present simple or progressive

[tintiman]

Hi out there,

I know that you usually use present simple for facts but can you use progressive in this sentence?

The reason for that is the little selfconfidence teenagers are having today.

would you consider present progr. as a major mistake?

thanks

[Barb_D]

I would consider it non-standard. Few thing that don't involve death, mayhem, or financial ruin fall into the category of "major mistakes" for me.

I'd write it as "have."

I'd also hyphenate self-confidence.

I'd also say "how little self-confidence today's teenagers seem to have."

But then it wouldn't be the same sentence, would it.