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C1 Section 1 : The continuous aspect - Coggle Diagram
C1 Section 1 : The continuous aspect
What is Continuous aspect?
Aspect
Each aspect includes three tenses for the past, present and future.
tells us about the relationship between the verb and a point in time.
the action is still in progress at a specific moment in time.
often use a continuous tense to contrast with a simple tense, which often doesn't add any information about if the action is still in progress or if it is completed.
Continuous tenses for actions in progress or that are still changing
to talk about actions that are in progress or still changing in a specific moment
In the past, we often see a past continuous used this way with time phrase or a past simple verb.
I was eating dinner at 7pm.
She was having a shower when we arrived.
with the future continuous, for an action in progress at a specific moment in the future.
The children will be sleeping at 10pm.
we often see the future continuous used with the present simple.
I will be watching TV when you come home.
In the present, we can use the present continuous to describe something happening in the present moment.
also common to use the present continuous tense to describe something that we think is still actively changing now
Global warming is getting worse (actively changing now).
We are studying the continuous aspect (right now).
we are using the 'historic present' to tell a story in the past in a more dramatic way.
'I'm walking down the street when I see the Queen'.
Regular vs Irregular habits
use the continuous aspect if we want to talk about an irregular habit.
sometimes give the idea that the habit was annoying to us, but this is not always true.
put the adverb of frequency between the two auxiliary verbs and not after them.
use the simple and continuous aspects to talk about habits
Temporary actions & states
use the continuous aspect to talk about temporary things
I was getting up early in those days (a temporary habit in the past).
Adverbs and time phrases
Present simple : adverbs of frequency (
often, sometimes, usually, seldom, rarely, occasionally, never, once a week
)
Present continuous :
these days, at the moment, right now, nowadays
we can use time phrases like 'in those days' 'for a while' and 'at that time' with both simple and continuous tenses.
Tenses that talk about different time period
The present
to talk about the future
use the present simple to talk about the timetable future
The bus leaves at 9am tomorrow.
use the present continuous to talk about a fixed arrangement in the future
We're meeting outside the cinema tonight at 8pm.
need to use a present tense after certain time words, like
when, after, before, until
and
as soon as
.
to tell stories in the past
I was working alone in the office, and suddenly I heard a bang!
->
I'm working alone in the office, and suddenly I hear a bang!
The futre
to talk about our ideas of the present
use the future simple to describe someone's typical behaviour in the present(characteristic behaviour)
He'll play video games all day if you let him!
can also use the future tenses to make guesses about what we think is happening in the present.
I guess she'll have a headache now, because it's so noisy here
use the future continuous to make a guess about a present continuous action
I guess he'll be waiting for dinner!
The past
to be polite(hedging)
In English, being polite is often connected with the idea of being a little indirect and soft with our requests and emotions
I was hoping to speak to you today
This is not the same as the unreal past
Continuous tenses to remove emotions
We can choose the future continuous to talk about more delicate subjects in the future instead of a normal future simple.
· A more direct, difficult question: when will you pay me?
· A more delicate question: when will you be paying me?
We can also use the past continuous to soften something when we don't want to shock or 'scare' the person we are talking to.
often use the past continuous in this way at the start of a longer story.
I was speaking to your teacher the other day, and…
(The action is complete, and we could choose a past simple here to say 'I spoke to your teacher', but we don't want to scare the student and so we use a softer past continuous)
Stative or Dynamic?
if the verb describes something you can repeat, it is a
dynamic verb
Verbs that describe your emotions, state, opinions and beliefs are
stative verbs
some verbs can be stative AND dynamic, with two different meanings.
In modern English, particularly on the Internet, some traditionally stative verbs are starting to be used in continuous tenses in a dynamic way to add a sense of drama or fun.
there are some stative verbs which are almost never used in a dynamic way and sound quite unnatural in a continuous tense.
check the pdf C1 appendix - stative and dynamic verbs.pdf