I have taken three hours to clean the house, so it is tidy and looks nice now.

[Alice Chu]

1) I have taken three hours to clean the house, so it is tidy and looks nice now.
It means I used three hours to finish cleaning the house, and it has a result in the present.

2) I have cleaned/have been cleaning the house for three hours, so it is tidy and looks nice now.
The second sentence is incorrect, and it doesn’t have the same meaning as the first one.

3) I have spent three hours cleaning the house, so it is tidy and looks nice now.
The third sentence means I used three hours to clean the house, not to finish cleaning the house. Please tell me if the third sentence makes sense and has the same meaning as the first one.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't think any of these sentences are very good examples.

Have you written these sentences for your own understanding? Or to be used in class? Either way, I think you should get some better examples.

 

[Alice Chu]

I don't think any of these sentences are very good examples.

Have you written these sentences for your own understanding? Or to be used in class? Either way, I think you should get some better examples.

1) I have taken two hours to cook chicken soup. The chicken soup tastes delicious, and my family likes it a lot.
It means I used two hours to finish cooking chicken soup in the past, and it has a result in the present.

2) I have spent two hours cooking chicken soup. The chicken soup tastes delicious, and my family likes it a lot.
The second sentence has the same meaning as the first one, doesn’t it?

3) I have been cooking chicken soup for an hour, but I haven’t finished it yet.
4) I have spent an hour cooking chicken soup, but I haven’t finished it yet.
The third and the fourth sentences have the same meaning, don’t they?

 

[jutfrank]

I can only repeat what I've said before:

• When you use a different tense/aspect, you get a different meaning.
• When you use different words, you get different meaning.
• Don't make up sentences which you intend to have the same meaning and then proceed to ask us whether they do.
• Use examples that illustrate clearly the particular tense/aspect you're focusing on.
• Don't use artificial and unnaturalistic language in your examples.

I think you're approaching this in the wrong way. You might want to ask how you could approach it better. I am trying to help but you're making it difficult to do so. I notice that you haven't answered my questions in post #2.