Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[monkichi]

Is the sentence grammatically correct?

I saw something like that in a grammar book, but then i had suspected it was impossible. They should be as follows:

I've been eating for...

or the sentence means something like "I'm going to eat this for 5 hours."
because "be ～ing" form can mean the future definite action.
Could someone answer me?

[redset]

You're right! The sentence would mean you were going to spend 5 hours eating something (which is a bit strange, maybe it's an eating competition?), otherwise it should be in a perfect form: 'I've been eating for...', 'I will have been eating for...', 'I had been eating for...' and so on.

[CP]

If someone says, "I'm eating this for five hours," he or she really means, "I've been eating this for five hours," in a rather humorous, ironic, non-standard way. You wouldn't use such a construction speaking with your teacher, but you might use it in a skit or while telling a story to some friends.

The "five hours" is no doubt an exaggeration; the person just means that it seems like forever since he or she started eating this gigantic plate of spaghetti (for example).

Some other examples:

"I'm working here six years now and no raise yet?"

"I'm waiting over an hour and this girl still isn't ready to go!"

"I'm sitting on the 'throne' [in the bathroom] all day, and nothing!"

"This kid is playing basketball since 1:00. Time to do some homework."
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[monkichi]

Thank you for replies. They've become a great help.