться на нашем сайте: неопределенный артикль A/AN, определенный артикль THE, нулевой артикль или когда артикль не ставится.

8. Study the table. Then look at the chart. Choose the correct words in bold to complete each sentence below. Make more sentences using the chart and appropriate quantifiers. — Изучите материал в рамке. Затем посмотрите на таблицу. Выберите корректные слова, выделенные жирным шрифтом, чтобы закончить предложения.

Примечание: на самом деле much/many с легкостью употребляются, не только в отрицательных и вопросительных предложениях, но и в утвердительных.

Ответ: Изучите таблицу, в которой показаны основные траты американских подростков. Данные даны в процентах от общего количества опрошенных подростков.

9. Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions using how long… since/for. Use these phrases as well as your own ideas. — Поработайте в парах. Задайте вопросы и ответьте на них, используя how long… since/for. Используйте данные ниже фразы и собственные идеи.

• have these shoes • know your best friend • be at this school • live in this area • study English