Df2006  +  256169 Tue, 15 Aug 06 05:46 PM Will someone be kind enough to enlighten me on the difference of the following two sentences: 1)   I have been having this car for 10 years.  I guess I'm going to get a new one soon. 2)   I have had this car for 10 years.   I guess I'm going to get a new one soon. OR ARE THEY INTERCHANGEABLE WITHOUT MUCH CHANGE IN MEANING? Thanks! Df2006 Joined on Tue, Jul 25 2006 New Member 39

	Cool Breeze  +  256198 Tue, 15 Aug 06 06:58 PM  Df2006 wrote: Will someone be kind enough to enlighten me on the difference of the following two sentences: 1)   I have been having this car for 10 years.  I guess I'm going to get a new one soon. 2)   I have had this car for 10 years.   I guess I'm going to get a new one soon. OR ARE THEY INTERCHANGEABLE WITHOUT MUCH CHANGE IN MEANING? Thanks! 'Have' can't be used in the continuous present perfect and therefore sentence No. 1 is wrong. Cheers CB Cool Breeze Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006 Senior Member 3,979 "I hope you'll all live to be 150 years old - and the last voice you hear is mine!" Frank Sinatra on stage in Oslo, Norway, 28 September 1991 Present Perfect

	Pastsimple  +  256203 Tue, 15 Aug 06 07:08 PM  Cool Breeze wrote: 'Have' can't be used in the continuous present perfect and therefore sentence No. 1 is wrong. Yes, sentence #1 is incorrect, though it might be misleading to say have can't be used in the continuous form. It would be better to say that "have meaning to own is usually not used in the continuous form". I'm having a shower/breakfast/bath/good time. (= have doesn't mean to own here) Pastsimple Joined on Thu, Feb 16 2006 Czech Republic, Europe Full Member 328 If you are a native speaker and find any grammar or stylistic mistakes in my posts, don't hesitate to tell me! I will really appreciate that. Present Perfect

	Grammar Geek  +  256242 Tue, 15 Aug 06 08:37 PM Let's change verbs: 1)   I have been driving this car for 10 years.  I guess I'm going to get a new one soon. 2)   I have driven this car for 10 years.   I guess I'm going to get a new one soon. They have basically the same meaning. Without any additional information, there is a slight implication that you may no longer be driving the car with 2, and there is a definite sense that you are still driving it with 1. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,683 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Verbs