"过去三个月我在德国工作。"

Translation: For the past three months I was working in Germany.

[MatthewEpp5]

If the action is continuing, it should be, "for the past three months I have been working in Germany". We really need the present perfect continuous so the sentence has the correct aspect.

[Karoliina765050]

I've come here with the same problem. Unless the sentence states that the work in Germany is over (does it?), it needs to use present perfect continuous.

[Gabrielle145359]

I think that the Chinese sentence is inconclusive on thst count. The speaker might still be working in Germany, or the speaker might have just returned home.

[RaphaelNing]

I'm a native speaker and I agree with you. Without further context, I'd guess that the speaker is no longer working in Germany, e.g. 过去三个月我在德国工作（，现在回国了）. If the speaker is still working in Germany, they should rephrase it like 最近三个月我一直在德国工作（，但打算明年回国）.

[MaynardHogg]

Ahh! 过去 vs. 最近. Now to find this distinction documented.

过去时 guò qù shí = past tense

过去分词 guò qu fēn cí = past participle

最近几年 zuì jìn jǐ nián = the last few years

[wxf163c]

Hello, Karoliina. Would "worked" be OK, or does it have to be "working"？

[KX3.]

Actually, 过 indicates something in the past. Unless otherwise stated it should probably be assumed that the speaker likely no longer works in Germany.

[wxf163c]

wrong logic.
过 indicates the past is one thing.
can't indicate the past without 过 is another.

[MaynardHogg]

Ahem. 过 means "to cross" or "spend time." I would therefore translate/gloss the time phrase as the double-barreled "over the *past three months" and let the tenses fall where they may. English supports both**. I don't know about Chinese.

[CinnamonTe1]

There is a way in Chinese to say you have been doing something for a certain length of time and are still doing it.

Expressing how long you did something in the past is one thing, but what if the action is still ongoing?

Subj. + Verb + 了 + Duration + 了

他 在 北京 住 了 两 年 了。
Tā zài Běijīng zhù le liǎng nián le.
He has been living in Beijing for two years.

https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_ongoing_duration_with_double_%22le%22

I think 过去 especially means in the past.

[Ant.H]

Agreed, if we're accepting "for the last/past three months" then we know it has continued at least until now

[bould1]

For the past three months I worked in Germany should be accepted

[James550591]

Yes it is accepted as on 15 Jan 2021

[krt]

"For the past 3 months I was in Germany working." - this sounds perfectly fine to me, why was it not accepted?

[alexandra.705412]

I said the same thing and will report it.

[StephanusG1]

That is not standard English syntax. Keep the elements of the compound verb (was working) together and put the locative phrase (in Germany) at the end.

[raskolnikov88]

"I was working in Germany the past three months" is not accepted. Seriously?

[minookamuse]

It's more correct in English usage to say "have been working" than "was working."

[StephanusG1]

The meaning is different; one is not more correct than the other without context. "I have been working...(and still am)" v "I was working...(but have just returned to China)".

[EthanWang824851]

Unaccepted answer: "Over the past three months I was working in Germany."
Reported 5.13.19

[eBayhotsauce]

i have been working in germany in the past three months

[Stephen241623]

I don't think so; this only requires you to have worked in Germany for one second.

[Sisca1219]

For the past three months I was in Germany working.
Why it is wrong? It should be accepted

[eleni133306]

i agree - probably a construction they're not used to, but there's nothing wrong with it -

[Stephen241623]

You can't say this in English. You want either “for the past three months I have been working in Germany” or “for three months I was working in Germany”—otherwise you're claiming that you stopped, but in such a way that you're still doing it, which is absurd.

[Hans757119]

English is a foreign language for me. I'm from de guo ;)

[Hans757119]

Mercy!

[GrardJoube]

I put the present perfect, and it was refused. I'm not Chinese, but to mark the change of state ( he was working in Germany, and now he doesn't anymore) a final 了should have put. Without this 了it means that he keeps working in Germany, doesn't it ? But once again I'm not Chinese.

[jeon8257]

Looks like 去过 ≠ 过去
(continuous vs perfect)

[Hans757119]

Made in Germany

[knoedelfri]

I am not a native speaker of English, but in the grammar lessons we learned that a "for", indicating a continuation, always necessitates a perfect tense

[StephanusG1]

Not always (though we usually tell students that at first.) For+past simple indicates a finished time period (we can also use from x to y). For+present perfect means the action continues (we can also use since x). e.g. I lived in Moscow for one year (but now I live in Guangzhou.) I've lived in Guangzhou for two years (and I'm here now.)

[MaynardHogg]

OR "I have been working."

[rianwardana]

Both "I have been working in Germany for the past three months" and "For the past three months I was working in Germany" is correct now

[CaroleClohesy]

Not Standard English : Either, For the past 3 months I have been working in Germany or I was working in Germany over the past 3 months.