6 present progressive and simple present: repeated actions
The present progressive can refer to repeated actions and events, if these are happening around the
moment of speaking.
Why is he hitting the dog?
lake's seeing a lot of Felicity these days.
But we do not normally use the present progressive to talk about repeated actions and events which are
not closely connected to the moment of speaking.
I go to the mountains about twice a year.
(NOT I'm going to the mountains about twice a year.) Water boils at 100° Celsius. (NOT Water is boiling at
100° Celsius.)
7 Physical feelings
.erDS Aat refer to physical feelings (e.g. feel, hurt, ache) can often be used in "niple or progressive tenses
without much difference of meaning. How do you feel? OR How are you feeling? "fy head aches. OR My
head is aching. >
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——-"""uctions 8 verbs not used in progressive forms
Some verbs are not normally used in progressive forms. For details Hike this wine. (NOT -fm4iking this
wine.)
, ---.-^.-.A.Ai^y LtOl^U 1.
Hike this wine. (NOT -fm4iking mis wine.) Do you believe what he says? (NOT Are you believing....?) The
tank contains about 7,000 litres at the moment. (NOT The tank is containing...)
For progressive forms with always and similar words (e.g. She's always losins- h
see 452. snerlceys), For progressive forms in general, see 450.
For present-tense story-telling, see 446.
For tense simplification in subordinate clauses, see 556.
For the 'distancing' use of progressive forms, see 161.
446 present tenses (4): stories, commentaries and instructions
1 stories
Present tenses are often used to tell stories, especially in an informal style The simple present is used for
the events - the things that happen one after another. The present progressive is used for 'background' -
things that are already happening when the story starts, or that continue through the siory.
(This is like the difference between the simple past and past progressive:
see 417.)
Solopen thedoor, and I look out into thegarden, and I see this man.
He's wearing a pink skirt and a policeman's helmet. 'Good morning,' he says...
There's this Scotsman, you see, and he's walking through the jungle when he meets a gorilla. And the
gorilla's eating a snake sandwich. So the Scotsman goes up to the gorilla...
The simple present is common in summaries of plays, stories, etc. In Act I, Hamlet meets the ghost of his
father. The ghost tells him... Chapter 2: Postman Pat goes to Scotland and makes friends with a sheep.
2 commentaries
In commentaries, the use of tenses is similar. The simple present is used for the quicker actions and
events (which are finished before the sentences tha describe them); the present progressive is used for
longer actions and situations. There are more simple and fewer progressive tenses in a footo
commentary, for instance, than in a commentary on a boat race. Smith passes to Devaney, Devaney to
Barnes, Barnes to Lucas - aw "
intercepts... Harris to Simms, nice ball - and Simms shoots! ^ , Oxford are drawing slightly ahead of
Cambridge now; they're rowing a beautiful rhythm; Cambridge are looking a little disorganised. • •
3
"v-
. actions and demonstrations
se present tenses in a similar way to give instructions,
we orations and directions. jenioii ^^ ^ again. You wait outside the bank until the manager
rrives. Then you radio Louie, who's waiting round the corner, and he
drives round to the front entrance. You and Louie grab the manager... T- r I nut a lump of butter into a
frying pan and light the gas; then while
the butter's melting I break three eggs into a bowl, like this... 'Hoiv do I get to the station?' 'You go straight
on to the traffic lights, then
you turn left...'
447 presently
462
y-
p esently is often used in British English to mean 'not now, later', 'in a minute'. ''•Mummy, can I have an
ice-cream?' 'Presently, dear:
He's having a rest now. He'll be down presently. In American English, the usual meaning of presently is
'now', 'at present'. This is becoming very common in British English too.
Professor Holloway is presently working on plant diseases.
448 price and prize
The price is what you pay if you buy something. A prize is what you are given if you have done something
exceptional, or if you win a competition. What's the price of the green dress? (NOT ... the prize of the
green dress?) She received the Nobel prize for physics. (NOT ... the Nobel price...)
449 principal and principle
These two words have the same pronunciation. The adjective principal means 'main', 'most important'.
What's your principal reason for wanting to be a doctor?
(NOT .. .your principle reason...)
The noun principal means 'headmaster' or 'headmistress' (especially, in Britain, of a school for adults).
If you want to leave early you'll have to ask the Principal. A principle is a scientific law or a moral rule.
Newton discovered the principle of universal gravitation. (NOT ... the principal of-universal gravitation^
She's a girl with very strong principles.
450 progressive verb forms (I): general
1 construction
Progressive verb forms (also called 'continuous' forms) are made with
^e + -ing.
lam waiting for the shops to open. (present progressive tense) Your suit is being cleaned, (present
progressive passive tense) ^•
page 463
__- —. - r--D—"<»vc verBHls.
She phoned while I was cooking, (past progressive tense) / didn 't know how long she had been sitting
there. (past perfect progressive tense)
Will you be going out this evening? (future progressive tense) I'd like to be lying on the beach now.
(progressive infinitive)
2 terminology and use
A progressive form does not simply show the time of an event. It also h how the speaker sees the event -
generally as ongoing and temporary "^ than completed or permanent. (Because of this, grammars often
talk ah8 'progressive aspect' rather than 'progressive tenses'.) Compare: out
- I've rend your letter, (completed action)
I've been reading a lot of thrillers recently, (not necessarily completed!
- The Rhine runs into the North Sea. (permanent)
: We'll have to phone the plumber - water's running down the kitchen wan (temporary)
When a progressive is used to refer to a short momentary action, it often suggests repetition.
Why are you jumping up and down? The door was banging in the wind For more details of the use of
progressives, see the individual entries on the various forms.
51 progressive verb forms (2):
non-progressive verbs