Are You Progressing with Progressive Tenses?

 

Are You Progressing with Progressive¹ Tenses?

Editors note: This is the second of a four-part series on verb tenses. Click here to see part one.

For VOA Learning² English, this is Everyday Grammar.

Today we are going to look at the progressive verb tenses. Progressive tenses express actions that are unfinished or in progress. There are three progressive verb tenses: the past progressive, the present progressive, and the future progressive. Progressive tenses are the same as continuous³ tenses.

past

present

future

Progressive

Verbs

It was snowing when I drove to work.

Was/were + -ing verb

It is snowing.

Am/is/are+-ing verb

It will be snowing by the time I get home.

Will be + -ing verb

Present Progressive

We will start with the present progressive, the most common progressive tense. You form the present progressive tense by using a form of the verb be followed by an –ing verb. For example, “I am watching a movie.”

It is easy to confuse the simple present and the present progressive. What’s the difference between, “It rains in Seattle” and “It is raining in Seattle”?  

“It rains in Seattle” states that it rains in general. It does not necessarily⁴ mean that it is raining at the moment of speaking. “It is raining in Seattle” means that the rain started in the past, is happening now, and will probably continue into the future.

Now, at this time, and currently⁵ are common adverbs in the present progressive.

The present progressive can also express a scheduled event in the future. For example, this sentence is in the present progressive: “She is starting school next semester⁶.”

The meaning here is the same as the sentence in the simple future: “She is going to start school next semester.” The present progressive and simple future (with be going to) sometimes have the same .

You can also use present progressive with always to say that something disturbs you. “My neighbor is always playing loud music at night” or “I am always making mistakes with verb tenses!”  

Past Progressive

Let’s move on to the past progressive. The past progressive describes an event that was in progress in the past. To form the past progressive use was or were followed by an –ing verb. For example, “I was working late last night.”

Sentences in the past progressive often have two actions.

For example, “It was snowing when the plane landed in Denver.”

Notice that the second action, landed, is in the simple past.

The past progressive can also express an action in progress interrupted by a second action. “I was running when I slipped and fell” or “I was sleeping when you called.”

It is possible to have two progressive actions in the same sentence if the two actions are happening at the same time. You could say, “I was sleeping when you were working”.

Future Progressive

The future progressive tense describes an event that will be in progress in the future. To form the future progressive tense, use will be followed by an –ing verb. For example, “I will be waiting for you when you finish work.”

The future progressive can be useful when you are making plans. Imagine your friend wants you to pick her up the airport tomorrow. But you have to work.

You could tell her, “I’m sorry, but I will be working when your plane gets in.”

Sometimes, the future progressive is an alternative for the simple future form be going to. “I will be studying later” has a similar meaning to “I am going to be studying later.” The future progressive just emphasizes⁷ the continuing nature of the future action. You can learn more about future tenses in this previous episode⁸ of Everyday Grammar.

Stative Verbs

There are some verbs that cannot be used in any of the progressive tenses. You would say “I own a car,” not “I am owning a car.” Own is a stative verb. Stative verbs describe unchanging conditions or situations. Stative verbs often refer to mental states such as know, realize, like, believe, understand, love, hate, appear, and exist.

A few verbs have both stative and non-stative meanings. Let’s look at the verb think. “I think the book is good” is stative. The action does not change. “I am thinking about you” is progressive. It shows a temporary, changing action. Sensory⁹ verbs like see, taste, feel, smell, and hear work the in the same way.

Progressive verbs are especially useful for describing changing emotional¹⁰ states. For that reason, they are very common in song lyrics¹¹. We will leave you with a few examples.

[John Lennon]

 “I was dreaming of the past

And my heart was beating fast

I began to lose control…”

[Styxx]

“I’m sailing away

Sail an open course for the virgin¹² sea”

[Adele]

 “I'll be waiting for you when

 you're ready to love me again

I put my hands up

I'll do everything different

I'll be better to you”

Words in This Story

stative - adj.  describes verbs that express a state rather than an action; usually relating to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being and measurements¹³

sensory – adj. of or relating to your physical senses

1 progressive   

adj.先进的；前进的，渐进的；进行式的

参考例句：

• There is often a progressive loss of sight in old age.上了年纪的人视力逐步减退。
• It's a progressive idea.这是一种进步的思想。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

4 necessarily   

adv.必要地，必需地；必定地，必然地

参考例句：

• More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
• A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。

5 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

6 semester   

n.一学期，半学年，六个月的时间

参考例句：

• A student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester.每个学生一学期可能要修四五门课程。
• I had an especially rough time during my first semester.我第一个学期的日子难受极了。

7 emphasizes   

强调( emphasize的第三人称单数 )； 加强语气； 重读； 使突出

参考例句：

• Marx concentrates on the alienation of labour and emphasizes the invidious aspects. 马克思集中论述了劳动的异化，强调它令人厌恶的方面。
• What he emphasizes most is that we must walk the mass line. 他最强调的是我们必须走群众路线。

8 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

9 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

10 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

11 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

12 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

13 measurements   

n.量度( measurement的名词复数 )；测量；衡量；（量得的）尺寸

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first. 第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In the metric system, measurements are made in metres and liters. 在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。 来自《简明英汉词典》