The Continuous Aspect (Solved)

The continuous aspect ING
 An aspect is the way we look at something.

 We don’t normally use the continuous aspect with verbs such as:
love, hate, prefer, smell, see, believe, understand.
1) Present continuous
Affirmative sentences
Person Auxiliary
I Am (‘m) Verb (ing)
He / she / it Is (‘s)
We/ you/ they Are (‘re)
 Look! That man’s wearing a coat.

 Stop! You’re hurting me.
 Now we’re studying for our language exam.
Negative sentences
Person Auxiliary
I am not (‘m not) Verb (ing)
He / she / it is (isn’t)
We/ you/ they are (aren’t)
 We aren’t doing our homework right now.

 I’m not wearing any makeup today.
 Now she isn’t travelling to Buenos Aires.
Interrogative sentences
Auxiliary Person
Am I Verb (ing)
Is He / she / it
Are We/ you/ they
 Are you doing your homework?

 Is she painting the house?
 Am I laughing too loud?
2) Past continuous
Person Auxiliary
I / He / she / it was Verb (ing)
We/ you/ they were
 Yesterday evening, I was painting my house the whole afternoon.

 I was wearing makeup last night.
 Simon and Anna were swimming in the lake last night.
Negative sentences
Person Auxiliary
I / He / she / it was Not (wasn’t) Verb (ing)
We/ you/ they were (weren’t)
 I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I promise.

 They weren’t singing when I arrived.
 My kids weren’t sleeping at 4.00
Auxiliary Person
Was I / He / she / it Verb (ing)
Were We/ you/ they
 Were you sitting next to each other?

 Was she making her bed?
 Were they saying bad things?
3) Present perfect continuous
Person Auxiliary
He / she / it Has (‘s) Been Verb (ing)
I/ We/ you/ they Have (‘ve)
 She has been working in her garden all morning.

 They have been doing the laundry for hours.
 I have been texting my mom for a while.
Negative sentences
Person Auxiliary
He / she / it has Not (hasn’t) Been Verb (ing)
I/ We/ you/ they have (haven’t)
 She hasn’t been working in her garden for some time now.
 They haven’t been doing the laundry for a long time.
 I haven’t been texting my mom lately.
Auxiliary Person
has He / she / it Been Verb (ing)
have I/ We/ you/ they
 Has she been coming to English classes?

 Have they been seeing each other?
 Has Lucas been saying mean things?
4) Past perfect continuous
Person Auxiliary
I
you
He
She Had (‘d) Been Verb (ing)
it
we
you
they
 I had been looking at some old pictures before you came back.
 You had been telling me I shouldn’t smoke before I got pregnant.
 By the time I quit, we’d been using the same book for some time.
Negative sentences
Person Auxiliary
I
you
He
She Had (‘d) Not (hadnt’t) Been Verb (ing)
it
we
you
they
 I hadn’t been looking at some old pictures before you came back.
 You hadn’t been telling lies when you said he didn’t love me.
 By the time I quit, we hadn’t been using the same book for some time.
Auxiliary Person
I
you
He
Had She Been Verb (ing)
it
we
you
they
 Had you been smoking when I saw you?

 Had they been living on social security for long?
 Had she been saying mean things about me?
We use the continuous aspect to talk about:
 Actions whose duration we want to emphasise
They’ve been waiting here for an hour. (Emphasis is on duration: “for an hour”)
 Actions in progress when another thing happens
I was having lunch when my dad came home. (With the past continuous: “My dad”
interrupted the action in progress)
 Actions happening right now
Get out of my way! I’m trying to walk.
 Actions happening around now
I am having English lessons on Fridays at 19 o’ clock. (This may not be happening right
now, but it is happening in the present anyway)
 Repeated actions that might be annoying (with “always”)
My sister is always telling me what to do.
 Situations in the process of changing
The economy in our country is getting worse (In general expressed with the verbs “get”
“becoming”)
 Tentative ideas (to avoid being too direct with a request)
I was wondering If I could borrow some money (I don’t want to sound rude, so I use the
continuous aspect)
1) Why is the continuous form used in these sentences?
1. These days it’s getting easier and easier to change your name.
a) To talk about situations thar are in the process of changing

b) To emphasise the duration of the action
2. She’s always talking as if she’s a household name, but she’s only been on TV once!
a) To show that the activity is in progress around now.

b) To emphasise a repeated action that you may find annoying
3. I’m considering naming my dog after my hero: Che Guevara.

b) To describe an action that was in progress when another action happened.
4. My partner was reading a book about babies’ names when I got home.
a) To talk about situations thar are in the process of changing

b) To describe an action that was in progress when another action happened.
5. I was hoping to borrow your car, if that’s OK.
a) To sound less direct when we make a request, a suggestion, etc.

b) To emphasise a repeated action you find annoying
6. I have been working in the garden all morning: I’m exahusted!

b) To emphasise the duration of the action.
2) Correct the mistakes in these sentences.
Sentence Mistake Meaning of the sentence

She has looking through the She Has been looking The duration of an action
window all morning, but no
one came.
I am smelling something… I Smell It is a sense (stative verbs)
what did you cook
They ‘re take singing lessons They’re taking singing Around now
because they want to learn lessons….
to breath.
When Sophie arrived, I am I Was cleaning A previous action
cleaning the living room.
We hate that teacher, she’s She is always giving Annoying
giving us a lot of homework.
I was hope you could give I was hoping Less direct
me a ride home.
It’s become increasingly It is becoming Situation in the process of
difficult to live in Argentina. changing.

The Continuous Aspect (Solved)

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The continuous aspect ING

 An aspect is the way we look at something.

 Look! That man’s wearing a coat.

 We aren’t doing our homework right now.

 Are you doing your homework?

 Yesterday evening, I was painting my house the whole afternoon.

 I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I promise.

 Were you sitting next to each other?

 She has been working in her garden all morning.

 Has she been coming to English classes?

 Had you been smoking when I saw you?

 Actions whose duration we want to emphasise

 Actions in progress when another thing happens

 Actions happening right now

Get out of my way! I’m trying to walk.

 Actions happening around now

 Repeated actions that might be annoying (with “always”)

My sister is always telling me what to do.

 Situations in the process of changing

 Tentative ideas (to avoid being too direct with a request)

1) Why is the continuous form used in these sentences?

a) To talk about situations thar are in the process of changing

a) To show that the activity is in progress around now.

3. I’m considering naming my dog after my hero: Che Guevara.

a) To show that the activity is in progress around now.

a) To talk about situations thar are in the process of changing

5. I was hoping to borrow your car, if that’s OK.

a) To sound less direct when we make a request, a suggestion, etc.

6. I have been working in the garden all morning: I’m exahusted!

a) To show that the activity is in progress around now.

2) Correct the mistakes in these sentences.

Sentence Mistake Meaning of the sentence

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