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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Present continuous/present simple
Hello,
Are the two sentences below correct? If no, could you please explain why? Thank you for helping me!
Parents feel better if then can control how long and what their children are watching on TV.
Parents feel better if then can control how long and what their children watch on TV.
Are the two sentences below correct? If no, could you please explain why? Thank you for helping me!
Parents feel better if then can control how long and what their children are watching on TV.
Parents feel better if then can control how long and what their children watch on TV.
Top answer
The syntax is different for each of the clauses following control . There are two separate things that parents want to control: how many hours per day their children watch TV, and the programs that they watch. The progressive is not an appropriate tense.
- The syntax is different for each of the clauses following control .
- There are two separate things that parents want to control: how many hours per day their children watch TV, and the programs that they watch.
- The progressive is not an appropriate tense.
- Use the simple present.
- Here are two alternatives.
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2 Answers
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The syntax is different for each of the clauses following control. There are two separate things that parents want to control: how many hours per day their children watch TV, and the programs that they watch. The progressive is not an appropriate tense. Use the simple present. Here are two alternatives.
Parents feel better if they can control how long their children watch T
Parents feel better if they can control how long their children watch T
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Thank you for the comment. I don't know if I get the point. In other words, if this sentence expresses a habit, then I should go for the simple tense. On the other hand, if I regard it as a single instance/situation when parents feel better when they can control their kids' TV watching, then I can use the progressive form, right?
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