Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ice100]

hello. I have a few questions. Could you help me?
1) Is it correct to say:
"I learned English for a week." ?
Is it true that past/present perfect tense is needed when I want to tell a time period?

2) What is the difference in meaning between
a. "I have been feeling lonely recently" and
b. "I have felt lonely recently" ?

Thanks so much!!!

[redset]

1. "I learned English for a week" is fine. And you didn't use the perfect aspect there, even though you used a time period, so no you don't need to use past or present perfect.

2. They both basically mean the same thing. 'I have felt lonely recently' could mean you felt lonely at one time, and that happened recently - 'I have been feeling lonely recently' sounds like you've possibly been feeling lonely several times, something that comes and goes. The difference is fairly subtle and not very specific, you could use either phrase in speech and it would have the same basic meaning.

[ice100]

Thanks so much!!