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Systemet Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Present continuous vs Present Simple in narrating actions
Hello there,
I have some language doubts, and I would love to hear your opinion.
1. The general rules say that when we present a habit or a repeated action, but also when we narrate what we are just seeing in sport relations, we use Present Simple. But what about a situation, in which we see a random guy in the street and narrate, on the phone, what he is doing - Present continuous is ofc a natural choice, but can we use Present Simple too? E.g. "Wait, wait, now he buys this newspaper, gives it to another guy and enters the car just like that! I cannot believe it!" Naturally, we'd use PS in jokes and anectodes, so I am not referring to them.
2. I often hear foreign English learners use Present Continuous, when they narrate a hypothetical situation or a situation they find themselves in from time to time. E.g. "I sometimes meet this guy and I never know what he is talking about. When you are walking, you cannot just talk to strangers. Sometimes I am thinking it just isn't a good city for me to live in. When I am seeing my friends, it is all right, but with strangers, they are just misbehaving. " I cannot think of any specific examples, this is just a stream of consciousness try
Is Present Continuous valid in such a case. Or should we use Present Simple only? All the books seem to suggest that it should be PS, but a hear a lot of people use PC in such sentences. My intuition says that PC would imply that we see such an even as repeated, but temporary. Or that by using PC the speakers tries to focus on the action more than on the result, which is the basic Simple vs Continuous tense distinction in the past and future tenses.
What do you think? What is your experience with such PS/PC usage?
Cheers!
I have some language doubts, and I would love to hear your opinion.
1. The general rules say that when we present a habit or a repeated action, but also when we narrate what we are just seeing in sport relations, we use Present Simple. But what about a situation, in which we see a random guy in the street and narrate, on the phone, what he is doing - Present continuous is ofc a natural choice, but can we use Present Simple too? E.g. "Wait, wait, now he buys this newspaper, gives it to another guy and enters the car just like that! I cannot believe it!" Naturally, we'd use PS in jokes and anectodes, so I am not referring to them.
2. I often hear foreign English learners use Present Continuous, when they narrate a hypothetical situation or a situation they find themselves in from time to time. E.g. "I sometimes meet this guy and I never know what he is talking about. When you are walking, you cannot just talk to strangers. Sometimes I am thinking it just isn't a good city for me to live in. When I am seeing my friends, it is all right, but with strangers, they are just misbehaving. " I cannot think of any specific examples, this is just a stream of consciousness try
Is Present Continuous valid in such a case. Or should we use Present Simple only? All the books seem to suggest that it should be PS, but a hear a lot of people use PC in such sentences. My intuition says that PC would imply that we see such an even as repeated, but temporary. Or that by using PC the speakers tries to focus on the action more than on the result, which is the basic Simple vs Continuous tense distinction in the past and future tenses.What do you think? What is your experience with such PS/PC usage?
Cheers!
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8 Answers
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If I were narrating in real time, I'd use present continuous.
Now he's buy a newspaper. Oh, he's giving it to someone else. Okay, he's getting into his car.
Now he's buy a newspaper. Oh, he's giving it to someone else. Okay, he's getting into his car.
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(The following is US usage.)
There are many ways the PS and PC are used, that are not covered in grammar books (which can only present the most general usages), and which have to be learned by experience. The PS is actually not used in everyday speech in the US to describe current ongoing action, for example, you don't hear things like:
A: "What are you doing?" B: "I write a
There are many ways the PS and PC are used, that are not covered in grammar books (which can only present the most general usages), and which have to be learned by experience. The PS is actually not used in everyday speech in the US to describe current ongoing action, for example, you don't hear things like:
A: "What are you doing?" B: "I write a
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Thank you guys for your reply! However, I understand the usage in your examples. My sentences present a slightly different situatio
However, I understand the usage in your examples. My sentences present a slightly different situatio00
1. The sentence, "Wait, wait...can't believe it!", is okay in the situation you describe, of a person reporting to someone on the phone what he is seeing on the street. This is very rapid speech, and so the PS, with fewer syllables, is easier to use here than the PC: "Wait...now he's buying this newspaper, giving it to another guy and entering the car..."
2. The sentences, "Sometimes
2. The sentences, "Sometimes
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Thank you a lot for your help and the analysis. Do you think you would be able to tell me why we cannot use PS in the first two senteces? And how does the use of PS instead of PC change the meaning in the 3rd, perhaps? If you could shed some light on it, it would be great, thanks!
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The sentence "Sometimes with this guy I don't know what he's talking about." cannot be changed to "Sometimes with this guy I don't know what he talks about." The reason is as I stated in the first of my posts in this thread: the PS is actually not used that much in speech. You say "I'm going to the store." not "I go to the store."
Similarly the sentence "When you're walking along you c
Similarly the sentence "When you're walking along you c
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