I have been working.
I've been working.
I haven't been working. vs. I have not been working.
Have you been working?
You have been working/You've been working, haven't you?
Have you not been working? Haven't you been working?
Well...have you ever stopped to think about how a non-native speaker would tackle this grammar point of the present perfect continuous? Not only the formation thereof, but the adoption of the correct intonation, the adecuate enunciation of the contractions (especially the negative contractions), the natural rises and falls occurring between words and at the ends of sentences which lend nuance and meaning, the differences implied when using a contraction versus when not using a contraction...what is stressed, the subject or the action.
We take so much for granted, as do any native speakers of any language. Hats off to those who are making an honest effort to learn my mother tongue.
English is not easy. It sure isn't easy to teach it, either!
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I would have such a hard time teaching it to a non-English speaker. We have some of the weirdest rules, don't we?
ResponderEliminarAnd then throw in our Southern accents and sayings down here, and it's really tough!! lol