The progressive-aspect tag has no wiki summary.
45
votes
4answers
3k views
How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?
Non-native speakers often get confused about what the tenses in English mean. With input from some of the folk here I've put together a diagram that I hope will provide some clarity on the matter.
I ...
21
votes
1answer
1k views
“The ticket is printing” vs “…is being printed”
You're standing in front of a ticket vending machine and it says "The ticket is printing". Is that correct or should it be "The ticket is being printed"?
EDIT:
If both are correct, which one should ...
10
votes
2answers
3k views
“The train will leave” vs. “is going to leave” vs. “leaves” vs. “is leaving”
From the grammatical point of view all are correct, just the meaning are different, please bring your clarification, thank you.
The Train will leave at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
The Train is ...
12
votes
7answers
2k views
“I'm lovin' it”
How normal-sounding is the slogan "I'm lovin' it" to native ears?
I know it sounded quite odd to me when I first heard it — and it still sometimes does —, but I can't even tell why. Sure, love is ...
4
votes
2answers
272 views
“I have been keeping ignoring you.”
Does this make any sense?
I have been keeping ignoring you.
Besides that it sounds awkward, my Chinese buddy who knows more grammar rules than I care to list said that the phrase is ...
4
votes
2answers
444 views
Simple present vs. present continuous
What is the difference between saying:
Are you still working there?
Do you still work there?
Which is more common in spoken vs written English?
Google books returned results for both of ...
4
votes
6answers
17k views
What's the difference between “I look forward to” and “I'm looking forward to”?
I just don't get the reasoning behind which one is correct in which situation.
Typically I use the wrong one, or I use them when I'm not supposed to.
6
votes
3answers
950 views
Make “will have been going to go” correct
Is there a situation or question where the phrase will have been going to go is the best, most natural, or clearest response (or included in said response)?
I'm asking this probably somewhat silly ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
“I am going to bed” vs. “I will be going to bed”
What is the difference between saying the following?
I am going to bed in a few minutes.
I will be going to bed in a few minutes.
Or
I will be getting off here. Or, I guess, I will be ...
0
votes
1answer
446 views
Is this correct: “Water will be being drunk by Michael”?
I started with "Michael is drinking water", which I could convert to "Water is being drunk by Michael", which I could change to the past tense as "Water was being drunk by Michael".
That leads me to ...
9
votes
1answer
522 views
“You were already having been going to do that!”
From one of the Futurama episodes:
Farnsworth A: You people and your
slight differences disgust me. I'm
going home. Where's that blue box with
our universe in it?
Farnsworth 1: Oh,
...
5
votes
2answers
159 views
Why is the progressive form used here?
In February 1825 he married Julianne Thiemer, daughter of a property owner and well-established glove-maker in Seesen. Heinrich, a cabinet maker without property, a Beiwohner(boarder), was marrying ...
4
votes
3answers
263 views
*Joking* used in continuous form
"I'm only joking" and "She wasn't joking".
Why is the verb to joke used in the present continuous, instead of the present simple tense? Is it because it's a dynamic verb?
4
votes
3answers
574 views
The times are a-changing? Why a-?
I'm Italian so I don't know English very well.
While listening to Bob Dylan songs I've heard some strange use of progressive tense (is that the correct term?), the title of this question is one ...
3
votes
4answers
320 views
Future perfect progressive
When is the future perfect progressive used? I am trying to understand in which cases it should be used, but I cannot find any practice examples of sentences using that tense.
I will have been ...
2
votes
5answers
7k views
“Will graduate” vs. “will be graduated” vs. “is going to graduate”
Which of the following sentences are correct?
He will graduate in May.
He will be graduated in May.
He is going to graduate in May.
Issue 1: Is the second one grammatical?
Issue 2: ...
0
votes
3answers
145 views
“Will” vs. “going to” vs. Present Continious [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“The train will leave” vs. “is going to leave” vs. “leaves” vs. “is leaving”
Here are three sentences:
David is going ...
-5
votes
2answers
360 views
Difference between present tense and present continuous tense when using “is” and “are” [closed]
He is my brother.
They are my friends.
These two sentences are in the present tense, but I thought the verbs "is" and "are" were used only in the present continuous tense. If this is so, how then ...
