ING form

[allthewayanime]

I've got a big doubt about the use of the ing form. My English grammar book says that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses( which are present perfect continuous, past continuous etc.);but it isn't always like this, I've seen plenty of times before stative verbs used in the progressive form, for instance :

I've been missing you.(why can it be used in the progressive form?)


Could someone enlighten me on this matter, please?

[Barb_D]

The continuous form can be used when the situation is not the norm, is temporary, and is immediate.

George is loving it in Greece, but he's still looking forward to returning home.
You are being a jerk. What's wrong? You are usually a nice guy.
I am missing you so much it hurts. I can't wait for your deployment to end.

[philo2009]

Be aware, though, that only certain typically stative verbs can occur in progressive tense-forms: 'know' and 'prefer', for instance, never occur in this form, no matter how 'temporary' their intended reference may be.

A few, such as 'want', are internally contradictory, rarely/never occurring in the present progressive, but often occurring in the present perfect progressive, so that, although we do not (in standard usage) say

*I'm wanting to talk to you.

we may often hear

I've been wanting to talk to you for some time.