Present Perfect Tense Question

[yo4561]

Hi MP,

I came across the following example in the All the Verbal book: "The Millers have lived in a hut for three days." MP explains that the Millers began living in the hut three days ago, and they are still living in that hut.

My question is as follows:

What would "The Millers ARE LIVING in a hut for three days" imply? Is this just another way to express the "The Millers have lived in a hut for three days", or is there a difference in meaning?

Thank you for all of your time and help.

[esledge]

What would "The Millers ARE LIVING in a hut for three days" imply? Is this just another way to express the "The Millers have lived in a hut for three days", or is there a difference in meaning?

There is a difference!

If "The Millers ARE LIVING in a hut for three days," it means that their stay in the hut will last for exactly three days and then they will leave. The present progressive "are living" indicates that the present moment is within the three-day period.

So, if they arrived at the hut two days ago, it would be true to say "the Millers have lived in a hut for two days" (so far), but "the millers are living in a hut for three days" implies that they only have one day left in their stay.