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Paco2004 Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

I am finding

0 Hello Teachers 02br
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00I was taught not to use "find" in the progressive tense generally. However, I often come across "I am finding" online. 02br
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00Examples are; 02br
00 [1] I am finding a publisher for a book I have written. 02br
00 [2] I am finding it difficult to trust my husband. 02br
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00Are they correct and natural? 02br
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00I know "find" has a lot of meanings. Could you tell me we can say "I am finding" in what meaning and we can't in what meaning? 02br
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00paco 0-
  

Top answer

0 Hi Paco - both of the examples you give seem fine to me. " I don't see anything wrong with these. Let's see what the moderators say.

— Khoff

  • 0 Hi Paco - both of the examples you give seem fine to me.
  • " I don't see anything wrong with these.
  • Let's see what the moderators say.
  • 02br 00--khoff 0-
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16 Answers
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0 Hi Paco - both of the examples you give seem fine to me. I have never heard a rule against "I am finding," but my guess would be that maybe it just means you can't say, "I am finding my keys" when you really mean "I am looking for my keys." Certainly if there is an ongoing process of finding more and more of whatever you are looking for you could say "I am finding" -- "I am finding more and
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0 Hello Khoff 02br
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00Thank you for the quick reply as usual. 02br
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00I took "I am finding" in #1 as "I am looking for". Was I wrong? That 'rule' is written in my E-J dictionary, though the reason is not given. I think "find" is a verb used to express an event that the subject experiences rather unintentionally, and it sounds someway like "see" (
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00Hello Khoff 12br
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10Thank you for the quick reply as usual. 12blockquote
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00Maybe this time I replied too quickly! I'm afraid my reply was somewhat inconsistent. You're right, in #1, "I'm finding a publisher..." really does mean "I'm looking for a publisher," and it would probably be bet
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0 Regarding "I'm seeing" and "I see" 02br
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00To me, "I'm seeing" means "meet someone on a regular basis" either for romantic purposes or not. 02br
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00Whereas "I see" only refers to the ability of using your eyes. 02br
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00You would never say "I'm seeing a lizard", at least I guess... 0-
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0 By the way, Khoff and Paco, I've been taught the same: never use "find" in the present progressive form, same as "hope", "love" ... 02br
00But the more I read, the more often I find examples of those verbs in the pres. progr. form which sound quite right, I mean which ARE quite right. 02br
00"I'm finding it more and more difficult to believe him" 02br
00"Gee
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00On the other hand, "to see someone" and "to be seeing someone" have quite different meanings, am I right? 12blockquote
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00Yes, definitely. If I say, "I see John," is means, "Oh, look! There's John!" But if I say "I'm seeing John," it means I am dating John or having a romantic relationship with John. 02br
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0 or I'm ... no, I can't say that! 0-
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0 Hello Khoff and Pieanne 02br
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00Thank you for your postings. 02br
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00I've pondered about this question myself and I 01i00am finding02i00 "I am finding" may be a right collocation. In school days I learned the verb "find" has basically two senses. One is "come upon (unintentionally)" and the other is "feel/perceive due as a
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00In fact I often come across even such a sentence as "I am liking my new job". So I think I should take "I am finding it difficult to trust my husband" as suggesting the writer's distrust to her husband is progressively increasing. 12blockquote
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00Excellent analysis! I think your sense that people use "I am liking..
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00I think your sense that people use "I am liking..." or "I am finding..." to express a gradual development of the experience is quite correct.12blockquote
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00Kind of like the new M slogan "I'm loving it"? 02br
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00PS Doesn't matter whether I say the whole word or just the M. Little kids always
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