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Questions related to the grammatical aspect that expresses an incomplete action or a state at a specific point in time. For specific tenses, see the tags 'present-progressive', 'present-continuous', 'future-progressive', 'past-continuous' and 'perfect-continuous'.

6 votes

Simple present or progressive present wiht "say"?

(1) What does the book say? is by far the most natural. A book isn't in the process of saying something; the information is already printed there. For (2), both tenses might be possible, if the speake …
Kate Bunting's user avatar
  • 61.4k
3 votes
Accepted

I may have been trying to reach her. (is this tense a past progressive or present perfect pr...

It means: It's possible that I was trying to reach her. Only you can say why the speaker doesn't know whether they were trying or not! The distinction between may and might has become rather blurred …
Kate Bunting's user avatar
  • 61.4k
1 vote

Can we use the verb “ache” verb in continuous constructions like “is aching“?

Yes, you can. In The Gondoliers, W.S. Gilbert has the chorus of girls sing: By a law of maiden's making, Accents of a heart that's aching, Even though that heart be breaking, Should by maiden be unsai …
Kate Bunting's user avatar
  • 61.4k