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Laborious Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Q: Confused about a few sentences in 'present simple, past simple, and present continuous' tenses

Hi there teachers, 

Could you please tell me the difference in the meanings of the sentences given in each pair below? Out of each pair, what meaning does (A) convey and what meaning does (B) convey, please?

1(A) I write a letter. 
  (B) I am writing a letter. 

2(A) I write letters. 
  (B) I am writing letters. 

3(A) He kicked the ball as hard as he could. 
  (B) He was kicking the ball as hard as he could.

4(A) He jumped over the fence. 
  (B) He was jumping over the fence. 

Thank you all.

  

Top answer

Laborious 1(A) I write a letter. (B) I am writing a letter As a stand-alone sentence, 1A is unlikely. We expect something like 'to the editor every day' to complete the sentence.

— Fivejedjon

  • Laborious 1(A) I write a letter.
  • (B) I am writing a letter As a stand-alone sentence, 1A is unlikely.
  • We expect something like 'to the editor every day' to complete the sentence.
  • Without more context, 1B is uttered by a person who has begun the writing of a letter but not yet completed it.
  • They may or may not be engaged in the writing at the moment of speaking.
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9 Answers
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Laborious1(A) I write a letter. (B) I am writing a letter
As a stand-alone sentence, 1A is unlikely. We expect something like 'to the editor every day' to complete the sentence.

Without more context, 1B is uttered by a person who has begun the writing of a letter but not yet completed it. They may or may not be engaged in the writing at the moment o
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fivejedjonAs a stand-alone sentence, 1A is unlikely. We expect something like 'to the editor every day' to complete the sentence.Without more context, 1B is uttered by a person who has begun the writing of a letter but not yet completed it. They may or may not be engaged in the writing at the moment of speaking.
Thanks, teacher, for your helpful explanation. I
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Laborious2(A) I write letters. (B) I am writing letters.
2A refers to a regular or routine activity. On its own, it's pretty unnatural. It's the sort of thing we might say in response to "What do you do in the evening?"

2B can refer to an activity already started but not yet completed. The normal assumption would be that you are writing one letter
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Thank you once again! Can't this I'm writing letters be referred to as a regular or routine activity, please? On the other hand, if I say "I write letters", then this, too, refer to something that I started doing in the past, for ex if I'm talking about an occupation of writing letters, and still do. Right, teacher?
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LaboriousThank you once again! Can't this I'm writing letters be referred to as a regular or routine activity, please?
Only if the overall duration is limited. If it is unlimited, then we would use the simple present.
LaboriousOn the other hand, if I say "I write letters", then this, too, refer to something that I started doing in the p
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fivejedjonCompare:I am writing a novel - Current, limited activity.I write novels - I have written one or more novel, and will continue to write them
OK. Got your point, teacher. And thanks for making that clear to me.

Now may I ask you about my #3 and #4, please?

In #3A He kicked the ball as hard as he could, I know that this
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Laborious3(A) He kicked the ball as hard as he could. (B) He was kicking the ball as hard as he could.
As kicking is a punctual action, 3A suggests a single kick, 3B a series of kicks.
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fivejedjonAs kicking is a punctual action, 3A suggests a single kick, 3B a series of kicks.
Thank you..
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I'd hate to give firm pronouncements.

The big problem in these situations is that we tend to talk about (usually short) sentences in isolation. I real life, we almost never produce a single sentence without context.

A few years ago, McDonalds upset many in the TEFL world who had for years been teaching their students that 'love could not be used in the progressive form with thei
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