Questions tagged [continuous]
The continuous tag has no usage guidance.
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How much longer will you play/be playing (for)?
Your friend is playing chess/tennis/video games. You know he'll be free after that.
You want to know how long he'll be engaged in this activity (so that you know when he'll be free), so you ask him ...
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I don't trust vs I'm not trusting
What's the difference between
I don't trust and I'm not trusting (anymore)
The present simple vs present continuous is obvious.
I just lack experience to build a number of examples with the continuous ...
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I cry for or I am crying for
Shall I say "I am crying for you" or "I cry for you"? if my closest friend recently died . I think "I cry for you" would be better as emotions are often expressed by ...
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"Let me know how you <get on> <are getting on> at your new job."
from english.stackexchange.com:
(1a) I hear you've got a new job. How do you get on? — incorrect
(1b) I hear you've got a new job. How are you getting on? — correct
from thefreedictionary.com:
(2a) ...
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"I wasn't listening to what the teacher was saying"? "I didn't listen to what the teacher was saying"?
We often avoid repeating the continuous form, do we? Like you say
What do you think you are doing?
instead of
What are you thinking you are doing?
How about the following sentences?
I wasn't ...
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21
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continuous or simple in this case?
In fact I sent 2 or 3 emails but these were sent to your yahoo address that is why you did not receive them. Then I realized I had written the wrong address .The last one ( the one you received) was ...
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What is the best solution in this context present simple or continuous?
are you planning to reissue this record?
do you plan to reissue this record?
I think the second one is better because there is not a limitation of time it can be in 2 days or in 2 years. Could we ...
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Can I use the construction like "get + gerund" (example: get moving) with continuous and perfect forms?
I guess, I understand about usage of "get moving" or "get doing" in simple.
I always get reading a new book as soon as I have free time.
What about continuous or perfect forms? ...
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"give" or" are giving" in this case
I have tried to check with the post but the only information they give is dated from 15th March, almost two weeks ago.
Would it be better to change "give" by to "are giving" ...
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59
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1
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Closing or closed in this case
Tomorrow, the store is "closing/closed" for two weeks hopefully it will reopen soon after .
I think both can fit because the closing is temporary so continuous should fit
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Can I use "how long" without a continuous tense?
How long have I slept?
Can I say that just before waking up? I think so.
The problem is that "how long" implies a continuous tense in most cases. In this case you can't use with a ...
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climbing the mountain
As I understand "I climbed that mountain" means that I reached the top of it.
So If the climbing was interrupted and therefore not completed, we must not say "As we climbed the mountain,...
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Continuous / Perfect (Continuous) Imperatives (with infinitive and subjunctive)
Sometimes it's necessary to use a specific aspect of tenses (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous), but when we ask people to do something should (can) we use the same aspects in order to ...
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Continuous Imperative [closed]
Is it correct to say?
"Be doing it at the moment I come in."
Example:
This is very important to me. Please, when I call you at 3 pm tomorrow, be reading my letters so that she can see you ...
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We didn't know what to do, so we did nothing/ were doing nothing
I was advised to ask this question here, which was originally posted here:
[https://english.stackexchange.com/q/580212/381160]
I came across this sentence in one of my workbooks:
We were in a ...
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Past Continuous for Temporary Situations
Context: I was on a college football team for half a year
When I played for the team, I trained hard and we ate veggies
When I WAS PLAYING for the team, I WAS TRAINING hard and we WERE EATING veggies
...
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Is continuous possible in this example
She found a strange girl. She was wearing a hospital gown, her hair was shaved and she did not talk.
Would like to know if "was not talking" ,what I answered to this test,is possible. We can ...
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Will it be still happening or will it still happen
I am waiting for a reissue of a book,but nothing seems to arrive so I decide to write an email
Shall I say "Will the reissue of this book still be happening or will it still happen " I ...
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3
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“I was eating two half hamburgers yesterday”
Yesterday, I was eating half of a hamburger at 3 o’clock, and I was eating half of another hamburger at 6 o’clock.
Why does “I was eating two half hamburgers yesterday” seem weird unlike “I ate two ...
user141460
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I lack confidence vs I am lacking in confidence?
I lack confidence
I am lacking in confidence
What's the difference in meaning between the two?
Also, does lacking place emphasis on present state of lackingness (partial continuity)
Is there a vessel ...
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Relating to the progressive tense
Someone started to jump, he was jumping, and he finished jumping, and at intervals, he didn’t do any jumps, so is this situation finally counted as ‘he jumped once’?
Progressive: a verb tense that is ...
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"I was supposing..."? (past continuous possible?)
I would like to know if it is possible to say "I was supposing..." or does it always have to be "I supposed..."? The example for what I am thinking of would be the following ...
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3
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Difference between continuous and simple
If I ask someone "How do your parents punish you this year", am I asking him what his parents do when they catch him doing bad, but only this year?
Whereas in "How are your parents ...
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Past Continuous or any other Past Tense?
pls kindly advise if we should use here Past Continuous or any other Past tense?
e.g. I was waiting for you yesterday for 5 hours.
Situation: a person was waiting for another person. It lasted 5 hours....
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42
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Shall I use continuous tense for both action in this sentence?
Is it correct to write:
I hope, my name, when you are reading it, will ring a bell.
Or should I write:
I hope my name, when you are reading it will be ringing a bell.
Is it correct to use ...
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"getting worse and worse " vs " got worse and worse"
"I remember xxxxx at that time getting more and more depressed, he got worse and worse "
I don't undrestand why it is not he was getting worse and worse (because getting depressed and the ...
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2
votes
1
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318
views
being+past participle without is/are - what is the rule?
English words being used in conversation.
being used - what is the rule?
If it is the passive voice (Continuous), why it is used without be, like
English words are being used in conversation.
If it is ...
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present continuous or simple in this case
When you are writing or write the address, don't forget to add:attention to xxxxxx
I think continuous would be better but can I use present continuous for a very quick action (writing xxxxx).
I know ...
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present continuous for a general statement: is it possible?
In fact i live in France but Scott (who lives in Australia) is such a nice guy that he is ok to let me use his address, so each record I buy in Australia is delivered to him, where they are waiting to ...
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2
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Why can't I use Present Perfect Continuous or vice versa Present Perfect forms in these sentences?
He has traveled so much recently that we have not managed to see each other much and I have met someone else. (why not "has been traveling")
I have been eating
fish and fruit since I got here. (...
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is past perfect continuous used in this case to emphasize the cause of something
We did not drink very much at all (one vodka each) but other young people had been drinking heavily all evening. Some of the dancers looked quite drunk.
I don't understand why it is past perfect ...
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still with a continuous tense, is it possible
However the covid is spreading fast , I still receive parcels from all over the world
However the covid is spreading fast , I am still receiving parcels from all over the world
I don't know which ...
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Have + Present Perfect Continuous
Doing some tasks in the textbook I stumbled across one sentence.
Here is a small dialog.
Do you have a headache ?
Yes, I've had a headache all morning.
Why do we use the present perfect tense ...
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continuous in this case, does it fit?
Just would like to know if I can say
because of the cov19? my shop has been closing down for two days
I think it is not possible to use the continuous because what we emphasize here is also the ...
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problem with continuous
I can't understand why it's present continuous in this sentence:
I never call my friends if I'm driving a car
Why we can't just say - if I drive a car? what's the difference?
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Does a continuous tense fit with my sentence
For the past two days, I had been hearing some scary sounds after waking up and it frightened me. I'm glad today I have not heard them.
Is it possible to use the continuous tense as it happened more ...
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Does present continuous fit in this case
don't forget to precise (attention to ......) when you are writing/going to write/write the address
Is present continuous to express the future ok in this case or will it be better to use present ...
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What is the difference between “have interviewed” and “are interviewing” in this sentence?
Could you please explain the difference in meaning in the following sentences.
The detectives have interviewed two people this week.
The detectives are interviewing two people this week.
...
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Is it correct to say "Luke can't swim today, he is having a cold"?
Is the continuous form of "have" ok in the sentence "he's having a cold"? Or is it ONLY correct and possible to say "He has a cold"?
I can't figure out if in this case "have a cold" is a state verb ...
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Present perfect continuous for the verb to sign?
On the same exercise there is that sentence
He has been signing up for a historical tour to exactly these places
The reason of choosing the continuous form is that it is a temporary action.
But ...
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Is it acceptable to use present perfect progressive in this example
He has swum daily for several years, but his shoulder has been bothering him recently
this is an answer of a test has swum
The reason of present perfect simple is that swimming has been done for ...
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I have been working there\I am working there
We can imagine such a situation that 2 months ago I got some special project which I have to be working on. Now I've been working on it. And I can say:
1) I am working on it
Pointing at my action ...
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Present Perfect and Present Continuous tenses in one sentence with only one subject
Are the tenses in this sentence correct:
We have placed order for required parts and waiting to get them.
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Passive Voice with continuous verbs
If I want to say:
She is hating him
I say:
She hates him
But should the same technique work with passive?
She hates him - he is hated by her
She is hating him - He is hated by her OR ...
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progressive or simple
Is it possible to write this answer instead the one given in that test
My mother fell ill last week. I am making all the meals instead of her. She still does not feel well so she is seeing a doctor ...
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Simple versus continuous tense in sentences
What is the difference between "When the teacher entered, the boys were all looking out the window." and "When the teacher entered, the boys all looked out the window."? Can someone please explain it? ...
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Can "stuck" be used with a continuous form?
Can I use "stuck" with a continuous form? In other words, shall I say about a parcel that has not arrived:
Hope it is not being stuck in the Christmas post
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Can I reduce this paragraph using the past continuous and the conjunction "When"?
Here's the paragraph:
I worked in the bank for a specific period of time in the past. One day my
wife and I knew each other. Of course, that day was during or within
that period of time.
Can ...
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Using non-continuous verbs in continuous form
I was learning non-continous verbs once again when I came across a site (I won't post a link to it, it's in russian). And it says that sometimes when we want to emphasize the action, we can use non-...
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