Simple Past Tense for duration of time

Solution 1:

We use for + duration in different tenses :

• Sarah and David talk for two hours daily. (Regular habit).

• Sarah and David have talked for two hours. (They have just completed their talking.)

• Sarah and David talked for two hours. (Their talking ended in the past.)

• Sarah and David were talking for two hours. (They were talking for two hours and it ended in the past.)

• Sarah and David had been talking for two hours before I came (or, when I came). (to say how long they had been talking up to a past moment.)

• Sarah and David will not talk for the next ten days. (They won't talk for a period in future.)

*** But to measure "DURATION UP TO THE PRESENT", we use a present perfect tense :

• Sarah and David have been talking for two hours. (It means their talking started in the past and is still going on.)