Grammar
Here, you will find different materials to help you with different problems you may have with English grammar. These include comments, explanations, exercises, examples, etc. Hope they will come in handy...
Present Continuous
For the first topic of discussion I have chosen this tense as it is one of the first things students learn about English.
This grammatical aspect causes quite a lot problems especially when contrasted with a language that does not have this aspect in its linguistic system.
Most often this tense is referred to when we talk about actions which are happening now, at the moment.
It is very useful, however, to remember that an action in this tense is limited to a particular period of time in the present and that this activity has started and will go on and we are in the middle of it, even though it may not be happening right now.
For example, the sentence:
Don't put this book away. I'm reading it.
may mean that
1. I am physically reading the book at this moment or
2. that I am reading it today, this week/month, but not at this very moment becasue I am just taking my break
and eating my lunch and will continue reading after I am finished.
Another use of this grammatical aspect which causes much controversy with learners of English is as in the next sentence:
We're going to Paris next week.
Many refer to this use as Present Continuous for the future. In fact, it is about a future action, but there is more meaning hidden than meets the eye.
The action has actually started already and is happening now, even though we are still at home. What this sentence suggests is that we started doing this activity some time ago when we first booked our flights. By this booking we started doing this activity. That is why a sentence like this is absolutely natural.
Yet, we have ouched another aspect here. Grammatical structures have their own meanings. That is why in many context it is important to know and use grammar, and not just words, accurately.
If you have any comments on this issue, feel free to use either the Contact page or blog them on Your Views page.