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I would like to have someone explain the difference here:

  • Having worked there for a year.
  • Having been working there for a year.
tchrist
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John V
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    There is no known or accepted grammatical usage of two periods in a row. You probably intend an ellipsis, which should be three or four periods, depending on your intended usage. – John M. Landsberg Jun 06 '13 at 07:14
  • @JohnM.Landsberg That is sooo nitpicky, I'd -1 your comment if I could.. – Izkata Jun 06 '13 at 11:12
  • @Izkata: "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." Isn't "sooo" spelled with five ohs (as in "sooooo")? JK (just kidding) – rhetorician Jun 06 '13 at 12:11
  • @Izkata But is my comment wrong? Well, gee, no, it's not. Imagine that! It's informative and helpful. This is a place to learn things, and punctuation is one of those very important things we discuss here. Your comment, on the other hand, was supportive, uplifting, content-laden, profound, and insightful, so THANK YOU SO MUCH for your valuable contribution. :) – John M. Landsberg Jun 07 '13 at 06:40

2 Answers2

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Out of context the first phrase could mean either that you still work there or that you no longer work there. The second phrase can mean only that you are still working there.

Edit

@Chaoasamoeba's answer provides a context in which having been working there means the speaker was working there at the time of the statement but is not necessarily still working there now.

Shoe
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Since I can't post comments yet, I'll just include a referral link to this similar question here, which discusses the present perfect and perfect progressive tenses:

“have been working” vs. “have worked”

I would note one thing. The phrasing that you provide could also refer to a past perfect and past perfect progressive tense. "Having worked there for a year, Jill warned Marcus not to take the job" implies that Jill had worked there for a year, stopped working there, and then warned Marcus not to take the job (all in the past) or that Jill was still working there when she told Marcus not to take the job (all in the past). "Having been working there for a year, Jill warned Marcus not to take the job" implies that Jill was still working there when she told Marcus not take the job (all in the past). It's basically the past tense version of the comment from Shoe.

Community
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chaosamoeba
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