English Grammar Drills - Mark Lester 2009
Progressive tenses
9 Verb Tenses
Part 2 Verb Phrases
The progressive tenses are all formed by the helping verb be in some form immediately followed by a verb in the present participle form. The present progressive uses a present-tense form of be, the past progressive uses a past-tense form of be, and the future progressive uses the future tense of be. The progressive tenses are all used to describe an action in progress (hence the name progressive) at some present, past, or future moment of time. The key to using the progressive tenses is that they are always tied to some action that takes place at a specific point or moment in time. Thus the progressive tenses can never be used to make broad timeless generalizations.
Present progressive
The present progressive consists of the present tense of the verb be (am, are, or is), followed by a verb in the present participle form. The most common use of the present progressive is to talk about what is happening at the present time. For example, if someone were to go the window and say, “It’s raining,” we know without being told that the speaker is talking about what is happening right now.
The progressive is not limited to just the present moment. It often refers to action that goes beyond just the present moment. For example:
We are living in New Jersey now.
She’s working on her degree at NYU.
The doctor is seeing another patient now.
The present progressive often conveys a sense of temporariness. For example, compare the following pair of sentences, the first in the present tense, the second in the present progressive:
Present tense: They fly first-class.
Present progressive: They are flying first-class.
In the first sentence, the use of the present tense signals that it is their normal custom to fly first-class. It does not mean that they are flying first-class at the moment. The use of the present progressive in the second sentence means that they are flying first-class on the particular flight we are talking about at the moment. We do not know whether they regularly fly first-class or not.
Not all verbs can be used in the present progressive (or any other progressive tense, for that matter). Of particular importance is a group of verbs called stative verbs. We think of a verb as a word used to express action. This is certainly true of most verbs. However, this is not true of stative verbs. Stative verbs do not express action. Instead, stative verbs describe an ongoing condition or “state,” which is where the name stative derives from. To see the difference, compare the following two sentences:
Action verb: John drives a car.
Stative verb: John owns a car.
The verb drive expresses an action; the verb own expresses a state or condition.
The practical difference between action and stative verbs is that we can use action verbs in all the progressive tenses, but we cannot use stative verbs in any of the progressive tenses. Here is an example in the present tense:
Action verb: John is driving a car.
Stative verb: X John is owning a car.
The meanings of stative verbs make them incompatible with the progressive tenses, since the progressive tenses always describe action that is in progress at some moment of present, past, or future time. Since stative verbs express ongoing, unchanging states, they cannot be used in the time-limited, momentary sense of the progressive.
One of the most common errors of intermediate-level ESL learners is using stative verbs in the progressive tenses.
Here are some more examples of stative verbs incorrectly used in the present progressive:
X I am hating spinach.
X They are doubting the truth of what you say.
X He was having a laptop at the time.
X We were liking your proposal.
X She will be loving that.
X The company will be owning a new office by then.
Stative verbs tend to fall into distinct categories based on meaning:
Emotions: appreciate, desire, dislike, doubt, feel, hate, like, love, need, prefer, want, wish
Measurement: consist of, contain, cost, entail, equal, have, measure, weigh
Cognition: believe, doubt, know, mean, think, understand
Appearance: appear, be, look, resemble, seem, sound
Sense perception: feel, hear, see, seem, smell, taste
Ownership: belong, have, own, possess
Note that some verbs appear twice because they can be used with different meanings.
Exercise 9.6
Examine each verb in italics in the following sentences. If the verb is not a stative verb, rewrite the verb as a present progressive. If the verb is a stative verb, rewrite the verb in the present tense and write stative above the verb.
The company hire several new accountants. (not stative)
The company is hiring several new accountants.
1. The plane encounter some resistance.
2. The security guard unlock the door.
3. The boss doubt that we can finish the project in time.
4. My friend be park his car.
5. The entire project cost more than a million dollars.
6. You deserve the new promotion.
7. We visit New York for the first time.
8. The consultant alter the size of the project.
9. We want to get you input on the proposal as soon as possible.
10. He undergo treatment at a hospital in India.
11. Now they doubt the wisdom of going ahead so quickly.
12. The design consist of three main elements.
13. The clerk confirm your reservation.
14. The newlyweds struggle to adjust to their new lives together.
15. The briefcase belong to that gentleman over there.
16. Captain Brown command this aircraft.
17. The entire staff cooperate with the study.
18. Her new hairstyle suit her very well.
19. The minister convey his respects to the convention.
20. We wait for the meeting to start.
Past progressive
The past progressive consists of the past tense of the verb be (was or were), followed by a verb in the present participle form. The past progressive is always tied to past time. It can be a specific moment or period in time. For example:
By 9 a.m. I was working at my desk.
At noon we were fixing lunch.
During the afternoon, we were having drinks on the terrace.
Or the past time can be defined by some other event as expressed in a past-tense subordinate clause. For example:
The past progressive can also be used for a past-time action or event that spans a defined period of past time. For example:
All last week, my boss was meeting with the sales reps.
From noon on, I was raking leaves in the backyard.
All the time he was talking, I was looking at my watch.
Exercise 9.7
Examine each verb in italics in the following sentences. Rewrite the verb as a past progressive.
At midnight, I sleep.
At midnight, I was sleeping.
1. The chef bake the pie when the guests came.
2. As she walk down the street yesterday, she noticed the stray dog.
3. All last month, the teacher grade tests.
4. At the time of the hurricane, they live on the west side of the city.
5. The police control the rioters when the convention began.
Future progressive
The future progressive (F Prog) consists of the future tense (FT) of the verb be (will be) followed by a verb in the present participle form. The present progressive describes some activity that will be carried out at some future time. The future time can be a specific moment or period in time. For example:
At noon, I will be flying to Houston.
Next week, the kids will be staying with their grandparents.
During the school year, she will be living in a dorm.
Or the future time can be defined as taking place during some future-time event that is expressed in a present-tense subordinate clause. For example:
