has promised VS has been promising

[Polyester]

Which one is the correct sentence?

1. She has promised to do that since she arrived.

2. She has been promising to do that since she arrived.

 

[teechar]

Which one do you think is the right sentence, and why? You try first.

 

[Polyester]

Hi teechar,

I think No.2 is the correct sentence because of the tense "has been promising" is from the past until to now. And it's a activity more than the result. No.1 is wrong. Because the key word "since" is talking about the time of past she known. And it's using present perfect tense to express the meaning that it doesn't make any sense.

 

[teechar]

You're right that #2 is the right one. The first sentence doesn't work because "promise" is a momentary verb; its duration is not long. Therefore, we need to use a continuous tense to indicate that she repeatedly promised to do something.