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Lev Landau Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Have a doubtful look vs Having a doubtful look
Hi everybody,
I'm having some trouble with which of the following structures I should use to describe some people who look doubtful at the moment of speech:
- They have a doubtful look in their eyes.
OR
- They are having a doubtful look in their eyes.
Thank you very much.
I'm having some trouble with which of the following structures I should use to describe some people who look doubtful at the moment of speech:
- They have a doubtful look in their eyes.
OR
- They are having a doubtful look in their eyes.
Thank you very much.
Top answer
Lev Landau They have a doubtful look in their eyes. You need this one. 'have' is a non-progressive verb.
- Lev Landau They have a doubtful look in their eyes.
- You need this one.
- 'have' is a non-progressive verb.
- That means it isn't used in the continuous tenses ( is having, was having ) unless it is part of an idiom that expresses an action.
- A doubtful look is not an action, so you should not use 'are having' in this case.
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1 Answers
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Lev LandauThey have a doubtful look in their eyes.You need this one. 'have' is a non-progressive verb. That means it isn't used in the continuous tenses (is having, was having) unless it is part of an idiom that expresses an action. A doubtful look is not an action, so you should not use 'are having' in this case.
CJ
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