How long have you been waiting for you
How long have you been waiting for you
How long did you wait, have you waited, have you been waiting?
Jan_australia
Member
. and something different:
what’s the difference between:
How long did you wait?
How long have you been waiting?
and
How long have you waited?
I think the first one is over. The second one is stressing on the duration. right? and the third one?
Thanks in advance! I’m a bit confused!
Iknownothing
Member
. and something different:
what’s the difference between:
How long did you wait?
How long have you been waiting?
and
How long have you waited?
I think the first one is over. The second one is stressing on the duration. right? and the third one?
Thanks in advance! I’m a bit confused!
Brioche
Senior Member
How long did you wait?
The waiting is over, and was completed at some time in the past.
I waited for 3 hours on Friday, but the train did not come.
How long have you been waiting?
You are still waiting.
I have been waiting for 3 hours. I’m pretty sure that the train will arrive soon.
How long have you waited?
Implies some repeated waiting.
The trains are often late on Fridays. I have waited for an hour for a train on a Friday. It’s usually better on Mondays. I have never waited longer than 20 minutes on a Monday.
Giorgio Spizzi
Senior Member
Dear Brioche, the real problem with this kind of explanations is that learners tend—quite reasonably I must add—to «build a rule» and apply it acritically in other circumstances. If something changes in the sentence—say, the verb and object—things cease to be so clear-cut and «reasonable». Take the case of the lady-secretary behind the counter in the language school interviewing the new student prior to assigning him to this or that level:
LS: How long have you studied English?
Can we honestly say she’s referring to some indefinite length of time in an indefinite period of my past life?
PS Your name makes my mouth water.
Vibrato
Banned
lingobingo
Senior Member
When talking about something that happened or was done at a specific point in the past, we use the simple past tense:
I waited an hour for a train · When? · Last Friday
I waited an hour for a train last Friday.
When talking about something that happened or was done at a non-specific point in the past (in effect, stating or asking whether it ever happened ) we use the present perfect:
Have you ever waited a whole hour for a train? · Yes, it was on a Friday.
I have waited an hour for a train on a Friday.
Have you been to Istanbul? · Yes, I have been to Istanbul twice.
Have you been to Istanbul? · Yes, I have been to Istanbul two years ago.
Forero
Senior Member
. and something different:
what’s the difference between:
How long did you wait?
How long have you been waiting?
and
How long have you waited?
I think the first one is over. The second one is stressing on the duration. right? and the third one?
Thanks in advance! I’m a bit confused!
We usually ask posters to provide context to give meaning to a phrase like «the difference».
In a particular context, the 3 different sentences might refer to different times. And the 3 sentences can be used in different contexts and refer to the same time or times.
A list of all possible contexts for each sentence is probably too much for one thread, but the «did you» sentence refers to a time (or times) in the past with a time interval between «then» and «now». The «have you» sentences can refer to the same time or times as «did you» but without regard for any such time gap. «Have you been waiting» is more likely than «have you waited» to refer to waiting in the past that has continued all the way up to the present, but it does not have to.
Right, except in science fiction with «last Friday» occurring sometimes with and sometimes without the hour wait.
I have waited an hour for a train on a Friday.
I waited an hour for a train on a Friday.
Have you ever waited a whole hour for a train? · Yes, it was on a Friday. [Once I waited a whole hour for a train.]
Have you ever waited a whole hour for a train? · Yes, and it has been on a Friday. [Once it was on a Friday that I waited so long.]
Have you ever waited a whole hour for a train? · Yes, I have waited an hour for a train. Last Friday, in fact. [Note that «last Friday» here is in a separate sentence, with «I did» understood.]
Vibrato
Banned
We usually ask posters to provide context to give meaning to a phrase like «the difference».
In a particular context, the 3 different sentences might refer to different times. And the 3 sentences can be used in different contexts and refer to the same time or times.
A list of all possible contexts for each sentence is probably too much for one thread, but the «did you» sentence refers to a time (or times) in the past with a time interval between «then» and «now». The «have you» sentences can refer to the same time or times as «did you» but without regard for any such time gap. «Have you been waiting» is more likely than «have you waited» to refer to waiting in the past that has continued all the way up to the present, but it does not have to.Right, except in science fiction with «last Friday» occurring sometimes with and sometimes without the hour wait.
I have waited an hour for a train on a Friday.
I waited an hour for a train on a Friday.
Have you ever waited a whole hour for a train? · Yes, it was on a Friday. [Once I waited a whole hour for a train.]
Have you ever waited a whole hour for a train? · Yes, and it has been on a Friday. [Once it was on a Friday that I waited so long.]
Have you ever waited a whole hour for a train? · Yes, I have waited an hour for a train. Last Friday, in fact. [Note that «last Friday» here is in a separate sentence, with «I did» understood.]
Isn’t it weird to say «How long have you waited?» to a person who is waiting at the moment? I think these are ok:
«How long have you been waiting?»
«How long have you waited so far?»
But as I said, «How long have you waited» seems weird to me in that situation.
«Have waited» vs. «did wait» vs. «have been waiting»
My friend is waiting for me at bus stand; I arrive and I want to ask him about the time he waited for me. How would I say?
How long have you waited for me?
How long did you wait for me?
How long had you waited for me?
How long had you been waiting for me?
How long have you been waiting for me?
2 Answers 2
You need the present perfect continuous to place emphasis on the duration of the activity and the fact that it has continued into the present (your arrival). So, correct is:
How long have you been waiting for me?
A common, and shorter, way to ask the same question is:
As you describe the scenario, namely, your friend has been waiting and you walk up and ask the question, you would say, «How long have you been waiting?» You use the present continuous tense because his wait just ended at the time you asked the question.
If you did not ask the question until some later time, like the next day you feel guilty about making him wait and so you ask about this, you would use the past tense, «How long did you wait?», because the event is now in the past.
Usually we only use «had been» when we are discussing two past events, one occurring before the other. Like, «How long had you been waiting before I finally arrived?» Now the «waiting» occurred before the «arrived», and we use the «had been» to express this relationship.
How long are you here for? vs How long have you been here?
Thomas1
Senior Member
What difference(s) can an English native speaker discern between the followng sentences:
How long have you been here?
How long are you here for?
Context of the question:
Someone comes at the railway station to pick up their friend who’s waiting there for them.
I’ve read the threads dealing with similar cases but they don’t cast aside my doubts.
MissLonelyHearts
Senior Member
How long have you been here?
This is referring to the past. How long have you been waiting here
How long are you here for?This is more future tense. How long will you be here for
panjandrum
Lapsed Moderator
Imagine a conversation on the lakeside in Bellagio.
MrsP and I are here for two weeks’ holiday. We arrived four days ago.
We are chatting with some new friends and they ask:
How long have you been here?
Four days.
How long are you here for?
Fourteen days.
How long will you be here?
Ten days.
MissLonelyHearts
Senior Member
Thomas1
Senior Member
Well, my confusion grew even bigger, here are reasons for it:
In the situation described by me in my first post I’d be more likely to pick the have option. However, the book where I saw this says that the correct option is the are one.
Could you please tell me where I’m wrong?
NB: Just to add something more; there is a picture and there are two persons in it, one with luggage and one who’s just come and they’re shaking hands. In the background we can see a sign saying: arrivals. A student is supposed to pick a suitable description for the picture from those given in my previous post.
MissLonelyHearts
Senior Member
panjandrum
Lapsed Moderator
— I copied How long will you be here from your earlier post
Thinking about it (a dangerous notion), How long are you here for? could be understood as either How long is your holiday? or How much longer are you going to be here? depending on the context.
MissLonelyHearts
Senior Member
*chuckle* I keep continually copying it! Thats why it stays in italics
Oh well, once again I agree that in this exam case, How long are you here for? (italics again!) would seem too colloquial
Therefore it would be best to chose the other one
Senior Member
For «how long have you been here?» I would expect a differnt picture: perhaps of someone looking angrily at his watch, and a friend looking rushed and apologetic.
Thomas1
Senior Member
For «how long have you been here?» I would expect a differnt picture: perhaps of someone looking angrily at his watch, and a friend looking rushed and apologetic.
Thanks a lot for this clear explanation, Loop. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the are option here. And indeed they have rather happy faces in the picture.
One more question: is this question most often heard in such contexts? Does it sound normal/natural? I’d say How long are you going to stay here for? would it work too? Actually these are more than just a one questions, but I’m really qurious.
Panj, is there any reason for which you haven’t included for in your last question?
Also would How long are you here? have different implications to the version with for?
Senior Member
I’m sorry, Thomas1, I don’t know whether there’s a general rule to tell you when it’s better to use ‘for’ with ‘how long?’
My gut feeling is that with the present tense of «to be» it’s better to include ‘for’ in your sentence; but that with other tenses you can choose between versions with or without ‘for’. I also suspect that using ‘for’ is always correct.
Fingers crossed that someone will come along with more authoritative information!
panjandrum
Lapsed Moderator
For «how long have you been here?» I would expect a differnt picture: perhaps of someone looking angrily at his watch, and a friend looking rushed and apologetic.
Funny, I read it quite the other way round.
To open a conversation with a new arrival with «How long are you here for?» sounds decidedly rude to me. Whereas to arrive at the station where the new arrival has obviously been waiting for some time it would be entirely natural to start with «How long have you been here?»
It all depends on how we hear each of these questions.
Banned
Is there anyone who can explain why the second sentence is correct with the «for»?
Cagey
post mod (English Only / Latin)
This is the use of for that our dictionary describes as:
Banned
Thank you, Cagey.
I’m wondering why the second sentence is incorrect without the «for» and why the first and third sentences are incorrect with the «for»?
owlman5
Senior Member
Hello, NTV. I sure won’t try to answer for Cagey, but I don’t view any of those three sentences as «incorrect».
Your second sentence, «How long are you here for?» sounds fine. It ends the sentence with a preposition, «for», that is perfectly acceptable, understandable, and colloquial. It’s a natural way to ask «For how long a time do you intend to remain here?»
Sentences two and three ask the listener to tell the speaker how long he or she intends to remain «here». Sentence one ask the listener to tell the speaker how long he or she has already been «here».
Looking at the previous threads, I seem to agree with Loob that «How long are you here for?» sounds like an idiomatic question. Panjandrum has noted that sometimes English exams are looking for a certain «register» in the answer. It could be that «How long are you here for?» might not be the formal response that some tester wants, but that’s only guess on my part.
I see that Panjandrum also notes a certain brusque or rude quality to the question «How long are you here for?» If the person who asked it was scowling, glancing at his watch, and speaking loudly, I’d get the same idea. If that person was speaking calmly and not giving any other signal of impatience, I’d understand it to be nothing more than an ordinary question arising from the speaker’s curiosity about my plans.
Самоучитель
Оптимальный Английский
Давайте рассмотрим особенности использования этих английских наречий.
I waited (for) a long time, but she didn’t come.
Я ждал долго, но она не пришла.
It takes a long time to get to his house.
Требуется много времени, чтобы добраться до его дома.
It was a long time ago.
2. А наречие long наиболее часто встречается в вопросительных и отрицательных предложениях.
Have you been waiting long?
How long have you been waiting?
Как долго ты ждешь?
It doesn’t take long to get to his house.
Не требуется много времени, чтобы добраться до его дома.
We didn’t have to wait long for the train.
Нам не пришлось долго ждать поезда.
3. Наречие long также используется и в утвердительных предложениях, но вместе со следующими словами: too, enough, as, so, seldom, hardly и т. д.
He seldom stays long.
Он редко задерживается надолго.
The meeting went on much too long.
Встреча продолжалась слишком долго.
Sorry I took so long.
Простите, что я так долго.
You can stay as long as you want.
Вы можете оставаться столько, сколько хотите.
I’ve been working here long enough. Time to get a new job.
Я уже достаточно долго здесь работаю. Пора найти новую работу.
She works all day long. (all night/week/year long)
Она работает весь день напролет. (всю ночь / неделю / год)
I’ll be back before long.
Я скоро вернусь.
We used to live in London, but that was long before you were born.
Раньше мы жили в Лондоне, но это было задолго до твоего рождения.
Long after the accident he used to dream that he was dying.
Еще долго после аварии, ему снилось, что он умирает.
Long ago, in a distant country, there lived a beautiful princess.
Давным-давно, в далекой стране, жила прекрасная принцесса.
She didn’t speak for long.
Она говорила недолго.
She didn’t speak for a long time. или For a long time she didn’t speak
Она долго молчала.
He didn’t work for long.
Он работал недолго.
He didn’t work for a long time. или For a long time he didn’t work.
Он долго не работал.
We hope you’ll stay longer next time. (NOT … for a longer time.)
Мы надеемся, что вы останетесь подольше в следующий раз.
6. Полезно знать!
Вопрос How long are you here for? Относится к будущему.
А вопрос ‘How long have you been here for?’ Относится к настоящему.
‘How long are you here for?’ ‘Until next week.’
Как долго вы здесь пробудете? До следующей недели.
‘How long have you been here for?’ ‘Since last Friday.’
Как долго вы здесь? ‘С прошлой пятницы.’