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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Mention the first immediate action in an '-ing' clause in front of the main clause
Page 585 of the Collins English Usage reads
To indicate that someone did one thing immediately after
another, you can mention the first thing they did in an '-ing' clause
in front of the main clause.
...
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0answers
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For + -ing verb (purpose)
Page 200 of the Collins English Usage reads
You do not use 'for' with an '-ing' form when you saying why someone
does something. You do not say, for example, 'He went to the city for
finding work'.
...
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2answers
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“they had renovated” vs “had been renovating”
How can I understand the sentence 1b?
1 a When I last went to Moscow, they had renovated St Basil's Cathedral.
b When I last went to Moscow, they had been renovating St Basil's Cathedral
The ...
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1answer
204 views
“I was no longer working for X” vs. “I no longer worked for X”
I'm a student learning English and recently helped a friend of mine write an important email in English. The text I gave him contained the following part:
I am sorry for not replying to your email, ...
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0answers
36 views
past-continuous vs present-perfect-continuous [closed]
I have watched a few videos on this theme, but still don't understand when I would use one and cannot use another. Example from one of BBC English videos:
"I have been cooking soup for 20 minutes ...
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21 views
Past perfect continuous and use of since
I came across the following sentence with an instruction to rewrite it in past perfect continuous using the given time expression in brackets:
Govind was working in this factory as a watchman. (since ...
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0answers
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How to ask if someone is doing the same thing as before without using “still” for negative connotations?
"So, X, are you still living in Y?"
"So, A, are you still working at B?"
For a conversation opener or continuer, is there an alternative way to enquire, interest, about someone ...
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1answer
32 views
Matter of course use of future continuous
I am unable to fully grasp the matter of course use future continuous.
The explanation says;
we use future continuous to talk about something which will happen, if everything happens as we expect
An ...
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34 views
Continuous infiniti
I can’t remember seeing the same man as devoted to anything as he is to serving you. When to use to +verb ing form ?
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1answer
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Chekhov and the omission of “be” verbs with progressive tenses in compound sentences
The following is an excerpt from a translation of Chekhov's story "The Student" published in the Norton Critical Editions. Given the prestige of this publication, one would assume what's printed to be,...
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0answers
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Can you help with the difference in these past perfect tenses?
Example 1: 'Edison invented the light bulb. He had been working on it for years'.
Example 2: 'Edison invented the light bulb. It had taken him years'.
In example 1, the past perfect continuous makes ...
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0answers
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List of long-acting verbs
Good evening!
There are some verbs that can be used both in Perfect and Perfect Continuous aspects such as: "work, study, teach, sleep, wait, live" because they express a long-acting action. It is ...
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You keep me hanging on - phrasal verb(s)?
What is actually the phasal verb in a sentence:
You keep me hanging on
"Keep on" or "hang on"? What do we have here? Double phrasal verb? I am trying to figure this out for a while today... This is ...
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0answers
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How to use / not use 'Always'?
Recently I was informed that 'Always' can be used with continuous verbs but only if it is used on situations with bad implications, such as teenagers are always causing trouble. But what about these ...
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5answers
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“I am tired and doing my homework.” Is it grammatically correct?
Is the sentence in the title absolutely grammatically correct? I recently had an argument with a fellow student, and he said that the sentence is incorrect. I do not think he is right, because I saw ...
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1answer
327 views
While + Past Simple + Past Simple vs. While + Past Continues + Past Simple
We can use these two tenses together as below, for example:
While she was walking on a sunny beach, Amy slowly read an
extremely long book about justice.
I was wondering under what conditions we ...
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1answer
188 views
Why can we use present simple for “I feel fine”?
“I feel fine this morning”, why? He feels fine all morning, it means that this action takes a long time, so we must use present continuous.
I feel fine this morning, but I was very tired last ...
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3answers
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Why do conditional sentences with “would have had to” have an extra “had” in them?
Well, i was reading about Type Three conditionals. In the main clause we use if + past perfect (had), then in the second clause we use either the "perfect conditional" or the "perfect ...
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0answers
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How to explain the tenses in these sentences?
So my Japanese student is having trouble understanding why the following tenses are used and I’m not sure how to explain it.
My line manager wants the meeting arranged immediately.
Why does that ...
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1answer
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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
84 views
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
315 views
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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2answers
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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) am going to ...
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1answer
169 views
“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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4answers
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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
193 views
“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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0answers
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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
62 views
Present participle
Is possible to say "bored" in present participle?
How I understand it is past participle.
I want to say "I am seeing, how she is feeling bored at the lesson now." and I want to use present continuous....
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1answer
163 views
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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0answers
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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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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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3answers
2k views
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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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
440 views
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.
The verbs ...
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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
112 views
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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votes
1answer
748 views
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
1k views
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 for ...
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1answer
5k views
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 ...
2
votes
2answers
194 views
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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vote
1answer
420 views
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 ...
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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 ...
3
votes
1answer
524 views
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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votes
1answer
85 views
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 ...
2
votes
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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1answer
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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 from ...
