Hi! Please help to correctly understand such case.
Diego’s loud neighbors have been disturbing his sleep every night with their incessant socializing.
Why the present perfect progressive was chosen here? It looks like something regular - every night-must be just Present Perfect?
Please give some hint or explanation how to understand this example.
Thanks.
Since it expresses continuity, it can be expressed in the present perfect or the perfect progressive. It is more common to express it in the perfect progressive than in the present perfect.
Thank you) It sounds very clear.
May I ask, using a simple present in this case is also possible, but the sentence will have another meaning? (like just simple repetitive actions)
Thanks.
I don’t think the present tense is appropriate to use in this sentence because it expresses a habit.
Diego’s neighbors have been disturbing his sleep. (This implies that it has been happening recently and with some regularity, but it could have started at any time, and since it is not happening at this precise moment, it could conceivably have already stopped, which would come as a surprise.) They have disturbed Mary’s sleep occasionally too, but that was only on nights when Mary visited Diego.
The first time they disturbed Diego’s sleep was actually over a year ago. They disturbed Mary‘s sleep the first time she visited Diego, but not the second. Sadly, it seems Diego’s neighbors often disturb their sleep, but it won’t happen tonight, because Diego and Mary have other plans.
Yes, the grammar in the sentence “Diego’s loud neighbors have been disturbing his sleep every night with their incessant socializing” is correct. The sentence is in the present perfect progressive tense, which is used to describe an action that has been happening for a period of time and is still happening. The word “incessant” means “constant or continuous,” and it is used to describe the neighbors’ socializing. The sentence could be rewritten as follows: