Always getting / always argue

Question

Hello,I just finished an English grammer exercise, the answers should be:Paul is never late. He always gets to work on time.They don't get on well. They're always arguing.Why is it "always gets" (present tense) in the first sentence and "always arguing" (present continuous) in the second sentence?Why is "They don't get on well. They always argue." wrong?Thank you!

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

I just finished an English grammer exercise, the answers should be:

Paul is never late. He always gets to work on time.

They don't get on well. They're always arguing.

Why is it "always gets" (present tense) in the first sentence and "always arguing" (present continuous) in the second sentence?

Why is "They don't get on well. They always argue." wrong? It's not wrong.

The writer has just chosen to use Present Continuous to stress the continuousness of the arguing. It's like 'They never stop arguing.

'He is always getting to work on time' is not absolutely wrong either. It's just that 'getting to work' is less continuous. It happens once every morning.

Best wishes, Clive

Mister Micawber · Answer

Because 'get to work' is a point event– it happens at, say, 8:59 am– while arguing is a durative event– it happens over time.  So these are the ways a native would instinctively form these verbs, unless context or intent suggested otherwise.  'they always argue' is also possible, but it makes the action more 'distant' more a generality and less an activity. 'He's always getting to work on time' is also possible (though less likely), and to me it suggests a note of irritation.

Anonymous · Answer

Clive and Mister Micawber, it's clear for me now, thanks a lot!

Always getting / always argue

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