Think, assume and expect use in the continuous forms

Rule 1: think can be used in the continuous when no opinion is given or asked for:

What are you thinking about? – I’m thinking about the play we saw last night. But

What do you think of it? (opinion asked for) – I don’t think much of it.

Tom is thinking of emigrating. What do you think of the idea? – I think it is a stupid idea. He should stay where he is.

Rule 2: Assume can be used in the continuous when it means ‘accept as a starting point’:

I’m assuming that you have time to do a lot of research.

Assume power/control of a country or organization can also be used in the continuous:

The saw government is assuming power at once.

Rule 3: expect can be used in the continuous when it means ‘await’

• I’m expecting a letter. 
• She’s expecting a baby in may.

See and hear used in the continuous forms

The continuous tenses are chiefly used for deliberate actions. Some verbs are, therefore, not normally used in the continuous and have only one present tense, the simple present. These verbs can be grouped as follows:

Rule 1: Verbs of the senses: feel, hear, see, smell; also notice and observe(notice), and feel, look, taste, used as link verbs.

For feel, look, smell, taste, see.

Verbs such as gaze, listen, look(at), observe(watch), star and watch imply deliberate use of the senses, and can, of course, be used in the continuous tense:

• I am watching but I don’t see anything unusual. 
• He is listening to a tape, but he’s wearing earphones so nobody else hears it.

Rule 2: Verbs expressing feeling and emotions, e.g. admire (=respect), adore, appreciate (=value), care for (=like), desires, detest, dislike, fear, hate, like, loathe, love, mind (=care), respect, value, want, wish.

But the continuous can be used with admire meaning ‘look at with admiration’ appreciate meaning ‘increase in value’ care for meaning ‘look after’, long for, mind meaning ‘look after/concern oneself with’, value meaning ‘estimate the financial worth of’, enjoy and sometimes like/love meaning ‘enjoy’. and hate meaning the opposite, thought it is safer to use the simple tense with like, love and hate:

• He’s enjoying his holiday in the arctic. 
• He hates touristy places and he doesn’t mind the cold. 
• I’m minding my own business. 
• How are you liking/Do you like your new job? 
• I’m hating it/I hate it. I just don’t like work, you see.

Rule 3: Verbs of mental activity

Agree, appreciate (=understand), assume, believe, expect (=think), feel, (=think), feel sure/certain, forget, know, mean, perceive, realize, recall, recognize, recollect, remember, see (= understand), see through someone (=penetrate his attempt to deceive), suppose, think (= have an opinion), trust believe/have confidence in), understand, But the continuous can be used with appreciate meaning ‘to increase in value’.

Rule 4: Verbs of possession: belong, owe, own, possess:

How much do I owe you?

Rule 5: appear (= seem), concern, consist, contain, hold (=contain), keep (= continue), matter, seem, signify, sound (=seem/appear):

It concerns us all.

This box contains explosives.

But appear meaning ‘to come before the public’ can be used in the continuous.

Feel, look smell and taste in the present continuous

Rule 1:  Feel used in the present continuous form:

When followed by an adjective indicative indicating the subject’s emotions or physical or mental condition, e.g. angry/pleased, happy/sad, hot/cold, tense/relaxed, nervous/confident, is normally used in the simple tenses but can also be used in the present continuous.

• How do you feel 
• Are you feeling? 
• I am feeling better.

Feel meaning ‘touch’ (usually in order to learn something) can be used in the continuous.

The doctor was feeling her pulse.

Similarly, feel for meaning ‘try to find something by touching’ :

• He was feeling for the keyhole in the dark.

But feel is not used in the continuous when it means ‘sense’.

• Don’t you feel the house shaking?

When it means ‘think’

• I feel you are wrong

And when it is used as a link verb:

• The water feels cold.

Rule 2: Look used in the present continuous form:

The continuous is not used with look used as link verb, e.g. That cake looks good. Or with look on   (=  consider), look up to (=respect) and look down on (= despise)

But look (at), look for/in/into/out and look on (= watch) are deliberate actions and can be used in the continuous tenses:

• He is looking for his glasses. 
• I’m looking out for a better job.

Rule 3: Smell used in the present continuous tense form:

The continuous is not used with smell meaning ‘perceive a scant/an odor’, e.g. I smell gas.

But can be used with smell meaning ‘sniff at’:

• Why are you smelling the milk? Is it sour?

Rule 4: Taste used in the present continuous tense form:

Taste as a link verb is not used in the continuous:

• This coffee taste bitter. (has a bitter taste)

But taste meaning to taste the flavor of can be used in the continuous:

• She was tasting the pudding to see if it was sweet enough.

Verbs not normally used in the continuous tenses

The continuous tenses are chiefly used for deliberate actions. Some verbs are, therefore, not normally used in the continuous and have only one present tense, the simple present. These verbs can be grouped as follows:

Rule 1: Verbs of the senses: feel, hear, see, smell; also notice and observe(notice), and feel, look, taste, used as link verbs.

For feel, look, smell, taste, see.

Verbs such as gaze, listen, look(at), observe(watch), star and watch imply deliberate use of the senses, and can, of course, be used in the continuous tense:

• I am watching but I don’t see anything unusual. 
• He is listening to a tape, but he’s wearing earphones so nobody else hears it.

Rule 2: Verbs expressing feeling and emotions, e.g. admire (=respect), adore, appreciate (=value), care for (=like), desires, detest, dislike, fear, hate, like, loathe, love, mind (=care), respect, value, want, wish.

But the continuous can be used with admire meaning ‘look at with admiration’ appreciate meaning ‘increase in value’ care for meaning ‘look after’, long for, mind meaning ‘look after/concern oneself with’, value meaning ‘estimate the financial worth of’, enjoy and sometimes like/love meaning ‘enjoy’. and hate meaning the opposite, thought it is safer to use the simple tense with like, love and hate:

• He’s enjoying his holiday in the arctic. 
• He hates touristy places and he doesn’t mind the cold. 
• I’m minding my own business. 
• How are you liking/Do you like your new job? 
• I’m hating it/I hate it. I just don’t like work, you see.

Rule 3: Verbs of mental activity

Agree, appreciate (=understand), assume, believe, expect (=think), feel, (=think), feel sure/certain, forget, know, mean, perceive, realize, recall, recognize, recollect, remember, see (= understand), see through someone (=penetrate his attempt to deceive), suppose, think (= have an opinion), trust believe/have confidence in), understand, But the continuous can be used with appreciate meaning ‘to increase in value’.

Rule 4: Verbs of possession: belong, owe, own, possess:

How much do I owe you?

Rule 5: appear (= seem), concern, consist, contain, hold (=contain), keep (= continue), matter, seem, signify, sound (=seem/appear):

It concerns us all.

This box contains explosives.

But appear meaning ‘to come before the public’ can be used in the continuous.

Other possible uses of the present continuous tense

Rule 1: With a pint in time to indicate an action which begins before this point and probably continuous after it:

• At six I am bathing the baby. (I start bathing him before six.)
• Similarly with a verb in the simple present:

They are flying over the desert when one of the engines fails.

The present continuous is rarely used in this way except in descriptions of daily routing and in dramatic narrative, but the past continuous is often combined with a point in time or a verb in the simple past.

Rule 2: With always:

• He is always losing his keys. 

For a frequently repeated action, usually when the frequency annoys the speaker of seems unreasonable to him: Tom is always  going away for weekends (present continuous) would imply that he goes away very often, probably too often in the speaker’s opinion. But it does not necessarily mean that he goes away every weekend. It is not a literal statement. Compare with always + simple present:

• Tom always goes away at weekends

• Tom goes away every weekend. (a literal statement)

I/we + always + continuous tense is also possible here. The repeated action is then often accidental:

• I’m always making that mistake. 
• For an action which appears to be continuous:
• He’s always working – He works the whole time.

This sort of action quite often annoys the speaker but doesn’t necessarily do so: He’s always reading could imply that he spends too much time reading, but could also be said in a tone of approval.

The first person could be used here too. The action then, like the other actions here in 2, is usually deliberate.

Past perfect continuous tense

This past perfect concept can also be conveyed by the past perfect continuous tense. Study the flowing rule.

Subject + had + been + verb+ing……………….

• John had been living in New York for ten years before he movedto California.

Examples of past perfect:

• The professor had reviewed the material before he gave the quiz.
• After Henry had visited Puerto Rico, he want to St. Thomas.
• Before Ali went to sleep, he had called his family.
• George had worked at the university for forty- five years beforehe retired.

Structure of past continuous tense

Use the following rule to form the past continuous tense.

Subject + (was , were) + verb+ ing …………..

The past continuous tense is used to indicate:

An action which was occurring in the past and was interrupted by another action. In this cash, the general rule is:

When + subject1+ simple past tense + subject 2+ past continuous tense…….

 

Or

Subject1+ past continuous + when+ subject2 + simple past tense……..

• When mark came home, Martha was watching television.

Or

• Martha was watching television when mark camehome.

Two actions occurring at the same time in the past. In this case, the following rules usually apply.

Subject1+ past continuous + while+ subject2 + past continuous…………

Or

While +subject1 + past continuous+ + subject2 + past continuous……….

• Martha was watching television while john was reading book.

Or

• While John was reading a book, Martha was watching television.

Note: The following construction is also possible, but it is not as common as the preceding two.

While+ subject1 + past continuous +  subject2 + simple past…………

While Martha was watching television, John reada book.

An action which was occurring at some specific time in the past.

• Martha was watching television at seven o’clock last night.
• What wereyou doing at one o’clock this afternoon?

Examples of past continuous:

• John was walking to class when he lost his pen.
• The student was reading while the professor was speaking.
• George was watching television when his brother called.
• Henry was eating a snack at midnight last night
• When Mary came home, her husband was cooking dinner.
• Mark was driving on main street when his car brokedown.