How many times

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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paracompact
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How many times

Post by paracompact »

(1) How many times have you shopped this week?

(2) How many times have you been shopping this week?

Question: Which is correct?

I think that (2) is wrong because it is in the present perfect continuous tense.
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Alan
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Re: How many times

Post by Alan »

#2 is correct.

In this case, 'have you been shopping?' would be interpreted not as the present perfect continuous form of the verb 'to shop' but simply as the suppletive present perfect simple of the verb 'go' + 'shopping' (gerund). (Cf. I've been to France.)
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