One important way to use the present continuous tense is in referring to actions or situations that are happening now. These actions / situations began before now and will continue after now, but they're temporary and are expected to continue for only a short time. |
Another important way to use
the present continuous tense is in referring to actions which are longer, but still temporary. Examples: He's driving a rental car while his own car is in the shop.(He won't need the rental car after his car has been repaired). We're temporarily living in a motel. We'll stay there until we find an apartment. She's working in Chicago this month (but will work somewhere else later). They're studying in an exchange program in Greece this year (but will return home at the end of the year). He's currently studying ESL, but he hopes to be able to enter the university soon. The time, in sentences such as those above, may be a week, a month, a year, or even longer. What's important is that the action or situation is not expected to be permanent: instead, it's temporary and it is expected to change. |
Some time phrases that are common with this usage of the present continuous tense are temporarily for the time being currently this _____ Examples: He's temporarily living with his parents (but plans to move to his own place soon). They're currently studying at the Universityof Texas (but won't stay there forever). She's taking the bus to work for the time being (but will use another form of transportation as soon as she can). She's visiting her grandparents this week (but will return home at the end of the week). She's finishing her studies this year (and will not study next year). He's currently working as a dishwasher (but hopes to get a better job as soon as he can). Remember: The action or situation in sentences like those above may be for a long period of time (a week, a month, a year), but it is temporary, not permanent, and is expected to change. |
continuous tense
No comments:
Post a Comment