2015-08-12
813
1) The Present Continuous can be used to describe actions and situations which may not have been happening long, or which are thought of as being in progress for a limited period. The following indicators are generally used: these days, this week, this month, this year.
What's your daughter doing these days?
- She's studying English at Durham University.
2) Such situations may not be happening at the moment of speaking:
Don't take that ladder away. Your father's using it. (i.e. but perhaps not at the moment).
3) Temporary events may be in progress at the moment of speaking:
The river is flowing very fast after last night's rain.
4) Temporary actions and situations may be given as a contrast to usual actions:
I usually drive to work, but this week I am taking a bus as my car is in repair.
3 We also use the Present Continuous to describe developing or changing situations. The verbs to change, to get, to grow, to improve, to become, to rise, to fall, to increase and to decrease are usually used. Very often adjectives in comparative degree are used in such sentences.
The number of cars on the road is increasing. The earth is slowly getting warmer.
People are becoming less tolerant of smoking these days.
4 When we are talking about repeated temporary actions in the present tense, we use the Present Continuous for an action that continues to happen before and after another action that interrupts it. We use the Present Simple for the other action.
The phone always rings when I'm having a bath.
Friends always talk to me when I'm trying to study.
Whenever I come, he is arguing with his sister.
