What's the difference? If anything, the former is correct.
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What's the context? This is like asking if "red shoes" or "blue shoes" is more grammatically correct. – RegDwigнt Apr 14 '13 at 21:45
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ell.stackexchange.com – Apr 14 '13 at 21:48
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In many instances these two may be used to mean the same thing and which form to use depends largely on the form of the question being asked. If somebody asks, "What have they been doing?" You would answer, "They have been playing tennis." While if they asked, "What were they doing?" You would respond with, "They were playing tennis."
However, suppose someone remarks, "Wow, those two are very good tennis players." You might offer, "Yes, they have been playing tennis for five years now." You could not answer, "They were playing tennis for five years now."
Jim
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The former suggests a habitual activity (or at least for a brief amount of time). and the later does not give out any such information, except just the fact that the activity was done!
camelbrush
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