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Alexclx Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
progressive tense
Hi. I am not sure of the grammatical meaning of the following sentence:
It was beginning to rain.
A native speaker of English told me that means the speaker was experiencing a process of raining from no rain drops to more and more rain drops. But some grammars say "begin" in progressive tense refers to a future event. Which is correct? please help.
Thanks.
It was beginning to rain.
A native speaker of English told me that means the speaker was experiencing a process of raining from no rain drops to more and more rain drops. But some grammars say "begin" in progressive tense refers to a future event. Which is correct? please help.
Thanks.
Top answer
It was beginning to rain. A native speaker of English told me that means the speaker was experiencing a process of raining from no rain drops to more and more rain drops. This is correct.
- It was beginning to rain.
- A native speaker of English told me that means the speaker was experiencing a process of raining from no rain drops to more and more rain drops.
- This is correct.
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5 Answers
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It was beginning to rain.
A native speaker of English told me that means the speaker was experiencing a process of raining from no rain drops to more and more rain drops. This is correct.
A native speaker of English told me that means the speaker was experiencing a process of raining from no rain drops to more and more rain drops. This is correct.
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alexclxBut some grammars say "begin" in progressive tense refers to a future eventThat is misleading. The present progressive can refer to an on-going present activity, or it can refer to an arranged/planned future activity. Rain is not something that people can arrange or plan the beginning of.
If you say "It is beginning to rain", that means
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Both could be correct.
It is begiining to rain.
The future event -- relative to the time frame of the sentence -- might be a gullywasher.
It is begiining to rain.
The future event -- relative to the time frame of the sentence -- might be a gullywasher.
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My answer is similar to Yankee's.
The present progressive ("is beginning") can refer to a future event when used in conjunction with an adverb or adverbial phrase.
Examples:
It is beginning to rain. (no adverb/adverbial phrase)
The farmer is beginning his work on Tuesday. (adverbial phrase)
For the past progressive ("was beginning"), it is
The present progressive ("is beginning") can refer to a future event when used in conjunction with an adverb or adverbial phrase.
Examples:
It is beginning to rain. (no adverb/adverbial phrase)
The farmer is beginning his work on Tuesday. (adverbial phrase)
For the past progressive ("was beginning"), it is
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