0
Laborious Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
I have a question about a sentence from an exercise on 'present simple' and 'present continuous', please
- I can't hear what you ________ (say/are saying), because everybody ________ (talks/is talking) so loudly here.
Hi,
Which options, in your opinion, should I fill the gaps with, please?
I feel that both the present simple, i.e., 'say' and 'talks' and the present continuous 'are saying' and 'is talking' are possible, but I'm having difficulties with trying to explain why.
The site I took that sentence from says that only the present continuous tense is correct, but I'm wondering why it is so. Is it because if I chose 'say' and 'talks' for the gaps, it would mean that the sentence was expressing something that is always true, something that always happens?
Thank you.
Hi,
Which options, in your opinion, should I fill the gaps with, please?
I feel that both the present simple, i.e., 'say' and 'talks' and the present continuous 'are saying' and 'is talking' are possible, but I'm having difficulties with trying to explain why.
The site I took that sentence from says that only the present continuous tense is correct, but I'm wondering why it is so. Is it because if I chose 'say' and 'talks' for the gaps, it would mean that the sentence was expressing something that is always true, something that always happens?
Thank you.
Top answer
Hi, You are talking about an action that is in progress, therefore, you have to use present continuous for both gaps. However, you can use present simple with difference in meaning. Present simple indicates a permanent state such that you can't usually hear what the other person says, because everybody always talks loudly.
- Hi, You are talking about an action that is in progress, therefore, you have to use present continuous for both gaps.
- However, you can use present simple with difference in meaning.
- Present simple indicates a permanent state such that you can't usually hear what the other person says, because everybody always talks loudly.
- Regards Hamid
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
3 Answers
0
Hi,
You are talking about an action that is in progress, therefore, you have to use present continuous for both gaps.
However, you can use present simple with difference in meaning. Present simple indicates a permanent state such that you can't usually hear what the other person says, because everybody always talks loudly.
Regards
Hamid
You are talking about an action that is in progress, therefore, you have to use present continuous for both gaps.
However, you can use present simple with difference in meaning. Present simple indicates a permanent state such that you can't usually hear what the other person says, because everybody always talks loudly.
Regards
Hamid
00
Thank you for your reply!
How does the following sentence sound to you? Does it sound natural enough?
- I can't hear what you say, because everybody is talking so loudly here.
Here the present continuous, too, is used in the sense that something always happens. it express the idea that whenever you and I are talking/having a conver
How does the following sentence sound to you? Does it sound natural enough?
- I can't hear what you say, because everybody is talking so loudly here.
Here the present continuous, too, is used in the sense that something always happens. it express the idea that whenever you and I are talking/having a conver
00
Present continuous can be used to describe an annoying regular action, as
He is always making problems.
So if that's what you are referring to, you can add always to the second sentence in conjunction with present continuous and still referring to an action happening quite regularly.
Regards
Hamid
He is always making problems.
So if that's what you are referring to, you can add always to the second sentence in conjunction with present continuous and still referring to an action happening quite regularly.
Regards
Hamid
0
Related Questions