Questions tagged [continuous-aspect]
Continuous aspect is an imperfective aspect that expresses an ongoing, but not habitual, occurrence of the state or event expressed by the verb.
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Why did you do it/you did it/you do it/you keep doing it?
What is the difference between "Why ... /did you do/you did/you do/you keep doing/ ... it?" ?
When we question (wondering) other people choice, both past and present, why he keep doing something, ...
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Present continuous and present simple
can I use present continuous and present simple in one sentence, like in my writings below?
1."There is no bird singing without a reason so don't tell me you cry for no cause."
2."The moments I don'...
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1answer
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Mixing simple present and a present participle in the same phrase?
I'm writing an explanation of my duties in a job that I currently have, and I came up with the bullet:
Organize large groups of over 200 people, directing them to activities and allocating seating in ...
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1answer
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Is it “since 1973, the festival has been running … ” or “since 1973, the festival has been run …” [closed]
I had this in a test. I wrote the first one, "has been running" and got it wrong and the teacher wrote the second one, "has been run". I want to understand who's correct and why.
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I “am flying” or I “will be flying” to Paris later this morning?
Got this sentence in a multiple choice question exam
"I'm going to the airport in a minute. I _____ to Paris later this Morning"
A) will be flying
B) am flying
C) will fly
D) ...
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1answer
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“I’m afraid that they will call me when I will be doing my homework” Is that correct?
dear stackexchangers, need your help.
As you sure know there is a rule about using Present Simple instead of Future Simple after words "when", "before", "if", etc. But what about my sentence? Can we ...
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1answer
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Using present continuous for tendencies
Can one use present continuous to describe tendencies, such as:
Oh this word? It's not being actively used these days anymore.
This sounds good to me, but I can't find a grammar rule to support ...
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Which one is correct? “I am suffering from fever since yesterday” or “I am suffering from fever from yesterday”?
I am not good in English literature.
From daily use of English language, it seems to me that the second from in:
1 I am suffering from fever from yesterday
is the correct word. But, my friend, a ...
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2answers
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“is starting on …” Why is it Present?
I have exercise to create sentences in Present Continuous but in one of them is. " The sales is starting on Monday". My question is about time used here, in my opinion this will happens only in future ...
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Sense verbs (see and hear) used in the progressive form (specific contexts) [duplicate]
I have a question about sense verbs used in the progressive form, namely "hearing" and "seeing" in the contexts like the ones presented in the attached images (the underscored fragments). Is there any ...
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1answer
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Non progressive verbs. Was seeing, was looking good [duplicate]
Non progressive verbs are not used in continuous, right?
But what about, for example, sentences like:
"Gazing absently over the rooftops, it was a few seconds before Harry realised what he was ...
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present perfect continuous vs. present continuous [duplicate]
how can we differenciate present perfect continuous .
we use it for the actions which started in the past and still continuing but we start doing the exam in present continuous tense.
I am working on ...
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2answers
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perfect continuous conditional tense doubt
"I just wanted for you to come back home when you would have been ready."
I wonder if the sentence above is correct. I have some doubts about the tense after "when".
Thanks for the help!
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0answers
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“Was” or “became”?
In the following sentence:
Del Ferro and Tartaglia are fully credited with their discoveries, as is Ferrari, and the whole story written down in the text. Tartaglia was furious when he discovered ...
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1answer
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Nothing's getting done today - is it present or future?
Is the sentence "Nothing's getting done today" present continuous?
Why is the verb get ending in "-ing"?
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Is 'Does' correct here?
Some people say. "I does what I want to" is this in any way relative to "I always do what I want to" or it's totally wrong to have it so
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Anyone got an explanation for how present continuous got its name?
I know for what present simple and present continuous are being used. What has bothered me for a longest of times is WHY are the names so illogical.
You use present SIMPLE to state something that ...
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4answers
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Present Perfect Continuous Tense - Passive Voice - Question Forms [duplicate]
Please tell me how to use the positive question form of passive voice of the tense- Present perfect Continuous Tense?
The Positive Answer form could be as "I have been being taught". (Here, I am the ...
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3answers
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What’s the difference between “she is worked” and “she has worked”? [closed]
Sometimes she’s means she has but sometimes it means she is. How can I find the difference between these two identical sentences so that I can understand which of the two possible contractions was ...
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0answers
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The elevator going up/down [duplicate]
I was very surprised when I first heard "this elevator going up". But then I heard it in a bunch of other places, so it is not a mistake. So, why is it not "the elevator is going up/down"?
Thank you!
...
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1answer
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Why “missing”, but not “needing” or “wanting”?
The following sentence is OK:
The table is missing a leg.
But the next two sentences sound a bit off (to my native ear, at least):
The campaign is needing support.
I am wanting an apple.
...
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4answers
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Is “my horse had been stolen” or “my horse was stolen” better in this sentence?
I'm Mexican and I have had English class since kindergarden, now I'm in eighth grade in middle school.
Some days ago, we had the fourth term English exam, and I was surprised because the teacher had ...
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1answer
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The “continuous tense”. How can I use this tense with “better than anyone could”? [closed]
I'm not sure what tense this is, but it's for a presentation. It's the best I could come up with while translating it into English.
Meeting deadlines.
Working with bla... bla...
Building ...
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1answer
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Can the continuous form be combined with the passive voice?
According to the site Study And Exam, passive constructions cannot be used with verb forms such as:
the present perfect continuous construction
the past perfect continuous construction
the future ...
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1answer
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Using stative verb “want” in progressive
Some days ago I found an interesting question.
As I know we can use some stative verbs in continuos with a difference in meaning. There are two sentences:
We'd been wanting to go to New Zealand ...
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1answer
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Can I use -ing verbs within a sentence that's in the past tense?
Is this sentence grammatically correct? The dashes are em dashes. This is the last sentence of a paragraph that is in the past tense:
But I continued to work—building, learning, and simply loving ...
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2answers
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Does “Who sings it?” express the habitual present or the present of immediacy?
Does sings as used in the quoted part refer to the habitual present tense or to the present tense of immediacy?
I like this song. Who sings it?
Suppose I were listening to a song and asked the ...
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1answer
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Using “by” with the future perfect continuous
Does anyone know if there is any reason why a sentence like:
"By 2020 I will have been working in London for 5 years."
Might be considered incorrect? I realise in everyday life this sentence would ...
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2answers
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Can you ever use the continuous aspect with “usually”?
One English teacher told me that this sentence:
Usually, I am going to school.
is not correct, that the correct version would be to use the simple present:
Usually, I go to school.
Even though ...
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1answer
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passive voice in continuous tense
Could someone please tell me what the passive voice is for the following sentence:
I was trying to study Chinese but I couldn't.
I think it will be:
Chinese was being tried to be studied, but ...
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1answer
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Should I use the present simple or present continuous here?
Which of these two paragraphs is correct?
The first paragraph:
Secondly, the author gives an example about meerkats. He argues that the sentinel meerkat guards his group while they are eating or ...
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1answer
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-ing in conditionals
I have a question regarding the use of -ing in conditionals. Is it possible to use these. Most sources I found say you should use the simple form in, for instance, the first conditional. Can I make ...
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Is “My purse was stolen when I had been shopping” grammatical?
i) My purse was stolen when I was shopping.
ii) My purse was stolen when I had been shopping.
I thought that i) was grammatical and ii) ungrammatical. But yesterday I found the next sentence ...
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1answer
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Past Simple VS Past Continues
They came, four by four, down the vast hall between double rows of columns. The drum beat dully. No voice spoke, no eye watched. Torches carried by black-clad girls burned reddish in the shafts of ...
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Is the use of “be VERB-ing” acceptable in order to suggest a continuous action after “so as to”, “in order to” etc.?
Example sentences are as follows:
"In order for it to be happening it is necessary that the circumstances be right."
"So that it may be happening it is necessary that the circumstances be right."
"...
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Express that something is delivered with something else for a certain amount of time
I want to express that A is delivered together with B for 5 years and that this still goes on.
A is being delivered with B since two years.
The above sentences is obviously wrong.
What about ...
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1answer
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Past Perfect Progressive
I came across a website that says using a past perfect continuous is a good way to show cause and effect. The writer then shows an example.
He was tired because he had been exercising so hard.
But ...
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1answer
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Had been working or had worked [duplicate]
I'm trying to figure out what to choose between Past Perfect Simple and Past Perfect Continuous in the following sentence:
Mr Georgiou had been working/had worked for the company for twenty years ...
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1answer
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Present participle with adverbial meaning in a past continuous sentence
I was leaning against a tree on the hill , sitting.
My query is whether or not we should treat "sitting" as present participle with adverbial meaning, or as past-continuous tense.
To clarify , I ...
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5answers
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“She has” vs. “she had” been trying to give up smoking for years
Which of the following sentences is correct:
Cindy's very pleased with herself. She has finally given up smoking. She's (she has) been trying to give up for years.
Cindy's very pleased with herself. ...
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3answers
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Verbs whose simple past tense can be used as continuous [closed]
I was wondering whether there are any verbs whose past tense could be used as a continuous verb like "head." Is "head" the only verb whose past tense can be used as a present continuous verb?
I am ...
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1answer
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Perfect Continuous
I know we use Past Perfect Continuous when an event in the past continue up until another event in the past:
I had been talking with her for over an hour before Tony arrived.
Can we use it when an ...
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1answer
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Both forms of future continuous in the same sentence
I did an online quiz and I wish someone to tell me why my answer was reported to be incorrect. In the sentence below, I selected "She is going to be preparing dinner" but apparently the correct answer ...
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1answer
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Use of FROM with Past Continuous
Can we use from when we are talking about the beginning of a period of time in Past Continuous but without indicating when that period of time stopped.
For example:
We were playing in the garden ...
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1answer
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Past Perfect Continuous vs Past Continuous
Which one is correct? and why?:
1. Where had Robert been working since 4 o'clock yesterday?
2. Where was Robert working since 4 o'clock yesterday?
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1answer
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Is it possible to write
Is it possible to write: they were driving for an hour, then they stopped near the cafe. ? I mean, are the tenses I've used correct?
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Present continuous vs Present perfect continuous [closed]
I am waiting for you for almost an hour
I have been waiting for you for almost an hour
What's the difference? Are both OK?
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1answer
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What are the differences between “to write” and “to be writing”?
"I answered the phone in my apartment and heard the sloping drawl of one of my students, Travis. "Miss Diana," he said, "Could you come on down the stairs a minute?"
It was early May on the Great ...
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2answers
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How to use Present Perfect Continuous in Passive form?
Although Present Perfect Continuous is less commonly used in its Passive form. I want to know if it's possible to use a sentence below in its passive form.
Active:
I have been telling him a long ...
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2answers
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Use of the present continuous to refer to timetabled events
One of the things that is constantly confusing for English language learners, but comes with ease to native speakers, is when to use present continuous and when to use present simple.
Because of this,...
