Present perfect continuous or present perfect?

[Cerise]

Which one is correct:
Recently it hasn't been raining at all.
Recently it hasn't rained at all.

[Torsten]

Both are correct.

TOEIC short conversations: At the conference registration table

[Cerise]

Ah another question. :)
Are they correct in any context? Or it depends?
Oh and another question. There's a lot of context though so I won't type it all but it's about two guys talking about an event. They were talking about somebody they had met there and what he had done there. And then one of them said: I ______(see) him before. Is that past perfect or present perfect?

[Alan]

Hi Cerise,

In the context of the two guys discussing what had happened, I would suggest past perfect - 'had seen'. If the 'somebody' is there as they talk about him, then you would say: I have seen him before.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Cerise]

What about that:
Recently it hasn't been raining at all.
Recently it hasn't rained at all.
Now I know they are correct but is there any difference? In my exam paper there was an exercise where I had to put the verb into correct tense and I used Present Perfect Continuous but the correct answer should be in Present Perfect Simple. It doesn't make much sense to me because I think both can be correct and my answer was graded with zero points. I just need a good explanation for that (if it really is correct) so I might get some extra points. There's also context if that helps...

[Dozy]

What was the exact wording of the sentence in the exam?

[Cerise]

It was a dialogue. Shall I take a picture of it?

[Dozy]

For anyone to confirm that both tenses work successfully, I think you'll have to. It may also be necessary to know how the question is phrased; in particular, whether it simply asks you to complete the sentence, or whether it asks you for the tense that fits best (or similar).

[Cerise]

It says "..a suitable form."
The words written in pencil are the correct solutions I wrote after it had been graded(it cannot be seen well anyway). They are supposed to be "have seen" and "has parked or anything with present perfect simple". Could you have a look at all of them? And explain clearly why something is wrong or correct in case I have to explain it to the professor.

[Dozy]

In my opinion "it hasn't rained" and "it hasn't been raining" are both suitable here.

"were you doing" is incorrect. It does not fit the sentence.

"I think I've seen one of them before" is correct (in conversation the contraction "I've" would almost always be used, unless "have" is being emphasised, which is unlikely to be the case here). "He has parked in a garage in Broad Lane", if that's what you're saying, seems unlikely (it is not impossible, but I would be very unsure that it was the expected answer).

The rest looks OK to me.

(I love the final lines. Hmmm.... now I wonder why was I robbed of my briefcase? Oh, maybe it was something to do with the £20,000 I had in it, that I forgot to mention to the police so far ...!)

[Cerise]

Why are both correct? I need a clear explanation.
What is your suggestion for "were you doing"? Actually I didn't notice the "you" in that sentence haha. But I can't come up with a solution that fits...
Why past perfect doesn't fit? In case it's difficult to read it from the pic: I HAD seen and he HAD parked. :) As in: He saw the man and then he was robbed and recognised him. Therefore past perfect.

[Dozy]

[Cerise]

Okay, I hope there are people who can explain that. :)
So there are two of us who can't see a solution. xD That's confusing... it's supposed to be a question but I just can't find a question with "you" placed right there. At all. It might be a mistake though. Strange.
So past perfect IS fine but since this is a spoken dialogue contractions sound more natural?
Therefore I wasn't given enough points... bad luck huh..
Thanks for your help. :)

[Dozy]

[Kati Svaby]

Hello Dozy,

You wrote yesterday: