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What is actual time frame of below sentence , started in past and end in past or Started in past and still continue? I am really confused.

I have been a single after a really long time.

She has been a role model.

he has been a boxer. ( I know he became old now )

My whole life has been a waste – I've been a failure.

TheMdsami33
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    (a) could only be used in very unusual circumstances (I have been a single after a really long time in a stable relationship), and sounds unidiomatic as a standalone sentence. (b) and (c) are 'started and ended in the past'. (d) is 'started in the past, continuing until now'. – Edwin Ashworth May 31 '18 at 08:53
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    How should I know , some sentences started in the past and end in the past , but some sentences still continue @EdwinAshworth – TheMdsami33 May 31 '18 at 10:50
  • It's only by familiarity. 'He has been a boxer.' means he no longer is. But 'He has been a boxer for 20 years.' means he still is. – Edwin Ashworth May 31 '18 at 14:45
  • For the first example, did you mean to say "I have been single for a really long time"? – Insights to English May 31 '18 at 21:03
  • https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/perfect-aspect – Stuart F Feb 24 '21 at 08:25

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As all four sentences use the Present Perfect tense, they incorporate both the past and the present. Without knowing the context, I would guess that they all started in the past and have not stopped yet, and therefore continue into the present.

However, an alternative is that the action itself has stopped (probably recently), but an effect of the action still continues in the present. For example, suppose the speaker of the fourth sentence has recently turned her/his life around, but the problem is she/he still has to face the consequences of wasting her/his life up until then.

If you want them to finish in the past (but still last for a presumably long time) instead of continuing into the present, use the Past Perfect tense instead. All you have to do is change 'have'/'has' into 'had' for each. For example: "He had been a boxer."

Insights to English
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