Difference between two verb tenses

Question

1. She is reading a lot these days.

2. She has been reading a lot these days.

Which one is correct? Is there any real difference between them?

Answer 1

Not much difference. The first has a hint of continuation that is missing from the second. She has been reading a lot tells me that up to the present she read a lot, but it tells me nothing about her behaviour in the future. She is reading a lot these days tell me she has been reading a lot and seems likely to continue to do so.

Answer 2

Different, the trick is in finding a context which will highlight the difference. Imagine that we have a paragraph that reads:

Susan was never a reader. She watched television, she went to movies, she listened to the radio, but she never read books, or even blogposts on the internet. Then last week she discovered English Language & Usage. Now it's a different story. She's reading a lot these days. (Okay)

But:

Susan was never a reader. She watched television, she went to movies, she listened to the radio, but she never read books, or even blogposts on the internet. Then last week she discovered English Language & Usage. Now it's a different story. She has been reading a lot these days. (Ugh)

So the PPP version doesn't work if there is a sharp distinction between the recent past and the current situation. PPP emphasizes a connection between the recent past and the current situation.

Curious if others feel the same way. Anyway, my 2 cents.

Answer 3

It is not a matter of which one is correct, it is a matter of what meaning you want to convey. Both are correct. She is reading does not have the sense of immediacy that she has been reading conveys.

"Why was she late this morning?" "Because she has been reading a lot lately."

Students always ask me about tenses without giving a context, and the PPP is one that needs a context to be understood. PP needs context also. All tense questions do because we are talking about events in time.

Hope this helps.