Expansion of Aux

Question

I am trying to figure out when to use perfect progressive and passive when expanding a verb and putting it into a tree diagram.

When do you use each of them?

In the sentence "he is being recommended for the award" the answer is present progressive passive of recomend. Why do we state passive and progressive, what is the reasoning for that?

in the sentence"the witness was being stubborn" the answer is past progressive of be? why is it only progressive and not perfect or passive?

Goodman · Accepted Answer

In the sentence "he is being recommended for the award" the answer is present progressive passive of recomend. Why do we state passive and progressive, what is the reasoning for that?

Your example sentence isn’t grammatically wrong, but it sounds and feels rough on the edges. This is straightly my personal view. I don’t have a clear explanation to offer you but not all the verbs in the English language can be used passively, let alone, present progressive passive People sometimes tend to loosely use present progressive passively in their writing which may actually have an adverse effect to the content.

I think the “is being “ construction only work with certain verbs of and context because of the mechanics and logic. i.e.

I am tired of being told to be patient. – Logic: I have been waiting for a pay raise for 2 years and the waiting is done!

Your illegally parked car is being towed as we speak.- Logic: You parked your car at the fire hydrant while you have dinner at the restaurant. A police patrol called in a tow truck…

The crime scene is being investigated as the reporters gather outside of the bank. Where a heist took place.

The above are sound usages of present progressive passive in my opinion.

"he is being recommended for the award – to me isn’t smooth at all because the act of recommending isn’t supposed to be an on going act. So present progressive passive is the incorrect choice.

However, we may elect to use the construction in past tense or present perfect passive.

“He’s been recommended/ nominated for the promotion” –Logic: He was the top performer and his name came up a few time during the meetings as a new manager position opened up in China.

“ The apartment building is being burned to the ground as residents were fleeing from the scene. – Logic: The fire is still burning with everyone out.

That’s my take, hope that provided some held to your question.

Goodman · Answer

Oh, also in the adjectival contexts, “being” is typically used to describe something happening along side relatively to the “being” context.

When you asked Jane if she could give you a hand on the project, she was being difficult when she said she wwould think about it.

Nick is inconsiderate – That’s a general description of Nick as a person.

He is being even more inconsiderate to his neighbors when he has his music playing loud regularly after 11 on the weeknights.

BarbaraPA · Answer

Hi jander, and welcome to English Forums.

Do you understand the progressing, the "-ing" form used for things happening right now? (It's also used for the future.)

jander52In the sentence "he is being recommended for the award" the answer is present progressive passive of recomend. Why do we state passive and progressive, what is the reasoning for that?

It is passive because someone else recommended him. Active (non progressive) would be "I recommend him" and passive would be "He is recommended [by me]." The progressive active: I am recommending him. Therefore, the passive is "He is being recommended [by me]." The main verb here is "to recommend."

jander52in the sentence"the witness was being stubborn" the answer is past progressive of be? why is it only progressive and not perfect or passive?

The witness is stubborn. You cannot put a sentence with "to be" as the main verb in the passive. There is no transitive verb, no agent doing something to someone else. You are simply describing the personality of the person.

The different between "The witness is stubborn" and "The witness is being stubborn" is that the first describes the witnesses personality, and the second describes his behavior as it exists right now. It is progressive. (If I say "You are a jerk" it means that's how you are all the time. If I say "You are being a jerk" then it means that's how you're acting now.)

You can put that into the past. The witness was stubborn. The witness was being stubborn (at that pint in time).

There is no passive here.

Neither of your examples are perfect.

Here are some tenses using the continuous (in blue) and the perfect (in bold)

I wait for the bus here ever day.

I have waited for the bus here, but found I get splashed in wet weather, so now I wait over there.

I had waited for the bus here when I was a child, and was sad when my old bus stop became a convenience store.

I am waiting for the bus right now.

I was waiting for the bus when I first laid eye on him.

I have been waiting for the bus for 15 minutes.

I had been waiting for the bus for 15 minutes when John saw me and gave me a ride home intead.

You seem to be trying to mix a lot of concepts together: continuous doesn't require passive nor perfect, while passive doesn't require continous nor perfect, and perfect doesn't require passive nor continuous.

CalifJim · Answer

jander52perfect progressive and passive ...

When do you use each of them?

Here's the quick overview.

Use "perfect" when a form of have occurs at the beginning of the verb phrase.

Use "progressive" when an -ing form occurs in the verb phrase.

Use "passive" when a form of be is followed by a past participle at the end.

_______

The rest of this post shows how to apply the information above.

is being recommended

There is no form of have, so it can't be "perfect".

being makes it "progressive".
A form of be (being) followed by a past participle (recommended) ends the phrase, so that makes it "passive".
____

was being

There is no form of have, so it can't be "perfect".
being makes it "progressive".
There is no past participle at the end, so it can't be "passive".

____

Many brochures have been being taken from the display stand recently.

have been being taken

A form of have (have) at the beginning makes it "perfect".

being makes it "progressive".
A form of be (being) followed by a past participle (taken) ends the phrase, so that makes it "passive".
____

I have been thinking about it.

have been thinking

A form of have (have) at the beginning makes it "perfect".
thinking makes it "progressive".
The phrase doesn't end with a past participle, so it can't be "passive".
____

He has had a lot of trouble with this.

has had

A form of have (has) at the beginning makes it "perfect".
There is no -ing form, so it can't be "progressive".
Although there is a past participle at the end (had), there is no form of be before it, so it can't be "passive".
_________________________________________

Here are some shortcuts regarding the use of the terms "perfect", "progressive", and "passive".
Each set of two forms is a row takes one of those labels. A total of two forms can only have one of those labels. A total of three forms has two of those labels. A total of four forms has all three of those labels.

is being recommended (three forms - two labels)

1. is being (-ing) > progressive
2. being recommended (be + p.p.) > passive

Even shorter: There are three forms, so two labels are needed. There's no have, so the label "perfect" can't be used. Only two labels are left. The two labels have to be "progressive" and "passive".

was being (two forms - one label)

1. was being (-ing) > progressive

Even shorter: There are two forms, so one label is needed. The -ing gives it away immediately.

have been being taken (four forms - three labels)

1. have been (have + p.p.) > perfect
2. been being (-ing) > progressive
3. being taken (be + p.p.) > passive

Even shorter: There are four forms, so three labels are needed. You know that all three apply without analyzing any further.

have been thinking (three forms - two labels)

1. have been (have + p.p.) > perfect
2. been thinking (-ing) > progressive

Even shorter: have at the beginning and an -ing makes is "perfect progressive".

has had (two forms - one label)

1. has had (have + p.p.) > perfect

Even shorter: There are two forms, so one label is needed. You can easily see the form of have at the beginning, so only "perfect" applies.

CJ

Jander52 · Answer

so for the sentence's

Girls who had been playing were going home - the answer- Past-perfect-progressive

Dads who had been in the shops all day came out to enjoy the sun. the answer- past progressive?

As you can see I'm have a bit of trouble grasping this concept but thanks for the help I'll catch it soon!!

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Girls who had been playing were going home - the answer- Past-perfect-progressive
Correct.

Dads who had been in the shops all day came out to enjoy the sun. the answer- past progressive? No. There is no -ing form of the verb in this sentence. It is past perfect (have + past participle of "be")

The dads who had been working in the shops all day came out to enjoy the sun. - past perfect progressive of "work"

CalifJim · Answer

jander52Girls who had been playing were going home - the answer- Past-perfect-progressive

Two verb phrases.

had been playing

had makes it past.
had been makes it perfect.
been playing makes it progressive.

were going

were makes it past.
were going makes it progressive.

jander52Dads who had been in the shops all day came out to enjoy the sun. the answer- past progressive?

Two verb phrases.

had been

had makes it past.
had been makes it perfect.

came

came makes it past.

CJ

Jander52 · Answer

thanks very much i think i got that one now.

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