Being confused

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"The Pakistani court where police filed double murder charges against Davis this month is to sit Friday inside Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, where Davis is being held, ahead of a High Court hearing to determine the diplomatic immunity issue, set for March 14".  would sombody plz explain how being is used in this context???

Avangi · Accepted Answer

abdul quddusThe Pakistani court where police filed double murder charges against Davis this month is to sit Friday inside Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, where Davis is being held, ahead of a High Court hearing to determine the diplomatic immunity issue, set for March 14.

Now that's what I call a sentence!

I went to the place where Davis is being held. (simplified version)

Davis is being held in a jail. (another simplified version)

These clauses are in passive voice. Somebody is holding Davis in a jail. It doesn't say who.

Some form of the verb "to be" is always used in passive voice.
Some form of the verb "to be" is always used in the continuous/progressive tense.

In this case you get a double whammy - (both types)

Dinner is being prepared. (Somebody is doing it to it!)

Abdul quddus · Answer

is this a present passive progresive or simple present passive??if present passive progressive,how it makes sense??

Avangi · Answer

abdul quddusIs this a present passive progresive or simple present passive??
If present passive progressive, how it makes sense??Simple present passive would be:

I went to the jail where Davis is held.
(The main clause is simple past (active voice) and the subordinate clause is simple present (passive voice.))

Continuous/progressive is appropriate because he is continuously being held.

If we change it to active voice, we have:

Where do they hold Davis? (reply) They hold him in the jail. (simple present)

Where are they holding Davis? (reply) They are holding him in the jail. (present continuous/progressive)

I understand that the continuous tense is more intuitively correct when there's a repetitious action.
It isn't very exciting to just hold somebody in a jail.

Right now I'm visiting the jail where Davis is being beaten.

(The main clause is present progressive, active voice - I am visiting the jail. )
(The subordinate clause is present progressive, passive voice - Davis is being beaten. )

Abdul quddus · Answer

in this context 'hold' is a state verb,how it describes the state in continuous aspect???

Avangi · Answer

abdul quddusIn this context 'hold' is a state verb.

I strongly disagree.

It's like "Please hold the dog's leash."

not "We hold these truths to be self-evident." (I'd say to have/hold an opinion/bake sale is stative.)

May I ask how you arrived at that conclusion?

Regards, - A.

Have you read Nick's list of nine items on this subject ? (bottom of page seven)

Abdul quddus · Answer

bcoz 'hold' is in the passive continous sense plus,'hold' is not indicating state becoz 'being hold' were denoting action,in my view,it would be in present simple passive.

Abdul quddus · Answer

sorry my last reply was miswritten
i was talking that if 'hold' were indicating action it should have been in a present perfect or simple past tense because action of holding davis is completed.it should either be in a simple past or present perfect tense.

Avangi · Answer

abdul quddusi was talking that if 'hold' were indicating action it should have been in a present perfect or simple past tense because action of holding davis is completed.it should either be in a simple past or present perfect tense.

Ah, therein lies the problem. He is being actively held until such time as he is released.
The action is NOT completed, so long as he remains in the jail!

Please hold this piece of metal for me while I weld it to the base. I'll tell you when you can let go. Are you still holding it?

Perhaps you're confusing "hold" with "capture."
It reminds me of environmentally friendly fishing: "Catch and release."
That would be in opposition to "Catch and keep."
"To catch" is an event. But "to keep/hold" can be a continuous action.

I saw a picture of that fish you caught. Did you keep it, or throw it back? (reply) I kept it!

In this case, "to keep/hold" is an event.

What if he said, "I'm keeping it in my freezer!" ?? This is present continuous, active.
(The fish is being kept/held in my freezer.) (Davis is being held in the jail.)

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