The Present Continuous
I. Form :
-affirmative: S+am/is/are+V-ing.
-negative: S+am/is/are+not+V-ing.
-interrogative: Am/Is/Are+S+V-ing?
-negative interrogative: Am not/Is not/Are not+S+V-ing?
II. Use :
1. action in progress at the moment of speaking: e.g.: The sun is shinning in the sky.
2. a temporary action: e.g.: We usually go to work by bus,but today we are going by cab.
3. definite arrangement in the near future: e.g.: What are you doing tomorrow?
4. to express futurity especially with verbs of movement like: come,arrive,go,leave.
e.g.: Our friends are arriving tomorrow.
5. frequent repetition of an activity which has a distinct meaning of-annoyance,irritation,sarcasm.
e.g. : He is always calling late at night. 1.
6. with get or grow to express transition from one state to another: e.g.: It is getting dark.
7. action happening about this time but not necessarily at the moment of speaking:
e.g.: I am reading a play for show.
III. Verbs not used with continuous aspect
1.Verb of perception: to feel,to hear,to notice,to see,to smell,to taste.
e.g.: The hay smells nice today.
2.Verbs expressing mental activities: to believe,think,to remember,to understand.
e.g.: She knows what you mean.
3.Verb expressing wish: to wish,to desire,to intend,to want.
e.g.: I want that book now.
4.Verb expressing amotional states,feelings,attitudes: to love,to hate,to prefer,to please etc.
e.g. : I hate going by bus.
5. Verb expressing possession: to belong,to have,to hold,to keep,to own,to owe,to possess.
e.g. I have an expensive car.
6. Verbs expressing a state,condition: appear, to be, to consist of, to contain, etc.
e.g. : He is here.
7. Miscellaneous verbs: to compare,to expect,to matter etc.
e.g.: I expect you know him.
8.Modal verbs: e.g.: I can drive a car.
9.The auxiliaries: be+have
IV. Spelling
except after:dye,singe,age
e.g.: carry-carrying
V. Final notes:
1.The verbs are usually combined with such adverbs as: always,constantly,forever
2. If one means to emphasize the idea of continuity of these words,can/could must be used
e.g.: I can see the plane,now.
3. When verbs of percetion are used with meanings which are different from their „basic” ones,they
may be used in the continuous aspect.
e.g.: see-appointment: I am seeing my dentist on Friday.
-to visit: Mary is seeing the sights so she will be a little late.
hear- receive news: I am hearing news about oue new neighbour.
feel-the state is temporary: She is not feeling well today.
Definition: The core meaning is incompleteness: an action which is in progress, ongoing. It refers to a contextually defined moment or period of time.
Present progressive sentences are associated with observable phenomena, with our perception of the world and do not assign any general properties to their arguments.
Tense value present (RT=ST) – situated on the present axis
ASPECTUAL VALUE: imperfective – intervals without endpoints, focus on a part of the situation, on stages.
I. situations in progress
a) situations in progress at ST: [+duration] [+incompleteness]
+ activities:
time adverbials] such as now, at this moment
He is shaving right now.
[-time adverbials] – the time of the action is recovered contextually
Listen, he’s singing.
+ accomplishments => activities (recategorization due to the progressive aspect):
= action not finished at ST
He is doing his homework. (focus on incompleteness)
+ achievements => activities (recategorization due to the progressive aspect):
= repeated actions happening around ST
He is knocking on the door. (iterative feature)
b) usual, repeated situations represented in progress in certain circumstances, + activities: (usually in time clauses) – frame present continuous
I always take my umbrella when it is raining.
II. temporary activities
a) limited interval of time, including ST (but the action does not necessarily take place at ST)
+ today, this week, these days
I’m working on my final paper. Why are you being so rude?
b) developing and changing situations (transition from one state to another):
The child is getting bigger every day. It is getting dark.
III. emotional value
repeated irritating action
used for stylistic reasons (to show emotion in the tone of the speaker)
+ obligatory frequency adverbials: always, continually, all the time
He is always interrupting me.
IV. future value
a) in main clauses
future action planned in the present, immediate personal plans or arrangements
volition]
+ future time adverbial
My aunt is coming next summer
b) in subordinate clauses
actions represented in progress
time clauses
I’ll take a nap while you’re writing the letter.
conditional clauses
If it’s raining, come back.
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