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One wrote:

We can see that many devices are being produced every day.

The aim of this sentence is to address something that regularly happens these days, but I am looking for more formal and idiomatic ways to say such a sentence

Maybe:

Nowadays, we are observing the production of new devices on daily basis ..

What is the pattern to witness something currently happens around us... Do we usually use present continues tense for these sentences like:

These days, we are seeing an increasing amount of violence on television, and this is having a negative impact on children’s behaviour.

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  • A simple version: "Every day, devices are being produced in large numbers." When "Every day" or "Every day now" begins the sentence like that, it can serve as the rhetorical gesture you're looking for.
    – TimR
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 11:56
  • @TRomano then in English it is not idiomatic to say "We are observing that phenomena "?
    – Ahmad
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 12:01
  • Those exact words?
    – TimR
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 12:02
  • @TRomano No!, Every day is a good point, but in Persian we sometimes use ourselves or the reader to witness it.... I mean is there such phrases in English too? if yes, what are those? I found in google "These days, we are seeing..." is common...
    – Ahmad
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 12:03
  • 1
    Present and present-continuous are both possible, and the modal can also is permissible. We see...we are seeing....we can see. But "these days" is hardly "formal". Formal writing that truly wishes to avoid a folksy tone would avoid phrases such as "these days" and "nowadays" and "all around us".
    – TimR
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 12:09

1 Answer 1

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All of these can describe what you mean.

Every day we see something happen.

We can observe that something happens on a daily basis.

Day after day we see that something happens (recurring action)

Day by day we see that something is happening (continuing action).

It is acceptable to say "We are seeing" instead of the simple "We see/observe", but it's sometimes considered poor writing style to use the present continuous tense when the simple present works.

It is also considered unnecessary to include the first-person (I or we) in expository writing. You are the one writing, so the reader assumes that it is your observation, or your opinion.

Every day new devices of this type are produced.

Companies come out with new devices of this type on a daily basis.

Of course, you will see many people use the first-person anyway, especially in less formal writing, so it's possible this style rule is falling out of fashion.

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  • Thank you but It's not about "something happen". It's more stylistic pattern like These days, we are seeing an increasing amount of violence on television, and this is having a negative impact on children’s behaviour.
    – Ahmad
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 14:08
  • Yes, the same pattern is applicable. "Every day we see more and more violence on television, which ..." or simply "Every day there is more and more ..."
    – Andrew
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 14:11
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    These days is in the register of casual conversation.
    – TimR
    Commented Dec 20, 2016 at 17:00

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