It____(rain) frequently in London.
This is the sentence that I am confused with. I have been told that with 'permanent' ideas comes simple present and with 'temporary ' ideas comes present continuous. So is it wrong if I wrote :it is raining frequently in London? I wrote this keeping in mind that raining is not a permanent thing. Is there something I am missing?
asked Dec 10, 2014 at 13:52
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2 Answers
At this situation, the sentence is more suitable for simple present rather than present continuous.
Let's see the condition for using simple present and present continuous
SIMPLE PRESENT
-Habit/fact
-Permanent situations
-Future events which is in a part of a timetable
-Talks about an event in books/plays/films
Present Continuous
-Event which are happening at the moment
-Temporary situations/Situation which changes slowly
-Temporary/new/annoying habits
-100% sure of a future plan
-Talks about an event in pictures/photos
Now, let's see the situation here. We can see that the keyword here is "frequently" means always/fact. So, I won't consider it as a temporary situation but instead I think it's more like a fact. Thus, it's more suitable to use simple present.
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Oh I see so is there a keyword in every sentence which we should note to check which tense to use. How are we sure that it's a fact? Dec 10, 2014 at 14:24
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Let take it this way, frequently and always have the same meaning. Now let's see how you use the word "always" Dec 10, 2014 at 14:31
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If you say "It rains frequently in London" you talk about a fact and not about what is going on at the moment. For facts simple present is the normal thing.
