continuous

  • The ‘continuous‘ ( also known as ‘progressive’) aspect expresses an incomplete action or state at a specific time.
  • It is not habitual.
  • It is a verb phrase/construction that contains a form of: ‘BE’ + verb-ING

(time conjunction) + past perfect continuous

B2, CONJUNCTIONS, continuous, PAST, perfect

In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 67 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect continuous after a time conjunction to give background information. For example: This was just a few months after Ebola had been terrifying the world. listen 1 AFTER IT HAD BEEN SITTING 46   WOAI She and her stepfather restored the bike themselves after it had

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present continuous + adverbs of indefinite frequency

ADVERBS, B2, C2, continuous, frequency, indefinite, PRESENT, range, surprising, undesirable

Let’s look at two expert examples of ‘BE + adverbs of indefinite frequency + VERBing‘: At the time of application for Russian citizenship, the spouses must be permanently residing in Russia  and must be married for three years.    Russia Beyond – 16 Feb 2021 There are a few ways to approach loved ones  who are persistently asking the same question.  elmcroft.com The first example above is a modal verb + BE + adverb + present participle and the second

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will be + VERBing (future continuous)

A2, arrangements, B1, certainty, confirming, continuous, expectation, FUTURE, indirect, informal, MODALITY, plan, polite, will

The future continuous tense, used in sentences like “Sarah will be joining us for dinner,” indicates a planned or confirmed action that will occur over a period in the future. It expresses certainty about the future and is often used when the action is expected to happen as a matter of course. While usually not used with stative verbs, exceptions exist, especially in informal contexts. For instance, “I guess I’ll be needing a receipt off you there, Red” is a polite, indirect request.

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future continuous question

B2, continuous, FUTURE, QUESTIONS

Future continuous describes ongoing actions that will happen in the future. The ‘yes/no’ question form follows this structure: Will + subject + be + verb-ing? Will we be seeing you again? listen A question word can be added: What will you be doing in Boston? listen Note that “will” indicates the future, the auxiliary verb “be,” and finally the main verb in its continuous form (verb-ing).

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Present Continuous

A1, A2, arrangements, auxiliary, B1, B2, continuous, FUTURE, NEGATIVE, PRESENT, range, temporary

Here are some student writing examples of present continuous highlighted with details: I am typing English words right now. PELIC Chinese female level 2 writing class   However, we also can interpret from the graph that we aren’t preparing for it yet.  PELIC Korean female level 3 writing class   I am always falling over one of his toy cars or trucks. PELIC Arabic male level 3 writing class   There are at least 30 points to do with the present

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SHOULD BE + verb ING ‘She should be looking for a job’

B2, continuous, expectation, MODALITY, obligation, should

Let’s look at an example of ‘should be ing‘ in student writing: In Korea, it is so common that women should be looking for a job after divorce. PELIC Korean female level 4 writing. ‘Should’ can express obligation or expectation.  ‘Should’ can be used with a continuous form: Should be + lookING In the English Grammar Profile at B2, there are 3 points covering ‘should + continuous form’.  Points

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(always | constantly) + past continuous

ADVERBS, C2, continuous, PAST, repeated, undesirable

Let’s look at two examples to explain this grammar.  The first is from a student writing example using past continuous with an adverb that shows he didn’t control the situation with his friend and the second one is from an expert speaker using passives: For example, he was always playing soccer when I played baseball. PELIC Korean male level 4 grammar class.   They were

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