have been doing

[hermanmon]

Hello guys!

Which of the following sentence is correct?

1) Thank you for having been being so supportive, ever since last August.
2) Thank you for having been so supportive, ever since last August.
3) Thank you for being so supportive, ever since last August.

I would like to use it in a formal email to appreciate my colleagues' continuous support.
Or should I just say "Thank you for your continuous support" instead?
Please give me some advice.

 

[dermott]

Hello guys!

Which of the following sentence is correct?

1) Thank you for having been being so supportive, ever since last August.
2) Thank you for having been so supportive since last August.
3) Thank you for being so supportive since last August.

I would like to use it in a formal email to appreciate my colleagues' continuous support.
Or should I just say "Thank you for your continued support" instead?
Please give me some advice.

 

[Phoebe1200]

And what would the difference be between these two forms?

Thank you for having been so supportive since last August.
Thank you for being so supportive since last August.

 

[dermott]

There's no difference in meaning.

 

[hermanmon]

There's no difference in meaning.

Thank you for your reply.

I know that "having been being so supportive" sounds very weird, but "having been doing" means my colleagues have been supportive and will continuously be supportive. So, in this way, does the first sentence seem to be grammatically correct?

 

[dermott]

It doesn't just sound weird, it's grammatically wrong. The "being" in "having been being so supportive" is redundant.

 

[Phoebe1200]

There's no difference in meaning.

When you say this, do you mean that for example

Thank you for having been so supportive since last August.

this sentence doesn't imply that the person was supportive and still will be or maybe not (we don't know that) ?

Thank you for being so supportive since last August.

and that this one just states the fact of him being supportive?

 

[velisarius]

Thank you for having been so supportive, ever since last August.

It's okay, but "...ever since last August" doesn't sit very well with "having been supportive".

I would try to make it sound more natural:
Thank you for having been so supportive all this time; ever since last August, in fact.

Thank you for being so supportive all this time; ever since last August, in fact.

I don't see any difference in meaning. How can we know whether he intends to carry on being supportive? The time of support is open-ended; it started in August but we don't know if and when it ended. I would assume he hasn't actively withdrawn his support at any given point.

 

[Phoebe1200]

Thank you for having been so supportive all this time

This one focuses on a period of time of him being supportive

Thank you for being so supportive all this time

while this one just focuses on the fact of him being supportive.
Is that correct?

 

[velisarius]

For me they are the same.

 

[Phoebe1200]

Thank you very much for your replies.

 

[velisarius]

You're welcome.

 

[hermanmon]

Thank you for your replies!