Use of present perfect or present to describe continuing action

Kay N.C1Kwiziq community member

Use of present perfect or present to describe continuing action

I don’t understand why my answer to this question is wrong, using the present perfect (ha trabajado). My understanding is that the present perfect can be used to describe actions that continue up to the present . May be the question to be translated should be ‘Juan has continued to work in the same company for 5 years’, then only use of the present (trabaja) would be correct. Or have I misunderstood?

Asked 4 years ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in Kwiziq

Hola Kay,

I have added a hint to that question saying that "he is still working for that company", so it is clear that it is an action that started and is still ongoing at the moment of talking; I hope that make the nuance clearer. 

With "desde hace" in Spanish we use the present simple, not the present perfect, so even though in English you'd say "I have worked here for 5 years" (still working here), in Spanish we'd use the present: "Trabajo aquí desde hace 5 años." 

Saludos

Inma

Kay N. asked:

Use of present perfect or present to describe continuing action

I don’t understand why my answer to this question is wrong, using the present perfect (ha trabajado). My understanding is that the present perfect can be used to describe actions that continue up to the present . May be the question to be translated should be ‘Juan has continued to work in the same company for 5 years’, then only use of the present (trabaja) would be correct. Or have I misunderstood?

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