{"id":19665,"date":"2021-09-16T18:05:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T16:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=19665"},"modified":"2022-09-02T06:20:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T04:20:13","slug":"when-vs-how-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2021\/09\/when-vs-how-long\/","title":{"rendered":"When vs. How Long"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When<\/strong> and How Long<\/strong> ask for different things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong> usually asks for a specific point in time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long<\/strong> asks for duration of time<\/em>, with a beginning to an end point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking for a specific time<\/strong><\/td>Asking for a length of time<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
When did you start your work in Amazon?
I started my work in Amazon in 2008.<\/td>		How long have you worked in Amazon?
I have worked in Amazon since 2008.<\/td><\/tr>
When did you study German?
I studied German in March.<\/td>		How long have you been studying German? I have been studying German since March.<\/td><\/tr>
When did you meet him? I met him last year.<\/td>How long have you known him?
I have known him for a year.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When and how long often use different tenses <\/em>and different verbs<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can use the present perfect tense<\/strong> when talking about the connection of the present to the past. This tense is used to talk about actions that started in the past and is still ongoing and is most likely to continue in the future. For “how long”<\/strong> we usually use the present perfect tense.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are “action” verbs<\/strong> that refer to actions or events that occur at a particular time, normally only once. In this context, these “action” verbs<\/strong> cannot be used with “how long” or expressing duration and should only be used with “when”<\/strong>. In this case, we use “status”<\/strong> verbs <\/strong>to show condition existing over a period time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When did you get married?<\/td>(Simple past tense)<\/td><\/tr>
I got married last year.<\/td>(\u201cget married” indicates action)<\/td><\/tr>
How long have you been married?<\/td>(Present perfect tense)<\/td><\/tr>
I have been married for a year.<\/td>(\u201cbeen married” indicates status)<\/td><\/tr>
When did you buy your house?<\/td>(Simple past tense)<\/td><\/tr>
I bought it seven years ago.<\/td>(\u201cbuy” indicates action)<\/td><\/tr>
How long have you owned your house?<\/td>(Present perfect tense)<\/td><\/tr>
I have owned it for seven years.<\/td>(\u201cown” indicates possession)<\/td><\/tr>
When did he die?<\/td>(Simple past tense)<\/td><\/tr>
 He died in 2019.<\/td>(\u201cdie” indicates action)<\/td><\/tr>
How long has he been dead?<\/td>(Present perfect tense)<\/td><\/tr>
He has been dead for two years.<\/td>(\u201cbeen dead” indicates status)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some common action\/status pairs <\/strong>are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Action\/Event (one time occurrence)<\/strong><\/td>Status\/Condition (long time (present or past) (present or present perfect)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
become<\/td>be<\/td><\/tr>
meet<\/td>know<\/td><\/tr>
get divorced<\/td>be divorced<\/td><\/tr>
graduate<\/td>be out of school<\/td><\/tr>
die<\/td>be dead<\/td><\/tr>
fall asleep<\/td>be asleep\/be sleeping<\/td><\/tr>
fall in love<\/td>be in love<\/td><\/tr>
find out<\/td>know<\/td><\/tr>
buy\/purchase<\/td>have\/own<\/td><\/tr>
get\/acquire<\/td>have\/own<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Using an \u201caction\u201d verb <\/strong>to indicate something that takes place over a period of time<\/em> is a usual error.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long have you found out<\/em> about his infidelity? X<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long have you known<\/em> about his infidelity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long has she fell asleep<\/em>? X<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long has she been sleeping<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long have you bought<\/em> the truck? X<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long have you had<\/em> that truck?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice that all the statements above are using the present perfect tense <\/strong>which implies an ongoing occurrence<\/em>. In the last sentence, it is talking about “still owning the truck”. Therefore, you have to use a “status” verb<\/strong>. In this case, instead of “buy”<\/em> we use “have”<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

( “Buy ” is an action verb therefore it cannot indicate something that has been happening over a period of time.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can also use “how long”<\/strong> to talk about events\/situations that transpired completely in the past.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long did you live in Arkansas?<\/td>(You do not live there now.)<\/td><\/tr>
I lived in Arkansas for six years.<\/td>(From 2008 to 2014)<\/td><\/tr>
How long did you wait for me?<\/td>(You are not waiting anymore.)<\/td><\/tr>
I waited for you for two hours.<\/td>(From 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.)<\/td><\/tr>
How long where you driving?<\/td>(You are not driving anymore.)<\/td><\/tr>
I was driving for half an hour.<\/td>(From 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aside from length of time, “how long” <\/strong>can also be used to answer measured length of something.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long do you want your hair <\/em>to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long was the skirt<\/em> she was wearing at the party?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long is the bridge<\/em>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When and How Long ask for different things. When usually asks for a specific point in time. How long asks for duration of time, with a beginning to an end point. Asking for a specific time Asking for a length of time When did you start your work in Amazon? I started my work in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen vs. How Long | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2021\/09\/when-vs-how-long\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When vs. How Long | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When and How Long ask for different things. When usually asks for a specific point in time. 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